Creamy water chocolate is a delicious and light beverage, a comforting “comfort food” preparation, perfect for warming us up on cold autumn or winter evenings or when we crave a sweet chocolate-flavored treat. Despite the absence of milk or butter, this preparation has nothing to envy from the traditional recipe; it is just as tasty, aromatic, and can be sipped either hot or cold. It is a suitable recipe for everyone because it contains no eggs, gluten, or lactose. My mother used to prepare this delicacy for us on special occasions or as a quick spoon dessert, flavoring it with orange peel; in summer, she used lemon peel, which pairs just as well with chocolate. The creamy water chocolate can be sweetened and flavored, depending on personal taste, with honey or sugar.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 1
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons, Autumn, Winter
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 3 tbsp gluten-free unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 oz 50% dark chocolate
- to taste spices of your choice
- to taste honey or sugar of your choice
Steps
In a large saucepan with high edges (this is important), put the water, spices (grated peel of orange or mandarin or lemon, or ground cinnamon, etc.), and the dark chocolate. Heat the water over low heat.
As soon as the water is hot, add the sifted unsweetened cocoa and stir continuously until the mixture comes to a boil.
The “secret,” if we want to call it that, to make a beverage creamy without dairy is precisely to bring it to a boil multiple times; let me explain further.
– Let the boil rise up in the saucepan, then stir quickly to bring it down and prevent it from overflowing. Repeat this operation at least three or four times, stirring quickly each time (with a whisk or fork) and being careful not to burn yourself (it might be enough to just move the saucepan off the stove for a few seconds); in this way, the chocolate will thicken more and become creamier. In total, the chocolate should cook for about 10-12 minutes.
If you want even thicker chocolate, you can add 25 grams of cocoa instead of 20.
When the chocolate is ready, let it cool for five minutes, sweeten it with granulated sugar or honey, and then we can enjoy our delicious and creamy water chocolate, perhaps accompanied by cookies.
