Thursday, December 5, 2013

Bicerin: A Chocolate and Coffee Drink



The Christmas season is the perfect time to try new rich and chocolaty drinks and I am always in search of new ones. Recently while perusing one of my favorite cookbooks, Luscious Chocolate Desserts by Lori Longbotham I discovered a chocolate drink that was new to me, it's called Bicerin. Pronounced "beech-en-Reen", bicerin is a favorite drink in the Piedemont region of Italy. Traditionally it is served in a small glass so that you can see each layer, I skipped that and just whisked all of the ingredients together. 




Bicerin

2 cups whole milk
2 cups of hot strong brewed coffee
3 ounces of bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
3 tablespoons of sugar or to taste

Bring milk just to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Meanwhile, pour the hot coffee into a heatproof pitcher or glass measuring cup and whisk in the chocolate and sugar until smooth. Then whisk in the hot milk. Taste and add more sugar if you prefer it a little sweeter. Serves 4-6.




This drink is perfect for a cool, lazy Saturday afternoon with friends. I hope that you try it and the many others I will be posting this month to celebrate the holidays.

If you would like to know more about the history of Bicerin or places in Italy to try it David Lebovitz wrote a great post about it HERE.

2 comments:

Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe said...

This looks like a perfect drink to serve when a couple of friends stop by for the holidays.

greenthumb said...

Sound really tasty.