In the midst of our baking extravaganza yesterday, we made the filling for the chocolate tart, but since I changed the sizes of the tart pans used, we ended up with two cups full of chocolate “filling.” An earlier post a couple of days ago described a hot chocolate/sikwate made with tablea, and posed a question wondering how a really thick and brilliant hot chocolate version in Barcelona must have been made… well, this accidental version seems pretty close to the hot chocolate I was dreaming off… Take some good thick cream or in this case whipping cream, add some milk and put this on the stove over medium heat until it just begins to boil. For about 1.5 cups of milk/cream, prepare about 6-8 ounces of finely chopped up GOOD bittersweet chocolate such as 60% Valrhona and place the chocolate in a heat proof stainless steel or glass bowl. Then pour the hot milk/cream over the chocolate and allow this to steep for about 45 seconds then whisk until it is well mixed and smooth. Let this cool for about 5 minutes, then add a whole raw egg at room temperature and whisk to mix it in. Add sugar if you like but the intensity of chocolate flavor was enough for me and The Kid. Serve in small cups. Accidentally but utterly delicious. This is literally liquified chocolate, so thick it forms a crust on the surface within seconds or a minute of pouring it into a glass. A single broas could rest on the surface without sinking. This was the ultimate “pick-me-upper” in the middle of a baking frenzy…
7 Responses
Remind me not to give this to my 5 yr old daughter, she’ll be so hyper for sure!!! What a way to end your “baking marathon”!!!
Now, that is really “thick” and looks so sinful. But I bet you and The Kid enjoyed it. Could you give The Kid a kiss and a hug for me? I really love her now. you are so lucky for having her.
Hi Market Man,
I believe i know why your sikwate does not come out as thick and rich as you would like it to be.
The answer is in the quality of your tablea, not your procedure.
Most tablea makers nowadays do not pay particular attention to the variety of cacao beans they use. Some beans are richer and higher in fat content than others. And as you mentioned, others are even made with ground peanuts or ground jackfruit seeds used as extenders.
I know this because i learned how to make tablea from my lola who used to slow roast beans over a wood fire. She also used a combination of 3 varieties of beans. If they were not available, no tablea.
Aside from the beans, grinding the roasted product also matters. My lola would pass the beans through her hand-cranked grinder as many as 6 times to get a very smooth paste. The finer the granules, the smoother and thicker the sikwate.
Good quality tablea melts at room or warm temperature and must be kept in the refrigerator to keep their shape. This kind of tablea makes an extremely rich and thick sikwate.
The resulting drink has a thin layer of cocoa butter or fat on the surface and can coat a spoon that has been dipped into it.
And the color of the uncooked tablea is black, not brown. The drink is a dark, mahogany color.
You inspire me. I think i will make a post on making tablea on my blog :-)
ging, I look forward to your post, and yes, I agree the quality of tablea has deteriorated in many cases…
Ging, this is great. As I mentioned a few times before, nothing beats PURE tablea. You’re lucky to have learned from your lola. I was not that fortunate to learn from my aunt who made such heavenly tablea and chocolate moron. I can’t make them just yet–I resolve to learn anyhow–but I sure can tell from amongst the tablea available all around. Do post a how-to. What is your blog by the way?
Oh my I need to try this! I just came back from a 3-day chocolate class in SF and you would think I would be sick of chocolate by now but on the contrary I am more passionate about it. bookmarking this.