It's February, my favourite month of the year, and even though there isn't much snow, it's still winter, so we might as well treat ourselves with a lush strawberry white hot chocolate. As I have said before, in Europe, hot chocolate is served thick and made with real chocolate, sometimes even with a consistency of a custard, so it is always a real treat, especially if you use a high quality chocolate bar.
This is especially important when using white chocolate, as white compound chocolate is not something you want to use for this type of recipe. I generally tend to steer clear of them in all desserts, but beverages are really sensitive to the type and quality of chocolate you use, so find a good, real white chocolate bar, and enjoy this delicious pink hot chocolate. If you are serving this to the little ones, omit the strawberry liqueur.
Ingredients
500 ml whole milk
3 tablespoons cornflour
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
50 grams freeze-dried strawberries, crushed
100 grams real white chocolate
2 tablespoons strawberry liqueur
Preparation
Pour the majority of milk into a heavy-bottomed saucepan, and place it over medium-high heat. Pour the rest of the milk into a small bowl, then sift in the cornflour and the freeze-dried strawberries; whisk it very well, add in the dark brown sugar, and blend well. Once the milk has come to a gentle boil, pour in the cornflour mix, and cook it over medium-high heat, for about 2 minutes, until it thickens. It will resemble a runny custard.
Once thickened, remove it from the heat, and immediately add in the chopped up white chocolate. Let it stand for a minute or two, so the chocolate starts to melt, then add the strawberry liqueur, and whisk vigorously until the chocolate has melted completely. Serve it hot, with some freshly whipped cream on top, and some dark chocolate shavings, if you wish. Yields 2 servings.
