Silky White Hot Chocolate with Vanilla Bean & Sea Salt

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Real white chocolate melted slowly into vanilla-steeped milk and cream, then blended until it froths — thick enough to coat a spoon but never cloying. A generous pinch of flaky salt and a strip of orange zest keep the sweetness in check, which is the whole trick most versions miss.

Ingredients

• 7 oz good white chocolate (couverture bar or discs, cocoa butter listed high on the label)
• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise (or 2 tsp vanilla bean paste)
• 2 strips orange zest, peeled wide with a vegetable peeler
• 1/2 tsp flaky sea salt, plus more to finish
• 2 tsp cornstarch (optional, for extra body)

• 1/2 cup heavy cream, cold, for whipping
• 1 tsp powdered sugar
• freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 oz white chocolate, for shaving over the top

Instructions

1. Chop the 7 oz of white chocolate into pieces no larger than a pea and pile it in a heatproof medium bowl. White chocolate scorches easily, so small, even pieces are what let it melt from residual heat alone.
2. Combine the milk, 3/4 cup heavy cream, the split vanilla bean (scrape the seeds into the pot and add the pod), orange zest strips, and 1/2 tsp flaky salt in a heavy 2-quart saucepan. Warm over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the surface steams and the mixture reaches 170°F on an instant-read thermometer, 6 to 8 minutes. Do not let it boil.
3. Slide the pan off the heat, cover, and steep 10 minutes to pull the vanilla and citrus oils into the dairy.
4. If you want a thicker, spoon-coating drink, whisk the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of the warm milk mixture in a small cup until smooth, then whisk it back into the pan and return to medium-low heat for 1 to 2 minutes, whisking constantly, until very slightly thickened. Skip this step for a lighter, more drinkable version.
5. Fish out the vanilla pod and orange zest. Pour about one third of the hot dairy over the chopped chocolate and let it sit undisturbed for 1 minute, then whisk from the center outward until you have a smooth, glossy paste. Add the remaining dairy in two more additions, whisking smooth after each. If any chocolate refuses to melt, set the bowl over the still-warm (off-heat) saucepan for a minute — never over direct flame.
6. Blend for froth: use an immersion blender in the bowl for 20 to 30 seconds, or transfer to a countertop blender, cover the lid with a towel, and pulse 4 or 5 times with the lid vented. The mixture should lighten in color and build a 1/2-inch cap of foam.
7. Whip the cold 1/2 cup cream with the powdered sugar to soft, floppy peaks — it should just barely hold a shape.
8. Taste the hot chocolate and correct the salt; it should taste rounded and faintly savory at the edges, not just sweet. Pour into four small mugs (this is rich — 6 oz per serving is plenty), spoon on the soft cream, shave white chocolate over the top with a vegetable peeler, and finish with a grating of nutmeg and a few flakes of salt.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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