Ladurée's Hot Chocolate

“Whenever friends ask for a list of things they should do in Paris, I always tell them they must go to Ladurée for hot chocolate – it is one of the delights of being in the city. Chocolat chaud made in the Ladurée style is unabashedly rich, luxuriously thick, textbook smooth, and the kind of delicious that forces you to stop all reasonable conversation so you can sip and murmur, “Mmmmm.” - Dorie Greenspan, Paris Sweets




It’s no secret that Ladurée knows what to do with chocolate. As you can see in the picture above, there are countless of delicious chocolate sweets that Ladurée sells; Pain au Chocolat, Religieuse Chocolat, Éclair Chocolat, and the list goes on. But one of my favorite chocolate things to order at Ladurée is their hot chocolate, or ‘Chocolat Ladurée’ as the French call it. It’s nothing like an ordinary hot chocolate; it’s like a thick drinkable chocolate sauce that even has a hint of bitterness (because of the bittersweet chocolate). It’s quite memorable and bless Dorie Greenspan for giving us the recipe! Rating: 5- out of 5.






Chocolat Chaud: Ladurée, Paris Sweets - Dorie Greenspan

Ingredients:
- 3 cups whole milk (750g)
- ⅓ cup water (80g)
- ⅓ cup sugar (65g)
- 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely ground (175g)

Instructions:
- Bring the milk, water, and sugar just to the boil in a medium saucepan. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the chocolate. The hot chocolate needs to be blended at this point. At Ladurée, this is done with a hand-held blender. If you have this tool, leave the hot chocolate in the saucepan and whip it with the hand-held blender for 1 minute. If you don’t have a hand-held blender, transfer the chocolate to a traditional blender and whip on high speed for 1 minute. The chocolate should be served immediately, while it is still very hot and frothy. Alternatively, you can pour the chocolate into a container to cool; the cooled chocolate can be reheated or served chilled. The chocolate can be made up to 2 days ahead and kept tightly covered in the refrigerator.
- To make cold hot chocolate: Chill the hot chocolate until it is very cold, then stir in ¾ cup cold milk. Whip the cold chocolate for 1 minute with a hand-held blender. Serve the cold hot chocolate over an ice cube or two.



I’m not going to be apologetic over the fact that this has more chocolate
than most chocolate desserts … You’ll weep with gratitude once you’ve tried it.