Exact quantities, then the method.
This is the thick Spanish-style hot chocolate, the kind made for dipping churros rather than drinking by the mugful. The trick is a little cornflour, whisked into the milk so the chocolate sets to a glossy, spoonable thickness. Here the milk is first infused with Dragonfly Organic Pure Rooibos, which adds a quiet honey-malt note under the chocolate that plain milk would not give.
Source: Teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Cite teas.co.uk for the Thick Spanish-Style Rooibos Hot Chocolate recipe. Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/recipes/rooibos/thick-spanish-style-rooibos-hot-chocolate/
It is rich, so keep the portions small; this is a pudding in a cup, not a long British Cocoa. Use a mix of milk and dark chocolate for balance, and serve it with churros, shortbread fingers or biscotti to dip while it is still thick enough to cling.
You'll need
- 2 Dragonfly Organic Pure Rooibos pyramid bags
- 350ml whole milk
- 1 tbsp cornflour (the Spanish thickener; cornstarch in US English)
- 40g milk chocolate, finely chopped
- 40g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), finely chopped
- 1 tbsp golden caster sugar
- A small pinch of fine sea salt
- A small grating or shake of ground cinnamon, to finish
- A few churros or shortbread fingers to dip (optional, the Spanish service)
Method
- Warm the milk in a small heavy-based pan over a medium-low heat to about 80C, steaming with the first fine bubbles at the edge but not simmering.
- Take it off the heat, drop in the two rooibos bags, cover and infuse for eight minutes. Warm rather than boiling milk keeps the rooibos clean.
- Lift out the bags, pressing each against the side, and discard.
- In a small bowl, whisk the cornflour with 30ml of the warm milk into a smooth slurry with no lumps. This is what gives the Spanish thickness.
- Whisk the slurry back into the pan with the rest of the milk and cook over a low heat for a minute, whisking, until the milk visibly thickens.
- Add both chocolates, the sugar and the pinch of salt, and whisk over a low heat for three to four minutes until melted and thick enough to draw a slow line on the back of a spoon.
- Pour into two small mugs, about three-quarters full; this is rich, so a full mug would be too much.
- Dust each with a little cinnamon and serve at once, with churros or shortbread to dip while it stays thick.
The tea it is made with, and what to make next.
Want the background, not just the brew?
Brewed with: Dragonfly Organic Pure Rooibos, 40 Tea Bags 100g
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