Photo: Russian Hot Chocolate Recipe
I went to St. Petersburg in November of 2002 with my husband and stumbled upon a little coffee place with a slow-turning dasher massaging a smooth, dark, tar-looking substance. The counter girl channeled the velvety, hot chocolate soup into demitasse cups and handed us a tiny spoon. We weren't sure what to do next and then we saw others skimming off a taste of the mixture, a spoonful at a time. Now, without all the hard-to-get visas, borscht, and cold weather, you can enjoy it too.
Ingredients
Orange Creme Fraiche:
- 1/2 cup creme fraiche
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- Finely grated orange rind, to taste
Pudding:
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
- 1 1/4 cups milk
- 1 vanilla bean, split
- 7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- 3 tablespoons butter
Directions
Make the Orange Creme Fraiche: Combine all the ingredients in a chilled bowl and whisk until soft peaks form. Chill until ready to serve.
Make the Pudding: In a bowl whisk together the sugar and cornstarch to blend. Whisk in the cream, milk, and vanilla bean. Pour mixture into a stainless steel saucepan and bring it to a boil, whisking, until thickened, about 4 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the chocolate and butter until melted. Fish out the vanilla bean and rinse it. Wrap the vanilla bean in plastic wrap and refrigerate for another use.
Pour the hot chocolate into warmed demitasse cups and serve immediately with dollops of the orange creme fraiche served on the side on demitasse spoons.
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By cbyorick_4598070
Alexandria, VA
on December 29, 2009
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The texture of the chocolate and creme fraiche was perfect--not too pudding-y but still had a very satisfying mouth-feel. The combination of chocolate and orange was delicious! Keeps very well, too.
By amerikanermom_6...
Mogadore, OH
on December 29, 2009
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This was the best hot chocolate recipe I have ever had. Although I couldn't find creme fraiche (tried to make my own, but couldn't find cream that wasn't ultra-pastuerized, I did use regular heavy cream for the topping. We had it for Christmas Eve in our russian tea cups, and the family loved it. They even liked it just as well cold the next day.
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