I've been hearing a lot about the combination lately. I've tried it in mexican hot chocolate, and it was so good.
I just found a source on it:
http://www.hungrybrowser.com/phaedrus/m123001.htm
This is not as odd a combination as it might seem. Cayenne and chcolate accentuate each other very well. Original hot cocoa, the kind drank by the Aztecs, contained chili pepper. Some recipes for hot chocolate even today call for a pinch of cayenne or other chili pepper. There's a sauce in Mexican cooking, called molé, that contains chocolate and cayenne. Below are examples of both of these, plus several other recipes that contain chocolate and cayenne.
Phaed
Hot, Hot Chocolat
2 cups milk
1 cinnamon stick
2 to 3 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon vanilla
Dash salt
Pinch of ground dried cayenne
Whipped cream (optional)
In a heavy saucepan, heat the milk with the cinnamon stick and
chocolate over low heat. Stir until chocolate melts. Add ground
cinnamon, salt, and vanilla. Whisk until foamy. Pour into cups.
Stir in a pinch of powdered cayenne chili.
Top with whipped cream if desired.
Makes 2 to 3 servings
--------------------------
Chocolate Cayenne Truffles
9 oz semisweet chocolate
3/4 cups butter
4 tsp cayenne pepper
6 Tbsp cream
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
Melt chocolate, butter and cayenne in a double boiler, or a bowl
in the microwave. Stir well.
Remove from heat. Mix in cream and powdered sugar. Stir well.
(The sugar will stick together in small lumps if you aren't vigorous
about it.)
Cover, and chill overnight.
Make a mixture of:
1/3 cups powdered sugar
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
2 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
Scoop out the chocolate, one tablespoon at a time. Mold it into balls
(this is messy; get used to it.) Roll the balls in the powder mixture
to coat them.
Put them back in the fridge, until serving time.
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Chocolate Three-Chile Molé
Categories: Sauces
Yield: 3 Servings
3 1/2 oz Chilies Ancho
3 1/2 oz Chilies chipotle
3 1/2 oz Chilies Mulatto
4 tb Lard
1/4 c Raw sesame seeds
4 Corn tortillas (6" dia),
-cut into 1/2" strips
1 c Finely chopped onions
1 c Chopped seeded tomatoes
1/2 c Chopped fresh cilantro
-(coriander)
1 Bay leaf, crushed
1/2 ts Ground cinnamon
1/2 ts Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 ts Salt
1/4 ts Ground cloves
1/2 ts Ground cumin
1/2 ts Cayenne pepper
1/2 ts Oregano
4 oz Bittersweet chocolate,
-chopped
3 1/2 c Chicken stock
1/2 c Cashews, toasted and chopped
Cover all the chilies and soak for 30 minutes. Reserve
1/3 cup (3 fl oz/80 ml) of the soaking water. Stem and
seed the chilies In a medium skillet, heat 1 tb of the
lard over medium heat. Fry the chilies for 30 seconds
on each side. Remove the chilies from the skillet and
add the sesame seeds; stir until toasted lightly,
about 1 minute. Remove the sesame seeds from the
skillet and set aside. Add 1 tb of lard to the skillet
and, when hot, add the tortilla strips; fry until
soft, about 2 minutes.
Place the chilies, sesame seeds, tortilla strips and
reserved soaking water in a blender and puree to a
paste; set aside. In a large skillet, heat the
remaining 2 tb lard over med-high heat; saute the
onions until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the
tomatoes and cilantro and cook for 2 minutes. Add the
bay leaf, cinnamon, pepper, salt, cloves, cumin,
cayenne and oregano and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes,
or until well blended. Add the chopped chocolate and
continue cooking and stirring until the chocolate is
melted, about 2 minutes. Add the chicken stock and
cashews and bring to a boil. Add the pureed chili
mixture and stir well. Lower the heat and simmer,
uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 15-20 minutes,
or until the mixture thickens and the flavors have
blended. Serve with grilled pork tenderloin, duck
breasts, chicken or turkey.
Makes about 3 cups
-------------------------------------
CONEJO EN SALSA DE CHOCOLATE
Categories: Game
Yield: 6 Servings
2 Rabbits, about 2 1/2 pounds each
1 c Olive oil
2 lg Garlic cloves, peeled, minced
3 c Finely chopped onion
1 c Finely chopped stringed celery
1 Carrot, peeled, grated
1/4 ts Ground cloves
1/2 ts Ground cardamom
1/8 ts Cayenne
1 c Port
3 Morcilla (black) sausages, peeled, chopped (see note)
2 oz Unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 c All-purpose flour
8 c Chicken stock (or water)
1 tb Coarse salt
3 tb Chopped fresh cilantro
From "The Art of South American Cooking," by Felipe Rojas-Lombar.
Wipe rabbits inside and out with a damp cloth. Remove and set aside
kidneys and hearts. Cut each rabbit into 3 sections: hind legs, loin
and front legs; separate legs, leaving loin in 1 piece. Heat olive oil
in a saute pan; add rabbit and saute over medium heat for 20 minutes,
or until brown on all sides, turning frequently. Set aside. Pour off
all but 1/4 cup oil from pan. Add garlic and onions and saute over
medium heat, stirring, until onions start to turn golden, about 10
minutes. Add celery, carrot, cloves, cardamom and cayenne. Add port,
stir and cook until evaporated. Add sausages and cook 1 minute.
Add chocolate, stir, sprinkle flour on top and cook another minute,
stirring. Add 3 cups stock and the salt; bring to a boil, stirring
constantly. Lower heat; simmer about 25 minutes, until thickened,
stirring now and then. Add remaining stock and bring to a boil over
medium heat. Add rabbit and giblets. Lower heat to minimum, cover,
and cook for 1 hour and 10 minutes, stirring now and then and scraping
bottom of pan, or until rabbit is tender and sauce is enriched and has
thickened again. Transfer to a serving platter, sprinkle with cilantro,
and serve.
Note: Morcilla sausages often can be found at Hispanic groceries.
----------------------------------------------------------
Hot Chocolate Earthquakes
Makes 4 1/2 dozen cookies
The pepper flavor grows in your mouth and you realize that the cayenne
actually boosts the chocolate.
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
3/4 cup granulated sugar (plus 1/3 cup for rolling the cookies)
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon hot red cayenne pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Heat the butter in a large saucepan until just melted. Remove from heat
Whisk in the cocoa, sugars, cayenne and salt until smooth, and stir in
the eggs.
Sift the flour and baking soda into the pan and stir until completely
blended. Stir in the chocolate chips.
If the dough is too soft to work with, cover and chill it until firm.
Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and roll in the additional sugar.
Arrange the balls 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes or until the tops are cracked
(The cookies will be very soft). Do not bake the cookies longer or they
will lose their chewy texture. Let the cookies cool completely on the
sheets and transfer them to airtight containers.
-------------------------------------------
CHOCOLATE CHICKEN
2 -2 1/2 lbs. chicken, cut up
3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1-2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. anise seed
1/2 cup almonds, chopped
1/2 cup peanuts, chopped
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp salt
3 tomatoes, chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
1/2 tsp. fresh pepper
2 tsp. hot crushed red peppers
1/8 tsp. cayenne (or to taste)
Sesame seeds
Brown chicken in a medium skillet in hot oil. Remove to a large
(13x9x2) cake pan or baking dish. Pour oil from skillet and add
the stock. Simmer 5 minutes. Mix cocoa with vegetable oil to form
a paste. Add cloves, cinnamon, anise seed, and blend. Stir spice
mixture into simmering stock and simmer 5 minutes more, stirring
occasionally.
Pour mixture over the chicken parts. Cover and bake in preheated
350-degree oven until chicken is tender (around 1 to 1 1/2 hours).
Serve sprinkled with sesame seeds!
-------------------------------------
Chocolate Pepper Cookies
6 oz unsweetened chocolate
2 cups + 2 Tbsp all purpose flour
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) margarine or butter at room temperature
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup powered sugar
50-60 cherry halves or almond slivers
Chop chocolate and melt in top of double boiler until smooth. Cool.
Combine flour and next five ingredients in medium bowl. Using
electric mixer, beat 1 3/4 cups sugar and margarine in large bowl
until light. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then vanilla and chocolate.
Gradually add dry ingredients, mixing until combined. Chill dough
until firm, about 2 hrs in refrigerator, 1 hr in freezer. Preheat
oven to 350. But parchment paper on twp cookie sheets. Placed
powered sugar in shallow pan. Form dough into less than 1 inch
balls, and roll each in sugar to lightly coat. Arrange cookies on
baking sheets, spacing 1 1/2 inches apart. Press one cherry half
into center of each cookie. Bake until cookies puff and crack,
12-18 minutes. Cool. Cookies will be crisp first day, brownie-like
second day.
