Chocolate Martini Redux

Almost ten years ago I posted a recipe for a very different style of chocolate martini. Most of the variants of this drink I have tried have had a chocolate taste but a texture that seems incongruously light and watery. Not this one; it’s dense and rich like melted chocolate.

It was the top hit on my web site for many years, but my recent web site migration means the original URLs have gone dark. So here’s the recipe again, just in time for the holidays!


Chocolate Orange Martini

Chocolate Martini
If you’ve made chocolate sauce, you’ll know that you melt chocolate and then keep it liquid when it cools by adding a solvent – usually fat (in the form of cream). It struck me that one could probably use alcohol instead. Here’s roughly the recipe I use; it makes shots for at least 10 people.

  • 1 bar high cocoa ratio chocolate (150g)
  • Grated chocolate for garnish
  • Chocolate truffle per glass (optional)
  • 200 ml vodka
  • 100 ml curaçao or other triple sec/orange liqueur
  • 50 ml single (pouring) cream
  • 75 ml coconut cream (not coconut milk or coconut water)

Melt the chocolate carefully (I use a double-boiler) and when it’s liquid slowly stir in the vodka 25ml at a time to start with and then 50ml at a time. Then shake with everything else with plenty of ice in a large cocktail shaker. Strain and serve – I recommend straining into a small jug so that the melting ice doesn’t dilute the drink too much as you’re carefully pouring it.

Although I show it here in cocktail glasses, the drink is so rich and dense that I suggest serving it in shot glasses instead.  Garnish with a dusting of grated chocolate from the same bar you used for the drink. Optionally serve with a single rich chocolate truffle in the bottom of the glass as a reward.

A New Easter Tradition

The Water Of LifeWhen the children were small, Easter eggs were a repeat of the excitement of Christmas. But now they are adults, I’ve decided we need a new Easter tradition that’s safer than all that sugar and more authentic than eggs.

There are two data points I’ve considered. First there’s the evidence of Dr Robert Lustig’s research on the effects of sugar. You can watch the video (which is probably the most important hour of video I have watched recently) but the relevant advice in this context is to treat sugar as if it were alcohol – in moderation and knowing it will harm you otherwise.  Second, the Gaelic expression for “water of life” is uisge beatha, which has given us the English word whisky.

Joining these together, it does no more harm to drink whisky than to eat chocolate; in fact, since it’s easier to detect the effects of whisky on your body, it may well be safer than chocolate. Whisky is also sufficiently symbolic of the message of new life at Easter to make an ideal token. As a consequence, I’ve decided on a new tradition for the adults in our extended household who consent. Instead of chocolate eggs, they each have 200ml bottles of single malt whisky.

This year it’s Caol Ila, and we’ll be toasting new life with the water of life a little later. Happy Easter!

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