This time of year I like to make my own special instant hot chocolate mix and make a couple batches of marshmallows, usually cinnamon & mint flavored then hand it out. I don't tell anyone it has chile powder in it until they try it otherwise they won't drink it.
The Aztecs had been using chiles & chocolate together for centuries and its a sublime combination, especially in hot cocoa since the pepper gives a subtle warming sensation to the back of the throat.
Anyway recipe:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup pure crystallized fructose (if can't find, use 2 cups powdered sugar, but this helps with the mouthfeel & contributes a subtly different sweetness--one of my two secret ingredients
)
1 cup cocoa dutch processed cocoa(since the rest of the ingredients are cheap, go all out here if you can, its worth it)
2 1/2 cups powdered milk
1 teaspoon salt
1-2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 pinch naga powder to taste(cayenne heat level or greater is a must for desired effect)
Optional:
Replace some of the powdered milk with coffee creamer for a thicker feeling beverage.
Just simply stir all that together well, using your hands or a whisk and that's it. You can add as much or as little pepper powder as you desire, the goal when I make it is for the heat to be present but subtly so, where people can't identify it as a chile burn. I go for a nice mild burn in the throat, more of a warming sensation than a real burn though. This takes a little experimenting to get right.
To make:
Mix approx 1/2 cup mix to 1 cup water. The exact ratio of course is left to taste.
I'm drinking some right now, this is my favorite part about
Note: The cocoa is always going to be the limiting factor in the amount of hot cocoa mix you can make. I find that one box of hersheys special dark dutch process cocoa = 2.5 cups and if you buy a bag of powdered sugar & a 8qt equivalent box of powdered milk you have more than enough to make a large batch.
The Aztecs had been using chiles & chocolate together for centuries and its a sublime combination, especially in hot cocoa since the pepper gives a subtle warming sensation to the back of the throat.
Anyway recipe:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup pure crystallized fructose (if can't find, use 2 cups powdered sugar, but this helps with the mouthfeel & contributes a subtly different sweetness--one of my two secret ingredients
)1 cup cocoa dutch processed cocoa(since the rest of the ingredients are cheap, go all out here if you can, its worth it)
2 1/2 cups powdered milk
1 teaspoon salt
1-2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 pinch naga powder to taste(cayenne heat level or greater is a must for desired effect)
Optional:
Replace some of the powdered milk with coffee creamer for a thicker feeling beverage.
Just simply stir all that together well, using your hands or a whisk and that's it. You can add as much or as little pepper powder as you desire, the goal when I make it is for the heat to be present but subtly so, where people can't identify it as a chile burn. I go for a nice mild burn in the throat, more of a warming sensation than a real burn though. This takes a little experimenting to get right.
To make:
Mix approx 1/2 cup mix to 1 cup water. The exact ratio of course is left to taste.
I'm drinking some right now, this is my favorite part about
Note: The cocoa is always going to be the limiting factor in the amount of hot cocoa mix you can make. I find that one box of hersheys special dark dutch process cocoa = 2.5 cups and if you buy a bag of powdered sugar & a 8qt equivalent box of powdered milk you have more than enough to make a large batch.
