Part 5

In preparing it as a beverage for the table a mistake has been frequently made in considering chocolate merely as a flavor, an adjunct to the rest of the meal, instead of giving it its due prominence as a real food, containing all of the necessary nutritive principles. A cup of chocolate made with sugar and milk is in itself a fair breakfast.

There is much to be said in favor of preparations of the whole bean which secure all of the valuable nutrition contained in this “food for the gods,” and rightly understood, it is possible to make them more important articles of diet than they now are. But since the large percentage of fat seems to require correspondingly large quantities of sugar to render the beverage palatable, and this very rich, sweet drink soon cloys if made strong enough to be nutritious, it is, fortunately, possible to extract the larger part of the fat without injury to the flavor so characteristic of chocolate. In this form, called cocoa, less sugar and more milk are needed, and the resulting beverage suits even delicate stomachs, and is yet of high food value.

It is the object of all cooking to render raw material more palatable and more nutritious, and therefore more digestible. The cooking of cocoa and chocolate is no exception to this rule. Certain extractive principles are soluble only in water which has reached the boiling-point; and the starch, which the seed contains, is swollen only at this temperature.

Chocolate or cocoa is not properly cooked by having boiling water poured over it. It is true that as the whole powder is in suspension and is swallowed, its food material can be assimilated as it is when the prepared chocolate is eaten raw; but in order to bring out the full, fine flavor and to secure the most complete digestibility, the preparation, whatever it be, should be subjected to the boiling-point for a few minutes. In this all connoisseurs are agreed.

RECEIPTS.

BY MISS PARLOA.

PLAIN CHOCOLATE.

For six people, use one quart of milk, two ounces of W. Baker & Co.’s No. 1 chocolate, one tablespoonful of corn-starch, three tablespoonfuls of sugar, and two tablespoonfuls of hot water.

Mix the corn-starch with one gill of the milk. Put the remainder of the milk on to heat in the double-boiler. When the milk comes to the boiling-point stir in the corn-starch, and cook for ten minutes. Have the chocolate cut in fine bits and put it in a small iron or granite-ware pan; add the sugar and water, and place the pan over a hot fire. Stir constantly until the mixture is smooth and glossy. Add this to the hot milk and beat the mixture with a whisk until it is frothy. Or the chocolate may be poured back and forth from the boiler to a pitcher, holding high the vessel from which you pour. This will give a thick froth. Serve at once.

If you prefer not to have the chocolate thick, omit the corn-starch.

CHOCOLATE MADE WITH CONDENSED MILK.

Follow the rule for plain chocolate, substituting water for the milk, and adding three tablespoonfuls of condensed milk when the chocolate is added.

CHOCOLATE; VIENNA STYLE.

Use four ounces of vanilla chocolate, one quart of milk, three tablespoonfuls of hot water, and one tablespoonful of sugar.

Cut the chocolate in fine bits. Put the milk on the stove in the double-boiler, and when it has been heated to the boiling-point, put the chocolate, sugar, and water in a small iron or granite-ware pan and stir over a hot fire until smooth and glossy. Stir this mixture into the hot milk, and beat well with a whisk. Serve at once, putting a tablespoonful of whipped cream in each cup and then filling up with the chocolate.

The plain chocolate may be used instead of the vanilla, but in that case use a teaspoonful of vanilla extract and three generous tablespoonfuls of sugar instead of one.

BREAKFAST COCOA.

Breakfast cocoa is powdered so fine that it can be dissolved by pouring boiling water on it. For this reason it is often prepared at the table. A small teaspoonful of the powder is put in the cup with a teaspoonful of sugar; on this is poured two-thirds of a cupful of boiling water, and milk or cream is added to suit the individual taste. This is very convenient; but cocoa is not nearly so good when prepared in this manner as when it is boiled.

For six cupfuls of cocoa use two tablespoonfuls of the powder, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, half a pint of boiling water, and a pint and a half of milk. Put the milk on the stove in the double-boiler. Put the cocoa and sugar in a saucepan and gradually pour the hot water upon them, stirring all the time. Place the saucepan on the fire and stir until the contents boil. Let this mixture boil for five minutes; then add the boiling milk, and serve.

A gill of cream is a great addition to this cocoa.

CHOCOLATE CAKE.

For two sheets of cake use three ounces of W. Baker & Co.’s No. 1 chocolate, three eggs, one cupful and three-fourths of sifted pastry flour, one cupful and three-fourths of sugar, half a cupful of butter, half a cupful of milk, half a teaspoonful of vanilla extract, one teaspoonful and a half of baking powder.

Grate the chocolate. Beat the butter to a cream and gradually beat in the sugar. Beat in the milk and vanilla, then the eggs (already well beaten), next the chocolate, and finally the flour, in which the baking powder should be mixed. Pour into two well-buttered shallow cake-pans. Bake for twenty-five minutes in a moderate oven. Frost or not, as you like.

VANILLA FROSTING.

Break the white of one large egg into a bowl, and gradually beat into it one cupful of confectioner’s sugar. Beat for three minutes, add half a teaspoonful of vanilla extract, and spread thinly on the cakes.

CHOCOLATE ICING.

Make a vanilla icing and add one tablespoonful of cold water to it. Scrape fine one ounce of No. 1 chocolate and put it in a small iron or granite-ware saucepan with two tablespoonfuls of confectioner’s sugar and one tablespoonful of hot water. Stir over a hot fire until smooth and glossy, then add another tablespoonful of hot water. Stir the dissolved chocolate into the vanilla icing.

CHOCOLATE ICE-CREAM.