Al Dente

Cozy Up with Cocoas!

Sipping hot cocoa brings up cozy, winter memories for me: my mom mixing up Hershey’s cocoa powder with warm milk and a dash of cinnamon (or vanilla) in her old copper-bottomed Reverewear pan. Ooh and my favorite part! The big fluffy marshmallow floating on top... yum!

I still love making My Mom’s “Old School” Cocoa when it’s freezing out. Kids of all ages love it when they need something to warm up with or to relax to.

Cocoa is the perfect vehicle for flavor experimenting from fragrant spices like cinnamon and cloves to the totally unexpected profiles like Indian curry and cardamom.

Adventurous sippers will love my Cha Cha Hot Chocolate Mix, combining smoky chipotle chilli powder, cinnamon and a hint of ground coriander. You can mix up a large batch and have it on hand for a quick treat whenever you like!

But if you’re going for just a quick twist to traditional cocoa, make it signature with a tasty topping of decadent Flavored Whipped Cream.  Just combine 2 cups of heavy whipping cream and 1/4 cup of Monin syrup in an iSi Gourmet Whip canister. Give it a blast with1 cream (N₂O) charger, a little shake and and you’ll have a great way to top off any steamy beverage.

From French Vanilla to Spiced Brown Sugar just a little bit of Monin Syrup can go a long way. I’m thinking…
S ’mores Cocoa topped with Marshmallow Whip or a Chocolate Dipped Strawberry Cocoa with Strawberry Whip — yum!

So get out your favorite mug, mix up some cocoas and sip away the winter chills! -Kathy

 

My Mom’s “Old-School” Cocoa
This is the quintessential classic hot chocolate – a warm, delicious, easy-to-make chocolate fix!

Serves 2 

1 1/2 cups milk
2 Tbsps unsweetened cocoa powder
2 Tbsps sugar
1/2 tsp real vanilla extract
2 big marshmallows

Place milk in a small heavy-bottom saucepan over medium heat. In a small bowl, whisk together cocoa powder and sugar, then whisk into the milk to incorporate. Add vanilla and heat until hot but not overheated. Do not boil. Serve in mugs and top with marshmallows

Recipe by Kathy Casey Liquid Kitchen™

 

Cha Cha Hot Chocolate Mix
This is a fun twist on classic cocoa and the mix can be made and stored so you always have this spicy little treat on hand!

Makes 2 cups, enough for 10 to 12 servings

1 1/2 cups superfine or baker’s sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp real vanilla extract
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground chipotle chili powder
3/4 tsp ground coriander

In a medium bowl, combine the sugars and vanilla extract together with a whisk. Then add the remaining ingredients and whisk thoroughly to evenly distribute the cocoa and spices.

Store at room temperature for up to a month in a clean glass jar with a tight lid. Shake thoroughly before using to remix the ingredients.

To make 1 serving of Cha Cha Hot Chocolate:
Place about 3 tablespoons Cha Cha Hot Chocolate Mix, or to taste, in a mug and add three-quarter cups hot milk, mixing well.

Recipe by Kathy Casey Liquid Kitchen™

A Gift Of Chocolate

I've been seeking out the best of Germany's Christmas cookies these last few weeks, but nothing could have prepared me for the Aalener Spionle, a gift from one of my husband's new colleagues, Anja, that arrived the day before Christmas.

It wasn't a Christmas cookie she said, but certainly one of the best cookies in Germany. After a single bite, I would certainly agree. An almond cookie layered with chocolate-hazelnut creme and covered in dark chocolate, the Aalener Spionle is a specialty of Konditerei Ammann in the town of Aalen.

But that's not all. The Aalener Spionle or Aalener Spy, comes with its own story. It seems that sometime during the Thirty Years War, (1618-1648). Aaleners feared that their neighbors in Schwabisch Gmund would attack. The Aaleners decided that their only recourse was to send a spy into enemy camp to determine the size of their army. 

Once in hostile territory, the poor spy was quickly stopped and brought to the commander, who laughed when he learned of the spy's purpose and sent him back home with a promise not to invade. The townspeople, thrilled at the news, built a monument in the spy's honor.

And ever since 1929, the Aalener Spionle has been honored with a marvelous cookie, his portrait engraved in chocolate. Vielen Grussen, Anja. 

--Tracy Schneider

Buche de Noel

Wandering around Metz and peering into patisseries or pastry shops, which seem to be on virtually every corner of this charming city, is especially exciting just before Christmas when the Buche de Noel or Yule Log is big business.

The Buche de Noel is traditionally made with a yellow sponge cake that is either layered with or rolled in a chocolate butter cream. When sliced, alternating layers look like the rings of a tree.

Over the years, however, the Yule Log has been reinvented many times over, and every patisserie these days has a variety from which to choose. Made with hazelnuts and gianduia, candied chestnuts and chestnut creme, or covered in meringue to create a snow-covered log, the Buche de Noel is limited only by the imagination of the head baker.

The white Buche de Noel at the left of this photo is decorated with a fresh raspberry and blackberry, jellied strawberries, and a strand of currants that has been dusted with powdered sugar, as well as a perfect French macaron.

It's said that the concept for the Buche de Noel comes from the Celts, who went in search of giant logs to burn over the winter solstice. Today's version is a decadent successor. Joyeuses Fetes!

--Tracy Schneider

It's A Merry Mash-up!

This evening I stopped at a traditional German Weihnachtsmart. Only it was in Metz, a charming town in the Lorraine region of France. And I was eating one of my favorite Spanish foods, churros. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that it was served with Italian Nutella. 

StellaCadente* and I have a thing for churros, crispy, crunchy Spanish doughnuts, and we eat them whenever we can. But never would I have expected to find them here, in France, at a Marche de Noel. It's a mash-up!

Tomorrow night most Weihnachtsmarkts will come to an end. It's been a good run, a full four weeks of eating and drinking out-of-doors in the cold or the damp or the dark. And it has been a great thrill.

I hope you had fun visiting the Christmas Markets in Metz, Heidelberg, Frankfurt, Bad Wimpfen with me. Here's what we ate and drank:

Churros in Metz
Maultaschen in Bad Wimpfen
Reibekuchen in Frankfurt
Pofferjes in Frankfurt
Heisse Maronen in Heidelberg
Wildeschwein Bratwurst in Bad Wimpfen
Feuerzangenbowle in Frankfurt 

--Tracy Schneider

The Linzer Stabchen

The Linzer Torte is a popular dessert in Germany at Christmastime. You can find them in almost every bakery you pass. But I've been on a mission to seek out Christmas cookies, not cakes. Fortunately, I found them at our local bakery, these Linzer Stabchen or Linzer batons.

I've heard that the Linzer Torte is one of the oldest recipes we have and could date back to the mid 1600s. The crumbly pastry is made from nuts--hazelnuts, walnuts or almonds, and in the case of these cookies, the baked batons are sandwiched together with raspberry jam and then dipped in chocolate. 

Like so many German Christmas cookies recipes, these are labor-intensive. I'd just as soon pick them up at the Konditerei. But maybe you've made them yourself. Let us know!

--Tracy Schneider

Hazelnuts

Petits Fours Or Dominosteine

Growing up, I remember what a thrill it was when a box of petits fours came into our house. What little girl could resist tiny cakes in pastel shades of pink- and green-tinted white chocolate? Did you ever eat these sweet treats made of alternating layers of sponge cake and jam?

When Al Dente reader VB introduced Dominosteine to me, all those memories of petits fours came flooding back. Dominosteine are a German version of those petits fours. Made with layers of lebkuchen, cherry jelly, and marzipan, they're covered in chocolate and served at Christmastime. 

So many of my memories are wrapped up in sugar and frosting. How about you? Any sweet memories you'd like to share?

--Tracy Schneider

Petits Fours

The Balanced Diet

I saw this enormous poster for Ritter Sport chocolate bars in the Stuttgart train station. The folks at Ritter Sport believe you should have a balanced diet, so they offer their chocolate bars in an assortment of 24 flavors. Marzipan? Nougat? Yogurt? Check, check and check! Have you given them a try?

I love checking out the supermarket candy aisle as much as I enjoy perusing the cases at specialty chocolate shops. In Germany, the chocolate aisle at the grocery store is huge, and Ritter Sport is one of the reasons. But candy bar doesn't blend in with its competition. The design and packaging, a thick, square block of chocolate in a heavy, brightly colored wrapper, makes these bars stand out from the crowd.

In just a few weeks Ritter Sport will celebrate its 100th anniversary. The company, which was founded by Alfred Ritter and his wife Clara in Stuttgart in 1912, is still in the family and now run by third generation Ritters. And they're no longer in their Stuttgart digs, but only by a dozen or so kilometers. The factory is now in the small town of Waldenbuch. I think it's time for a road trip!

--Tracy Schneider

Cold Dogs At Christmas

I've been busy "researching" the Christmas sweets of Germany. It's a lot of work. It seems that every Konditerei has a different assortment of cookies. There are some like Zimtsterne that you'll find almost everywhere, but there are other treats that I've only come across once or twice--at least so far.

Today I discovered Kalter Hund, which means "cold dog", though I have found no explanation as to how or why this refrigerated, no-bake cake typically made with chocolate, coconut oil and biscuits got its name. Do you know?

What may be even more intriguing, though, is how similar this German holiday cake is to Britain's chocolate biscuit cake, the cake that caused quite a stir this spring when Prince William chose it as his alternative wedding cake.

At the time there was some discussion among those in the know as to the proper ingredients in a chocolate biscuit cake. Digestives or rich tea biscuits? At Weihnachtsmarkts in my neck of the woods, tiny Kalte Hunde are non-refrigerated treats made with chocolate and wafers, not biscuits, and sold in cellophane bags. Either way, biscuit or wafer, I want those puppies.

 --Tracy Schneider

Decadent Italian Hot Chocolate

The first year I lived in Italy, I worked as a volunteer with mentally handicapped adults. On my paltry stipend, I drank boxed wine, spent about $20 a week on groceries, and could barely afford dinner in a restaurant--once or twice a month, maybe. During the winter there is nothing I savored more on a foggy Milanese day than a cup of hot chocolate. Italian hot chocolate is nothing like its American cousin. It's rich and thick. Pudding-like. Best eaten with a spoon. Make some for someone you love. They will thank you.

Italian Hot Chocolate aka Nun's Revenge

Ingredients:

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons half-and-half
1 teaspoon arrowroot or cornstarch
1 tablespoon sugar
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate (at least 70 percent cacao), chopped
2 to 4 strips orange zest for garnish

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of the half-and-half with the arrowroot, whisking until smooth.

2. Place the remaining 1/2 cup of half-and-half in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer. When the half-and-half begins to bubble around the edges, whisk in the sugar. Whisk in the arrowroot mixture until the half-and-half thickens slightly, usually less than a minute.

3. Remove from the heat and quickly whisk in the chocolate until smooth.

4. Pour into cups, top each with a piece of orange zest, and serve immediately.

Recipe credit: epicurious.com

*Whisks on Amazon.com

--StellaCadente*

Follow me on Twitter @pomodorista

The Advent of a New Tradition

Advent calendars were at the entrance of both of the two grocery stores I stopped in yesterday, a last-minute reminder that today, December 1st, is the day to open the first of the calendar's doors. 

Advent is the season of preparation and celebration prior to Christmas, a centuries-old tradition in Western Christian churches. But the Advent calendar was first introduced in Germany in the 1800s, and chocolate calendars, some secular, are a relatively new addition.

If you're new to the Advent calendar, then imagine an 2-inch thick calendar with 24 for more doors. Behind each door is a surprise, perhaps a holiday picture, a small toy or a wrapped chocolate. My daughter and I came across calendars in grocery and drug stores, and the variety of chocolate calendars alone was dizzying. 

After perusing them all, Playmobil, Barbie, and Milka, my daughter decided on a Kinder calendar that promises lots of chocolate inside. Maybe she'll share...

--Tracy Schneider