Spicy Chocolate Recipes

[Laurie Ann March]

Here are some recipes… I will apologize for any grammar issues in the ones labelled "Another Fork in the Trail" as I won't have the final files back from the editor until later today or tomorrow. This is the début for those two recipes and the book will be on shelves very soon, as layout starts this week.

Mayan Hot Chocolate
©2008 A Fork in the Trail

Make 4 servings

The movie Chocolat was the inspiration for this drink.

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup Nestle Nido or whole milk powder
1 tablespoon powdered coffee creamer
1/4 cup vanilla sugar
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon crushed red chili pepper

At Home
Mix the dry ingredients together, and place them in a ziplock freezer bag.

At Camp
Shake the bag of dry ingredients to ensure they are well combined. Place 4 tablespoons of mix in a cup and carefully fill it with 8 ounces of boiling water. Stir until the ingredients dissolve. Repeat for each desired serving.

Note: I usually grind the crushed red chili pepper in a mortar and pestle or you can use a pinch of cayenne if you like more heat. If you don't like powdered coffee creamer just use a little more milk powder.

Mayan Black Bean Brownies
©2010 Another Fork in the Trail
(Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten Free)

Makes 4 servings

I’ll never forget the day I first served these to my son Tobias. I was waiting for the grimace because they were made with beans. Instead I got a remark about his father being in the woods and his query as to whether he could devour his Dad’s portion too. I figured that was a pass for this recipe. If you like the combination of salt and sweet you could sprinkle a little coarse salt on the top right before baking.

1/6 cup almond meal
1/6 cup black bean flour (see note)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa or carob powder
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 cup cocoa nibs, mini chocolate chips or carob chips
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/3 cup almond butter
1 teaspoon store-bought egg replacer or the enough homemade egg replacer to make 1 egg
1/8 cup plus enough water for the egg replacer

At Home
Mix the almond meal, black bean flour, cocoa powder, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, cocoa nibs, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper together and place in a ziplock freezer bag. Put the egg replacer powder in a snack sized ziplock bag with a note stating how much water to add for 1 egg. Put this bag in the bag with the dry ingredients. Add the almond butter to the other almond butter that you are taking on your trip or package it in a leakproof container and add it to the bag with the dry ingredients.

At Camp
Add the water to the egg replacer as indicated on your note and set aside. Melt the almond butter in a pan over low heat. Remove from the heat and add 1/8 cup of water, and the egg replacement mixture, to the freezer bag containing the dry ingredients and mix well. Pour the batter into a into a pot or pan lined with parchment paper, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick or knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool and serve. Wrap any leftovers in plastic wrap for the next day.

Note for Black Bean Flour from the Intro Chapters of Another Fork in the Trail…

Bean Flours
While you can buy flours such as chickpea or soybean flour, I often make my own. The texture isn’t quite as fine as commercially available bean flour but that is preferred for some recipes.
Take several cups of cooked and cooled chickpeas or garbanzo beans and puree them in a food processor. Spread on lined dehydrator trays and dry for 5 to 7 hours at 135°F or until the mixture resembles dried cracked earth. Grind the dried beans into a powder — a spice or coffee grinder works best for this.

Chickpea/Garbanzo bean flours are good for items such as flatbread and bannock. Black bean flour is wonderful for baked goods such as brownies or chocolate cake. White bean flour is best for baked goods such as white cake where the batter is a light color.

Chai Hot Chocolate
©2010 Another Fork in the Trail
(Ovo-Lacto Vegetarian and Gluten Free)

Makes 4 servings

This decadent and spicy hot chocolate can be made with white or milk chocolate or a combination of the two. It makes a great dessert or a warming treat on a snowy hike.

1/3 cup white chocolate or milk chocolate
1/2 cup Nestlé Nido or other whole milk powder
1/8 teapsoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon cardamom
1/8 teapsoon cinnamon
1/16 teaspoon cloves
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

At Home
Grind the white chocolate in a coffee grinder or blender until the chocolate is in fine pieces. Mix the chocolate and spices with the powdered milk, and place the powder in a ziplock freezer bag.

At Camp
Shake the bag of dry ingredients to ensure they are well combined. Place 3 heaping tablespoons of mix into a cup and carefully fill it with 8 ounces of boiling water. Stir until the ingredients dissolve. Repeat for each desired serving.

Tip
Don’t use chocolate chips for this recipe. They tend to clump because they are made to hold their shape, to an extent, when heated.

[Michael Cockrell]

Chai Hot Chocolate:

I think you left something out of the ingredents?

. . . Grind the freeze-dried berries until . . .

[Michael Cockrell]

After reading the ingredients for these Hot Chocolate drinks (sugar, creamer, etc.) . . . I now know why we trim off map edges, cut off spoon handles, etc.

THE Bay Area hikers pack in home-brew, whisky is also discussed a lot.

Hot Chocolate, Camp baked brownies, camp-baked pizza, enhanced musli, etc.

TO

EAT

MORE!

[Will Webster]

We refer to our local organization as an eating club with a hiking disorder.

[Diana Vann]

I'm getting ready to start an intense project, so I won't have a lot of spare time for a couple of weeks. But when I'm done, I'll hunt up the ingredients and give these recipes a try.

Thanks for posting them. They look delicious!

[Laurie Ann March]

sorry for the mistake in that… I went in and edited. These are just going through edits now… lol.

I like that Will. For us eating well adds to the experience. It's not for everyone though. Some people just want calories.

Diana… let me know how they work out for you.

[Diana Vann]

I finally had time to hunt down the ingredients needed to try a few of the chocolate treats everyone posted a few weeks ago.

Laurie Ann,

Loved the Mayan Hot Chocolate!

I don't like using coffee creamers, so I used more Nido than the recipe called for (an option you mentioned).

Your exact recipe is delicious, but I also tinkered with the final mixture (just a little) to make it suit my own palate.

I left out the crushed red chili pepper, substituting a blend of chili powder that includes the following ingredients:

Cumin, oregano, garlic (yes, garlic!), coriander, allspice & cloves. I think any kind of chili powder anyone happens to prefer would work well with this recipe.

Also, I used regular sugar (instead of vanilla sugar), and added a drop of an organic vanilla extract at the end. Sometimes for long expeditions, I take along small dropper bottles of things like vanilla. But I found that I also liked the hot chocolate without adding any vanilla to it at all; so leaving the vanilla behind all together would work just about as well for me.

[Laurie Ann March]

thank you… I'm going to have to try it your way. I've never had garlic with hot chocolate but you have me completely curious!

[Diana Vann]

Fortunately the garlic did not stand out as a separate flavor. I knew that before I used it in the hot cocoa recipe because I had also tried using this same chili powder blend in the "Mexican Pudding a la Bittman" recipe Greg shared in the Cocoa mix thread .

If you're interested in the specifics of the blend, I found it at an incredible
market near Seattle. It's bulk item #460. Perhaps they would share their source.

[Laurie Ann March]

thanks Diana… maybe I can talk one of my friends out there into picking some up for me. I adore unusual mixes and spices. I often put coriander in my coffee for something different… speaking of which – there is a pot calling my name.

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

Marlenes has 2 locations – Tacoma and Federal Way – the FW one being in an old REI 2 story building. Lovely natural foods store and locally owned as well. But not exactly near Seattle…lol!

[Diana Vann]

From Seattle you can be at the Federal Way store in a half hour.

[Diana Vann]

Laurie Ann or anyone else who wants to sample it.

I don't mind the short drive to the FW store. So if anyone wants to try this mixture, I'd be happy to mail you a small ziplock baggie of it. Just PM me with your address.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

L,L,Laurie, Thanks for y,your chocolate reciepes. I'm a chocaholic and this w,will be a g,g,good fixxxxx!

Seriously, tonight I had dark chocolate ice cream with Hershey's chocolate syrup on it and a square if /Trader Joe's semi-sweet Belgian chocolate. "Too much is never enough." (Old Victorian interior decorator's motto.)

[Diana Vann]

Hi, Laurie Ann,

I received your PM about the chili powder sample. I sent you a reply PM. Let me know if you did not receive it. I'm ready to mail you the sample–I just need a mailing address.

[Laurie Ann March]

Hi Diana… I did receive it. I've been down with a terrible cold and baby has it too. I should be replying to emails today.

[Laurie Ann March]

Hi Diana,

Your parcel of the spice mixture from Marlene's arrived today. It smells wonderful.

Thank you.

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