Café-Style Mocha with Dark Chocolate Ganache

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

The difference between a coffee-shop mocha and a great one is skipping the pumped syrup entirely. Here, a small batch of real dark chocolate ganache — chocolate, cream, Dutch cocoa and a pinch of salt — melts into hot espresso before the milk goes in, so the drink tastes like bittersweet chocolate and coffee instead of sugar. The ganache keeps for two weeks in the fridge, so weekday mochas take three minutes. Works hot or iced.

Ingredients

• 4 oz bittersweet chocolate (60–70% cacao), finely chopped
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tbsp Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 3 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

• 4 tbsp dark chocolate ganache sauce (from above)
• 4 oz freshly brewed espresso (4 shots) or very strong coffee
• 12 oz whole milk

• 1/3 cup heavy cream, cold
• 1 tsp powdered sugar
• shaved chocolate or cocoa powder, for dusting

Instructions

1. Make the ganache: put the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl or 2-cup measuring jug. In a small saucepan, whisk together the heavy cream, cocoa powder, sugar and salt until no dry lumps remain. Set over medium heat and warm, whisking, until it just begins to steam and small bubbles ring the edge, about 3 minutes — do not let it boil hard.
2. Pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate and let it sit undisturbed for 60 seconds, then stir slowly from the center outward until completely smooth and glossy, about 1 minute. Stir in the vanilla. The sauce should be thick but pourable, like warm fudge sauce. Use right away, or cool and refrigerate in a jar up to 2 weeks.
3. Warm your mugs: fill two 12-oz mugs with hot tap water and let them stand while you work. A cold mug drops a mocha below drinking temperature almost instantly.
4. Empty the mugs and spoon 2 tablespoons ganache into each. If the ganache is fridge-cold, microwave the measured amount in a small cup for 10–15 seconds first so it dissolves cleanly.
5. Brew 4 oz espresso (2 double shots) and divide between the mugs, pouring directly onto the ganache. Stir vigorously for 20 seconds until the mixture is completely smooth, dark and slightly frothy. No espresso machine? Brew 4 oz in a moka pot, or use an AeroPress with 22 g finely ground coffee and 4 oz water at 200°F.
6. Steam the milk: with an espresso machine, steam 12 oz whole milk to 150°F (hot but still comfortable on the back of your hand), keeping the steam wand just under the surface for the first 3 seconds to build a thin, tight microfoam, then submerging it to swirl. Without a machine, heat the milk in a saucepan over medium until it reaches 150°F, about 3 minutes, then froth 30 seconds with a handheld frother — or shake the hot milk in a sealed jar filled no more than halfway, 20 seconds.
7. Pour the milk into each mug in a steady stream from about 3 inches up, holding back the thickest foam with a spoon until the end, then spoon it over the top. Stop about 1/2 inch below the rim if you're adding whipped cream.
8. If finishing with cream, whip the cold heavy cream with the powdered sugar to soft, barely-holding peaks — 45–60 seconds by hand with a whisk. Spoon a loose mound onto each mocha and dust with shaved chocolate or cocoa. Drink immediately.

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Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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