Spanish-Style Chocolate, Frothy with a Molinillo
A hot, thick, frothy drink made from ground cacao whisked with a molinillo, sugar, and cinnamon. The exotic luxury that stirred salons and medical faculties of the Grand Siècle.
A hot, thick, frothy drink made from ground cacao whisked with a molinillo, sugar, and cinnamon. The exotic luxury that stirred salons and medical faculties of the Grand Siècle.
Ah, chocolate! Here is a fashion about which my Diafoiruses would debate for three acts: does it heat or cool the humors? Melt the cacao paste in hot water, add sugar and a hint of cinnamon, then beat it all with the molinillo between your palms until a pleasant brown foam rises. I take a cup, leave the doctors to their big words, and assure you this is better than a bleeding.
- •Cacao paste (chocolate from the Indies) — one piece (base, novelty of the century)
- •Sugar — to taste (sweetens bitterness)
- •Cinnamon — a pinch (Spanish-style spice)
- •Water — one cup (liquid (milk was rarely used))
Spanish-Style Chocolate, Frothy with a Molinillo
A hot, thick, frothy drink made from ground cacao whisked with a molinillo, sugar, and cinnamon. The exotic luxury that stirred salons and medical faculties of the Grand Siècle.
Why this dish? Chocolate made its entry at court under Louis XIV, a costly novelty hotly debated by doctors — the very ones Molière skewered in his comedies. A fashionable drink in bourgeois homes of his time, it suits the character who mocked new fads.
Ah, chocolate! Here is a fashion about which my Diafoiruses would debate for three acts: does it heat or cool the humors? Melt the cacao paste in hot water, add sugar and a hint of cinnamon, then beat it all with the molinillo between your palms until a pleasant brown foam rises. I take a cup, leave the doctors to their big words, and assure you this is better than a bleeding.
Ingredients (period version)
- Cacao paste (chocolate from the Indies) — one piece (base, novelty of the century)
- Sugar — to taste (sweetens bitterness)
- Cinnamon — a pinch (Spanish-style spice)
- Water — one cup (liquid (milk was rarely used))
Ingredients
- Dark chocolate 90% (close to cacao paste) — 40 g (base)
- Cane sugar — 2 tsp (to taste) (sweetens)
- Ground cinnamon — 1 pinch (spice)
- Hot water — 250 ml (liquid)
Method
- Heat the water without boiling, melt the chocolate in it while stirring.
- Add sugar and cinnamon, mix until dissolved.
- Whisk vigorously (with a whisk or frother) to create a thick foam.
- Pour boiling hot into small cups and serve immediately, before the foam subsides.
How it was made : At the time, chocolate was prepared with water, whisked with a 'molinillo' inherited from the Spanish, and heavily spiced with cinnamon or vanilla — which remained rare. Its consumption was hotly debated by doctors as to its virtues and dangers, a subject ripe for Molière's satire against medicine.
The contemporary twist : Serve in tiny 'intermission-sized' cups with a cinnamon stick as a stirrer, for a break between acts.
Molière · Charactorium