Cayenne hot chocolate.

I'd been meaning to exhibit this recipe of mine for while. It's simple but versatile and I like to think it hearkens back to chocolate's ubiquity as a savoury ingredient taken with meats and spices. Fiddle with it and come up with your own variations!

I used:

Unsweetened baking chocolate (1 ounce pieces).

Cayenne pepper.

Coarsely ground black pepper.

Homogenised milk. (Get your giggling out of the way.)

Brown sugar.

Whipped cream. (For topping.)

I chopped up the chocolate (about three chunks) and melted it, then slowly and carefully stirred in some milk. How you do this part is really up to you. I handle the melting of chocolate so poorly that it would make the sturdiest of chocolatiers weep.

Once the milk mixture is smooth, I add in the spices (about a teaspoon of Cayenne and just a dash of black pepper) and then add brown sugar to taste, whisking frequently.

Warm it up, pour it, cap it with whipped cream (and a dash of brown sugar for photographic purposes) and you're done!

Now for the interesting part.

I handed the beverage first to my sister, who sniffed it, declared it delicious, and tasted it.

She choked. Then coughed. Then said, with a look of baleful unhappiness: "It's spicy."

It's not! I declared. I used hardly any pepper at all!

As if to prove my point, I passed it on to my mother who... well, let me allow her notes to speak for themselves.

oh, dear. Hit hard by the cayenne. burns. barely taste the chocolate. Cannot drink it.

Hm.

Ah, well. More for me.

In conclusion, let me say that this drink will be no challenge at all for a lover of spice. If you're not, though.... Consider replacing the cayenne with something more to your taste.