Frozen Mint Hot Chocolate

April 28, 2006 at 2:59 pm (Alice Medrich, B plus (3.5 stars, like a lot), Dessert, Ice cream & toppings, Quick weeknight recipe)

I love mint hot chocolate, but who wants to drink a hot beverage in the heat of the summer? That’s why this recipe from Alice Medrich’s cookbook “Chocolate and the Art of Low-Fat Desserts” is so nice. It makes a thick slushy chocolate-y rich-tasting dessert, without much work or too many calories. Medrich suggests a number of variations: malt, mocha, orange, lemon, and mint.  Being a chocolate mint freak I naturally chose the mint option.

Frozen Mint Hot Chocolate

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsweetened dutch processed cocoa
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 3/4 cup milk
• scant 1/4 tsp. mint extract (optional)

Instructions:

1. In a small saucepan, combine the cocoa and sugar. Stir in a few tablespoons of milk to form a smooth paste. Stir in all but 2 Tbs. of the remaining milk and the mint extract (if using). Stir over low heat until the mixture is warm and sugar is dissolved.
2. Pour into a shallow pan or ice-cube trays, cover well, and freeze for at least 6 hours or overnight. (The mixture can be frozen for 1 week or more).
3. Break frozen mixture into chunks with a fork or a table knife. Place chunks in a food processor bowl fitted with the steel blade. Process with the remaining 2 Tbs. milk until no lumps remain and mixture is thick and light in color. Serve at once in frosted goblets as a spoon drink or scrape into a bowl, cover, and refreeze for at least 8 hours or overnight. Scoop and serve frozen.

Serves 6 to 8.

Note: Increase or decrease the richness of this concoction to your taste by varying which type of milk you use (nonfat, lowfat, or whole).

Instead of the mint extract consider some of Medrich’s other variations: 2 Tbs malt powder, 4 tsp. instant espresso powder or freshly ground espresso beans, or 1/2 tsp. orange or lemon zest.  I’ve also considered trying a Mexican version with cinnamon and chiles, cinnamon and coffee, or cinnamon and almond extract.

Update July 14, 2013:

I haven’t made this recipe in years, but wanted a quick, relatively light dessert for a warm summer night.  I served it as the third course after a fennel, beet, annie’s salad and black bean and sweet potato brownies.  The oven had made the kitchen quite warm, and this cold, chocolatey, minty dessert made a nice refreshing end to the meal.  It hit the spot.  Even Derek really enjoyed it.

I used whole milk, but skipped the heating step.  I just made the paste then stirred in the rest of the milk and the extract and put it directly in the freezer.  I think my not-so-scant quarter teaspoon of mint extract wasn’t quite scant enough, as the final product ended up very minty.  Even after six hours in the freezer my hot chocolate wasn’t yet frozen.  I had checked it twice and given it a stir, so it was relatively evenly frozen.  The edges of the container were just a little harder than the center.  Since it was already pretty icy and slushy I just skipped the food processor step and served it directly from the freezer. It would have preferred it if it was a bit more frozen, but it wasn’t bad.  I didn’t chill my dessert glasses, though, so it started melting pretty quickly. I served it with a sprig of mint and a cherry, which helped improve its otherwise quite homely  “brown sludge” appearance.

Rating: B+ (especially taking into account how easy it is)
Derek: B+

Nutritional Information

Per serving (1/6 of the recipe made with whole milk):  193 calories, 5.2g fat, 4.8g protein, 33.7g carbs, 30.4g sugar, 13% calcium

Per serving (with 1% milk): 144 calories, 2.3g fat, 4.6g protein, 29.6g carbs

Here are the stats per serving using 2% milk and six servings:

Calories 176
Total Fat 3.2g
Saturated Fat 1.9g
Cholesterol 9mg
Sodium 66mg
Carbohydrate 34.4g
Dietary Fiber 2.1g
Sugars 31.9g
Protein 5.9g
Vitamin A 5%
Vitamin C 2%
Calcium 17%
Iron 6%