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Homemade Mexican Chocolate Blend
This recipe was developed by Zarela Martinez in her book The Food and Life of
Oaxaca. This blend can be used to make your own Mexican cocoa drinks such as
Champurrado (chocolate Atole) or just hot chocolate.
mexican
molinillo (chocolate whisk) used to froth Mexican hot chocolate
Ingredients
1 pound (about 2 1/2 cups) raw, dried cocoa beans
1 pound (2 cups) superfine sugar
1 tablespoon freshly ground canela (Mexican cinnamon
1" of 1 stick)
Tools
A molcajete (Mexican mortar and pestle) or a metate y mano
Heavy skillet or comal
Escobeta or wooden spoon
Food processor |
The Process
Warm the mortar or metate
Preheat your oven to 175 degrees. Place your molcajete y tejolote (mortar and pestle) or
your metate and mano in the oven and allow it to warm while you roast the cocoa beans.
Roast and prepare the beans
Use your comal or a heavy (cast iron is best) skillet large enough to hold all the beans
in one single layer. Use two skillets if necessary. Place the pan(s) over
medium-low heat and roast the beans slowly for 40 minutes, stirring constantly with the
escobeta or a wooden spoon. This long roasting time brings out the cocoa butter and
produces a rich flavor. When the beans are properly roasted the medium-brown skins
will become brittle and turn a lighter brown with darkened spots. Remove the toasted
beans to a large heatproof bowl; when they are just cool enough to handle, peel off the
skins by rubbing between the palms of your hands. They are easier to peel when they are
still warm. (The beans can be kept warm in the preheated 175 degree oven if needed).
Grind the beans
Heat the blade and the workbowl of a food processor by rinsing it in very hot water for a
few minutes. Dry very thoroughly before assembling the machine. Place the beans in
the workbowl and process for 2 minutes, until the beans are finely ground. You
should see the powder beginning to darken and look oily, a sign that the cacao butter is
starting to separate; if not, continue to process for another 20 to 30 seconds. With
the motor running, add the sugar and canela through the feed tube, a little at a time and
process until everything is evenly combined.
If you have no mortar and pestle, the mixture will probably remain too crumbly to hold
together. This is perfectly acceptable. Let cool complete and store as room temperature in
a tightly covered container.
Blend the chocolate and prepare the chocolate disks
If you are working with the mortar or metate, remove it from the oven using padded oven
mitts while working the chocolate. Let cool enough to handle safely. Working in
batches that will fit comfortably in your mortar or on your metate, grind the mixture by
hand until it glistens and begins to come together. this usually takes at least 15 to 20
minutes; rewarm the mortar or metate as necessary. As the mixture becomes satiny and
compact, press it firmly between your hands to form round cakes about 2 inches across and
1/4 inches thick. Set them aside on the counter as they are done and let sit 2 to 3
hours or until thoroughly dry. Wrap the tablets individually in aluminum foil and
store at room temperature. the mixture will keep up to 6 months at room temperature. Uses and More Information
Basic Hot Chocolate
Mix about 1/2 cup (3 ounces) of the homemade chocolate mixture with 3 cups warm
milk. Froth with a molinillo and serve in mugs.
Other Hot Drinks - The most traditional use for chocolate was for hot
beverages such as Atole, Champurrado and Mexican Hot Chocolate. Learn more about Mexican Hot Beverages. Also see the recipe links on this page.
Atole is frequently served with tamales. Champurrado is also served as a dessert
with Churros or a sweet bread call Pan Dulce. These
drinks are whipped up using a wooden whisk called a molinillo (moh-lin-nyee-oh) (or, a
blender). The whisk is held between the palms of your hands. Then using a back and
forth motion the whisk moves back and forth in the mixture until it is aerated and frothy.
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mexican beverage kit
This Mexican Beverage Kit is available at GourmetSleuth.com.
View
All Mexican Cooking Tools in our catalog. We sell
Ibarra chocolate as well as Mayordomo chocolate from Oaxaca.
How To Make Chocolate, the Old Way...
In this century most people simply buy chocolate. In some villages chocolate is
still made by hand. The cocoa beans are roasted, then ground using a metate y mano
that has been heated over coals. The crushed, heated beans melt and are combined
with sugar, spices and sometimes nuts.
The picture below shows a woman making chocolate using a nice large metate y mano.
Woman making chocolate using the traditional
metate y mano. Photograph from: RCI Endless Vacation, March/April 2002. This is from an
exhibit at the Field Museum, in Chicago,
Illinois. Recipes
Mexican
Hot Chocolate - Mexican chocolate mixed with warmed milk then frothed with a
molinillo.
Champurrado - A special hot chocolate thickened with masa
and flavored with piloncillo and aniseeds.
Atole - A warm almost porridge-like drink made thick with masa.
The chocolate version is Champurrado, other versions are flavored with fruits or nuts. |
