Grimoire Page: Myrddin's Damnably Delicious Hot Chocolate

I wanted to do something nice for all my readers to celebrate A Practical Guide to Sorcery's 222nd chapter, and Stefanie stepped up to the plate and helped make it happen! Feast your eyes on Myrddin's spiced hot chocolate recipe.

Text: Myrddin's Delicious Spiced Hot Chocolate Recipe

Traveling for three months to collect rare spices is worth it, just for this. A bit of burn deepens the comfort. In my not-so-humble opinion, better than a shot of whiskey for soothing the mind without loosening the Will. 

Ingredients:

• 3 ½ cups cream top milk of a magical cloud-sheep

• 1 heaping cup semisweet or dark chocolate broken into shards or chips

• ½ teaspoon ground cardamom

• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon

• ⅛ teaspoon shaved mandrake or ginger root (optional)

• 1 sprinkle of flaming kashmiri chili pepper (optional)

• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

• 1 tablespoon honey or sugar

• 1 pinch of salt, or maybe several (optional)

Directions:

• Warm milk in a saucepan gradually over medium-low heat.

• Add spices (except for cayenne) and vanilla, whisking frequently to blend.

• Stir in chocolate pieces, add more milk (or water) if it’s too rich.

• Stir in salt and sugar to taste.

• Sprinkle chili pepper on top. 

Myrddin’s notes:

Milk from a magical sheep is definitely best. Any breed will do, as long as they haven’t been getting at the wild herbs and garlic, and have been kept well away from the bucks. If you are in a pinch, cow milk would do. Goat’s milk if you are careful or feeling reckless. Plant-based milks can also work. I imagine coconut or hazelnut would be delightful, oat would be naturally creamy, and cashew might be silky smooth. 

If you can’t access magical ingredients, mundane milk can be substituted, ginger instead of mandrake, and normal peppers instead of flaming.

Any thaumaturge with basic control of heat can turn this into a refreshing summer treat with a bit of ice and an extra splash of vanilla. Very popular with everyone in the Tataroc Desert.


Author Note: Stefanie took charge on this one and did an absolutely AMAZING job. I hope to collaborate with her to do more of these ultra-awesome grimoire excerpts soon.