As Christmas is just around the corner and winter has already made its way into our homes, what better way to enjoy the weather than to sip on the delicious mouth-watering hot chocolate and spiced mulled wine. Chef Sebastian Breitinger, Professor of Culinary Arts, and Chef Sujatha Madhavan, Associate Professor, Food Production at one of the best hospitality institutes in India, V. M. Salgaocar Institute of International Hospitality Education (VMSIIHE), share the secret to making the perfect mulled wine and hot chocolate for the festive occasion.
The secret to a perfect Hot Chocolate
Anyone can prepare hot chocolate with readily available ingredients but what’s important is making the best recipe for hot chocolate from scratch. The recipe by Chef Sebastian is unique, mouth-watering, and very delicious. “It is very simple and quick. One can also add spices like cinnamon which can really bring out the flavor of hot chocolate and that is the twist to this recipe. It is a perfect accompaniment to Churros and one can also add marshmallows to enhance the look of it,” explained Chef Sebastian.
What you will need:
1 litre Milk
50 ml fresh cream
1 Cinnamon Stick
50 g Sugar
220 g Dark couverture chocolate
50 g Milk couverture chocolate
20 g Cornstarch
Preparation:
Dilute the cornstarch in a little cold milk and heat the rest of the milk with some fresh cream, cinnamon, and sugar. Bring it to a boil and then add the cornstarch for the thickness. Bring to a boil again and pour over the couverture and mix until everything is combined perfectly.
The quintessential method of preparing Mulled Wine or Glühwein
Mulled Wine, also known as Glühwein in German is a spiced wine that is made for cozy and heart-warming holiday celebrations. It’s pretty simple and easy to make and more typically found in countries like Germany, Central Europe, Switzerland, Austria and others where it is usually snowy and cold. Explained Chef Sebastian, “The hot glass of Glühwein is perfect for the Christmas weather. A good quality red wine is a must for this recipe to turn out perfectly along with the must-haves, that is, the spices like cinnamon, star anise, cloves, peppercorns and so on. Peppercorns are the secret ingredient that makes this recipe stand out. Avoid using powders for spices as it will give a textured taste to the wine. Glühwein can be had on the next day as well with just a little heating up of the wine”.
What you will need:
100 g Brown Sugar
750 ml good quality red wine
1 lime, zest and juice
1 Orange, zest and juice
2 pzc. Cinnamon stick
1 pzc Star Anise
2 cloves
8 Peppercorns
2cl Brandy
Preparation:
Empty a bottle of good quality red wine into a utensil and heat it. Add the spices to the wine one by one and then add the orange zest and juice. When adding the lime juice, add it little by little as it might affect the taste of it. Add a little bit of brandy to enhance the mixture and let it simmer for around 3hours so as to get the flavors of the spices. Reheat slowly whenever needed and enjoy.
