10 Minute Treat: Hot Espresso-Chocolate

Looking at other people's blogs can be very inspiring. If you want a new way to pamper your guests on a Friday night, the possibilities seem endless. But what most of us really need, are ways to get us through our busy lives without having to settle for bakery cakes or ye olde spaghetti bolognese five days a week. That's why I've decided to share some of my little everyday tricks that fill out the vast space in between my more demanding kitchen projects. Here's the first one in a series of quick and easy ways of putting your inner snack beast to rest. This is one of my favourites: Hot Espresso Chocolate:

All you need is:

• 2 espresso shots/small cups of strong coffee
• 2 cardamom capsules (optional)
• 2 decilitres of milk
• A splash of cream (optional)
• 40 grams of dark chocolate
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla sugar (optional)
• A pinch of salt

1) Make two espresso shots using an espresso jug as seen above or here. If you don't have any such thing, I suspect a strong cup of fresh coffee or maybe even Nescafé could do the trick. I use two tablespoons of espresso for two decilitres of water. Throw in two slightly squeezed cardamom capsules (as pictured in the tin on the left) with the coffee (or in the coffee grinder if you have one) and make the espresso.

2) While the coffee is boiling pour two decilitres of milk (add a tiny splash of cream for that extra feeling of luxury) into a saucepan, add a pinch of salt, the vanilla sugar and heat it slowly. Meanwhile chop up the chocolate and add it to the milk when it has started building tiny creamy bubbles at the edges of the saucepan. Stir it until the chocolate has dissolved completely but don't let it boil.

3) Pour the fresh coffee into a nice cup. Whisk or froth up the hot chocolate (I use my Bodum French press but a regular whisk will do too) and pour it into the coffee.

4) Serve the drink and enjoy the instant comfort og two pleasures in one: Espresso and hot chocolate. If you're feeling adventurous I can recommend adding a touch of chili to the chocolate. That really takes it to the next level. But still, it shouldn't take you more than 10 minutes to make this: