Hot Chocolate from Agatha Christie’s Poirot Mysteries

So, I guess this is the part where you get the fact that I’m a huge, huge, huge Agatha Christie fan.

I mean, I don’t fangirl or anything as a general rule, but I really enjoy reading Christie’s mysteries. Because of this, I think it’s only fitting that my first recipe on Literary Lunch should be a recipe based on Hercule Poirot’s favorite drink. Actually, I should say one of his favorite drinks.

Everyone knows that the Belgian detective doesn’t actually drink tea or coffee or alcohol. He drinks tisanes, sirop de cassis, and chocolate. Tisane, by the way, is an herbal brew similar to chamomile. Frankly I find chamomile tea nice but a little boring to feature here. Sirop de cassis is basically blackcurrant juice, and at that I’m tempted to echo Hastings’s snort of disgust.

So we’re going to go with chocolate, really rich and thick chocolate that makes your eyelids droop and your stomach heavy. It’s the sort of thing you sip slowly on a cool afternoon while curled up in a big leather chair with The Mystery of the Blue Train.

Or, if you’re me, you drink your portion down in two gulps and discover why chocolate is meant to be drunk slowly.

I did a bit of research on European hot chocolate, and I discovered something interesting. Apparently the reason it’s so thick is because it’s thickened with cornstarch. Or you can make it with heavy cream and lots of real chocolate, but that’s a bit out of my price range. Here’s a recipe I came up with that I’m sure will stimulate your little grey cells.

Hercule Poirot’s Hot Chocolate

20 minutes | serves 4

Ingredients:

2 oz. dark chocolate, grated (I used 75% dark chocolate)

1 Tbsp. half & half

3 cups milk

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. cocoa powder

1 tsp. cornstarch

1 tsp. cinnamon

Generous pinch of coarse sea salt

Method:

In a double boiler over medium heat, stir half & half and grated chocolate until the chocolate is melted. Add milk and stir until thoroughly heated.

In a small bowl, stir together remaining ingredients. When the milk is steaming, whisk in the dry ingredients. Continue gently whisking until the milk begins to thicken.

Pour into four small cups and serve immediately!