Champurrado Recipe

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Champurrado is one of those drinks that feels like winter wrapped around your hands. Thick, creamy, and full of chocolate, it almost sits somewhere between hot cocoa and porridge, in the best way possible.

I made this for Christmas, and honestly… it hits harder than any hot chocolate packet ever could. You get body from the masa harina, warmth from the cinnamon, sweetness from piloncillo (or gula melaka for a Southeast Asian flex), and that deep kick from Mexican or Filipino tablea.

Its roots go way back, long before cafés and Christmas mugs. Champurrado comes from atole, a pre-Hispanic drink made by Indigenous Mexicans using masa and water. After cacao was introduced into the mix post-colonial era, champurrado became a staple, especially served with tamales during Día de los Muertos and Christmas posadas.

Filipino versions exist because of 300+ years of Spanish colonial trade; tablea culture runs deep on both sides. Two different countries, one shared chocolate soul.

If you’ve only ever had hot chocolate from a tin, give this a go. It’s thicker, heartier, and it honestly tastes like tradition. You can play around with sweetness, make it dairy-free, or even spike it with a little rum if it’s that kind of night.

I think everyone deserves at least one mug of champurrado this season, it just feels right.

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Ingredients:

(Serve 2)

• Water, 500g

• Cinnamon Sticks, 1 + More For Serving

• Piloncillo / Gula Melaka, 75g

• Masa Harina, 50g

• Whole Milk, 500g

• Mexican / Filipino Chocolate Tablea, 45g + More For Grating

• Sea Salt, Pinch

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Equipment:

• Sauce Pot

• Hand Blender / Milk Frother / Molinillo

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Directions:

1. Infuse the cinnamon

2. Add the water and a cinnamon stick to a pot.

3. Heat gently until it begins to simmer.

4. Cover and let it steep so the water absorbs that cinnamon flavor.

5. Sweeten the base

6. Add piloncillo (or gula melaka).

7. Stir over gentle heat until it fully dissolves.

8. Thicken with masa harina

9. In a small bowl, mix masa harina with a splash of water until smooth and paste-like (no lumps).

10. Whisk this paste into the pot — it will start to thicken slowly.

11. Add the milk and chocolate

12. Pour in the milk.

13. Add the tablea.

14. Stir over medium-low heat until the chocolate melts completely and the mixture thickens.

15. Blend for texture

16. Fish out the cinnamon stick.

17. Remove the pot from the heat.

18. Blitz with a hand blender or milk frother until smooth and slightly aerated.

19. If you have a molinillo, whisk the traditional way.

20. Adjust the taste

21. Taste and add a bit more sugar if you want it sweeter.

22. Add a pinch of salt to deepen the flavor.

23. Give everything a final whisk.

24. Serve

25. Pour into serving glasses.

26. Top with grated chocolate and a cinnamon stick if you like.

Super chocolatelicious...

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Recipe Video: