The Champurrado is the Mexican version of hot chocolate, made with corn flour, dark chocolate, cinnamon, and milk.
I accompanied it with some sweets made of peanut flour.
El Día de los Muertos is a pre-Columbian Mexican celebration in memory of the deceased.
It is usually held between October 28 and November 2, and commemorates the deceased by type of death and age: for example, October 28 some communities celebrate those who died in accidents and suicides and on the 31st, children.
We were fortunate to participate during our trip to Mexico in November 2023.
During the festival, graves are adorned with candles, flowers, bread, wine, and special dishes in honor of the ancestors.
Many leave the bed free for the souls of the deceased on the night of November 1. Some typical foods are: acidic fruits, citrus, semi-sweets, tamales, meat, and aromatic herbs.
People mainly cook and donate the foods and drinks favored by the deceased.
The traditional sweets to place on the altar are the bread of the dead, sugar skulls (on whose forehead the name of the deceased or the living eating it is written to give a humorous tone to the party), and chocolate.
Among these is Champurrado, which is also a typical sweet of the Mexican Christmas holidays.
Especially during Las Posadas, the novena celebrated usually each year between December 16 and December 24, served with tamales.
Traditionally served in colorful ceramic cups, it is considered the chocolate version of atole (with masa whipped using a wooden whisk called molinillo) a very sweet drink with corn flour spread in Central America and made with piloncillo (Mexican cane sugar), which can be substituted with the more classic whole cane sugar.
There are many different types of recipes to prepare champurrado.
The authentic one is made using Mexican chocolate like the brand “Abuelita“.
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Cheap
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Boiling
- Cuisine: Mexican
- Seasonality: Christmas, Day of the Dead
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup masa harina (or white corn flour)
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 cups milk
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3.5 oz 70% dark chocolate
- 2 1/2 cups water
Steps
Atole is made by toasting the masa (corn flour) on a comal (griddle), then adding the water boiled with cinnamon sticks.
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler and add it to the masa.
Then incorporate the milk and bring to a boil, add the chocolate and sugar, stirring to prevent lumps.
Let the champurrado boil for a few minutes until it reaches the desired consistency.
Pour into a decorative Mexican terracotta bowl or cup.
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The corn flour used here is masa harina, which is the dried version of corn dough treated with lime, but you can use white corn flour found in ethnic stores or online like Pan Bianco or Maseca.
