RECIPE - Cupuaçu "Hot Chocolate" (Leite Queimado com Cupuaçu)

Creative Brazilian chefs, paying attention to the botanical relationship between cacau (the source of chocolate) and cupuaçu, an Amazonian fruit that is a close relative of cacau, are beginning to explore the possibilities of substituting cupuaçu for chocolate in recipes - seeing when and where this substitution might result in an interesting "it's-chocolate-but-it's-not" moment.

In a recent series of articles in the Estado de S. Paulo newspaper on the culinary uses of cupuaçu seeds, Brazilian food writer and blogger Neide Rigo posted some reinterpretations of standard chocolate recipes, substituting cupuaçu. Things like a mole-style sauce for chicken, a mousse, and a chip-laden cookie, all of which replace chocolate with cupuaçu.

She also recreates hot chocolate with cupuaçu seeds, and the result is a creamy, sweet drink that's perfect on a damp or chilly day. (Incidentally, contrary to what many people believe, there are damp and chilly days in Brazil - either in the far south, or in high-altitude locations elsewhere in the country.)
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RECIPE - Cupuaçu "Hot Chocolate" (Leite Queimado com Cupuaçu)
makes one drink

10 cupuaçu seeds
1 cup whole milk
2 Tbsp sugar
1 clove
small piece of cinnamon stick
small piece of lime zest - green part only
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In a blender combine the cupuaçu seeds and the milk, and process completely. In a saucepan, caramelize the sugar (click here to read about caramelizing sugar). Add the mixture from the blender, the clove, the cinnamon and the lime zest to the caramelized sugar, stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved. Bring rapidly to the boil, then remove from the heat, cover and let stand for 10 minutes for the flavors to blend.

Pour the liquid through a sieve into another small saucepan, and heat to just below the boiling point. Serve immediately.