Sugar Savvy

Everyone runs out of time. There are those moments when you have to have something on the table, and all you have is a mess in the kitchen. That’s exactly what happened to me last week when I looked at my calendar and realized that the latest installment of my hot chocolate column was due. I fretted for a while. Then I panicked. Then I tried to forget about it. And then I remembered that some of the world’s most inspired dishes (like Guatemala’s fiambre and India’s dal) were the result of improvisation. So I threw open the cupboard, grabbed all the chocolate I could find and a couple of other neglected ingredients, and in honor of Guatemala, India, and every country in between, I came up with this:

Inventive Hot Chocolate

3 cardamom pods
1 teaspoon Earl Grey tea leaves
2 cups milk
3 ounces dark chocolate
1 ounce milk chocolate
Special equipment: tea infuser

Place the blade of a chef’s knife on top of the cardamom pods and press down to crush them, as you would a clove of garlic. Place the crushed pods and the tea leaves in the infuser. In a small pot, bring the milk to a simmer over medium-low heat, and then remove from the heat. Place the filled infuser into the pot with the hot milk, cover, and allow to steep for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop or grate all of the chocolate into small pieces.

Remove the infuser from the pot, add the chocolate, and whisk to combine. (If the chocolate pieces are small enough, the temperature of the milk will be enough to melt them; but if the chocolate does not melt completely, place the pot over low heat and continue whisking until the chocolate is melted evenly.) Cover again, and allow the mixture to sit (off the heat) for another 20 minutes.

The mixture should now be thick and flavorful. Whisk the hot chocolate over low heat until simmering. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Serves two–go ahead, share it with somebody.

This column appears on Sugar Savvy during the second and fourth week of each month. Each installment will feature a recipe, and may include tips from famous chocolatiers, ancient techniques, or contemporary innovations. Please send in your questions about hot chocolate by Email.