Baked Hot Chocolate

I don’t know anyone who does not LOVE hot chocolate. It’s so rich, delicious, and best of all, it brings back those memories of snow days with no school and jackets and snowsuits. It’s like a hug in a mug. I just thought that up (its early in the morning, bear with me) but it’s so cute. A hug in a mug.If it’s possible to make hot chocolate even better, I didn’t know about it until this month. One day there was a small story for baked hot chocolate on the Wall Street Journal website. It was the most heavily trafficked ‘story’ of the day. What that says about us, the day, or hot chocolate in general is going to have to be debated by others that do not include the sleepyhead over here on this end of the computer.

The “key” to this recipe (says WSJ.com), is the quality of the chocolate. Make this with the best quality chocolate you can. Sister M got a huge 5 pound Hershey’s bar from boyfriend M and his family. Mom and I set about chopping that up last weekend and we reserved 9 ounces for this recipe; Mom even brought M a sample in a disposable cup. Lucky college girl that she is!

Baked Hot Chocolate (adapted from WSJ.com)
Serves: 4
9 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
6 tablespoons butter, cut into cubes
4 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup whipping cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Arrange four 8-ounce ramekins or mugs in a baking pan. Melt chocolate and butter together in a saucepan. Whisk occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside. Stir eggs and sugar together in a mixing bowl, then pour into double boiler set over simmering water. Stir until warm to the touch. Remove from heat. Beat egg mixture with an electric beater until light and fluffy (3-5) minutes. Gently fold egg mixture into chocolate mixture. Spoon batter into ramekins/mugs. Add enough very hot water to baking pan to come halfway up sides of mugs or ramekins. Bake until the tops lose the glossy shine (about 15-20 minutes). Carefully remove the roasting pan, and then remove ramekins or mugs from the roasting pan. Meanwhile, beat the whipping cream until soft peaks form. Top the ramekins / mugs with whipped cream. Serve immediately.

If you want, you can prepare them ahead of time (one day). To reheat, bring them to room temperature and then heat them in a 350 degree oven until warmed through (about 8 minutes). Gooey deliciousness!

Until the next time my oven is on…