Frrrrozen Hot Chocolate

Frrrrozen Hot Chocolate - made July 28,. 2011 from Sweet Serendipity by Stephen Bruce (book #145)

More even smoothness with the second attempt

With much of the country in record-breaking heat waves these days, the last thing most people want to do is turn on their ovens.  So take a break with this icy cold confection - Frrrozen Hot Chocolate, a specialty from Serendipity in Manhattan.  It's a cross between really good chocolate milk and a chocolate milkshake.  Or think of it as a chocolate milkshake without the ice cream.  I personally don't like milk and hardly ever drink it.  I only buy the full-fat version when I need to bake something with it.  But I do like this version of milk - with "frozen" chocolate.

The key thing to watch out for when making this is you need to really whisk the chocolate together with the milk and let it cool to room temperature.  If you don't and you add it too soon to the ice and the rest of the milk, bits of chocolate will solidify.  That's not necessarily a bad thing but for really creamy smoothness the way it's served at Serendipity, you want a more uniform chocolaty slushiness.  I had to make this twice because the first time I had the chocolate-bits issue and my second try was more successful.  And using the good chocolate is an absolute must here.

A close-up of my first attempt

6 half-ounce pieces of a variety of your favorite chocolates

2 teaspoons storebought hot chocolate mix

1 ½ tablespoons sugar

1 ½ cups milk

3 cups ice

Whipped cream

Chocolate shavings

1.       Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place it in the top of a double boiler over simmering water, stirring occasionally until melted.  Add the hot chocolate mix and sugar, stirring constantly until melted.  Add the hot chocolate mix and sugar, stirring constantly until thoroughly blended.  Remove from heat and slowly add ½ cup of the milk and stir until smooth.  Cool to room temperature.

2.       In a blender place the remaining cup of milk, the room temperature chocolate mixture, and the ice.  Blend on high speed until smooth and the consistency of a frozen daiquiri.  Pour into a giant goblet and top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.