The Best Recipe for Homemade Hot Chocolate With Red Wine (2024)

FAQs

What is the common ingredient in chocolate and red wine? ›

For example, both chocolate and wine have tannins in them. These polyphenols are the reason your mouth dries out after taking a sip of dry red wine or eating a morsel of dark chocolate.

A successful chocolate and wine pairing is vivid; producing enhanced sensations and tastes across the palate, revealing hidden flavors in both, for the first time. As a general rule of thumb, pair white wines with a lighter chocolate, such as white or milk chocolate, creating complimentary flavor profiles.

Adding a splash of alcohol like rum, brandy, or whisky can transform your hot chocolate into a truly indulgent and sophisticated drink.

Something like a Merlot or even a Merlot-based Bordeaux will balance the chocolate's sweetness with light fruit and, in some cases, a slight earthiness. Red blends are natural pairing options due to their penchant for being a bit more fruit-forward. In fact, any fruit-forward wine will work.

Some research has shown that antioxidant polyphenols, including resveratrol, may have anti-inflammatory properties and improve cardiac health. Both red wine and cacao—the unprocessed source of chocolate—have high amounts of polyphenols. Research in mice has shown large amounts of resveratrol improve cardiac health.

Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, and Merlot are winners. For higher cacao percentages, you may have to go for sweeter wines that balance the bitterness. Some ideas are Ruby Port or Italian dessert wine.

The simplified answer is that chocolate contains fat (cocoa butter) and alcohol contains water. The fat in the chocolate and the water in the alcohol repel each other causing the chocolate to seize. When chocolate seizes it becomes grainy and hard - essentially unusable.

Pair nutty chocolate with: Bourbon, rye or Scotch

For chocolate that has naturally nutty flavors, like single-origin bars from Central America or Venezuela or nut-studded confections, whiskey is your best bet. Look for bottlings with hints of walnut or almond.

Flavorful add-ins can transform simple hot cocoa into something special. Sweet add-ins include marshmallows, whipped cream, caramel, flavored spreads, and maple syrup. To transform cocoa into a co*cktail, add flavored liqueurs or traditional spirits.

Does alcohol cook out of hot chocolate? ›

It is hard to believe but, once cooked, about 70-75% of its alcohol content remains on the plate. It is a different matter when alcohol is mixed with an ingredient and then heated to boiling point. After 15 minutes, 40% of the alcohol remains, after 30 minutes 35%, and only after two and a half hours 5%.

Marshmallows: The Unsung Hero

Believe it or not, the secret ingredient in gourmet hot chocolate is none other than marshmallows. These fluffy, sweet confections are the unsung heroes of the hot chocolate world, adding a delightful creaminess and hint of sweetness that takes the drink to a whole new level.

Although hot chocolate doesn't necessarily need an even more creamy, decadent taste, using milk certainly enriches the experience. We suspect that milk adds a creamier taste than water alone, and when combined with the notes of chocolate, the smooth undertones of the milk simply add a delicious backdrop.

Cornflour/Cornstarch: Mix a small amount with cold milk or water to create a smooth paste. Whisk this into your hot chocolate towards the end of the cooking process until it thickens. Double Cream: Stirring in a splash of double cream can instantly enrich and thicken your drink, giving it a velvety texture.

Wine is more like Chocolate than most people think. They are both from a fruit and are fermented as a part of the creation process. There are important “flavor notes” for both (when chocolate is pure). Both present unique and interesting flavor profiles.

Resveratrol in Wine and Chocolate

Separate studies by the Harvard Medical School also confirm the anti-aging health benefits associated with resveratrol present in dark chocolate and red wine. Results of the study show that resveratrol can stimulate SIRT1 production.

A wine lover might actually be identifying a chemical compound shared with cherries or chocolate, compounds like esters, pyrazines, terpenes, thiols, lactones and more. The influence of specific fermentation yeasts and oak barrels can introduce even more flavors and aromas.

Some of the compounds you find in chocolate are also formed when you ferment a cabernet grape and stick it in a barrel made of oak. That's why cabernet can smell like chocolate. It's not your imagination, it's Mother Nature, and it's very, very cool.