It’s such lovely weather, ain’t it? Perfect for a cosy date, basking in the winter sun. Perfect to spend hours together, chatting and forgetting the track of time. Perfect to clutch onto your glass of hot chocolate as tightly as you can till it is still warm. The last leg of winter becomes even more special with Valentine’s week. Whether or not you believe in showering your loved ones with roses or gifts, you sure like to share a drink with them. Chef Vanshikha Bhatia of Le Petite Pie Shop, has come up with a special winter menu for her Gurugram eatery, especially for this season.
‘Tis the season to indulge, and ‘tis also the season for all things warm and comforting and Le Cordon blue alum has kept all these things in mind before curating the menu. Chef Vanshika shared recipes of three of her favourite drinks from the menu too. All three drinks are classic winter drinks, but with a twist. For instance, the hot chocolate comes with the luscious goodness of condensed milk, hot chocolate and vanilla syrup, but alongside, the tropical flavour of coconut cream, makes the beverage even richer and cosy.
Similarly, as we all know pumpkin is regarded as the fruit of winter and fall. When you mix its blended puree with a shot of espresso, whipped cream and cinnamon, you can have a drink that is not only intensely satiating to the core, but also wholesome, rejuvenating and flavourful.
The Hot Toddy is also spiked with spices such as cloves, cinnamon, star anise, However, the gamechanger here is the spiced honey and apple and orange juice. And it works and how!
Here are the detailed recipes of the three winter drinks you would love to make for your beloved.
Coconut Hot Chocolate
- 180ml milk
- 30ml condensed milk
- 10g Dark chocolate 70%
- Cocoa powder 1tsp
- Vanilla syrup 5ml
- Coconut cream 1tsp
- Garnish with whipped cream
1. Pour all ingredients in a saucepan, mix well and let simmer on medium heat.
2. Pour into a mug and top up with whipped cream
Pumpkin Spiced Latte
- One shot of espresso
- 15ml pumpkin puree
- Hot milk
- Whipped cream
- Cinnamon
1. Pour one shot of espresso into a cup
2. Add 15ml pumpkin puree and mix well with espresso
3. Pour steamed milk with a little bit of froth into the cup
4. Top up with some freshly whipped cream
5. Sprinkle some cinnamon onto the cream and garnish with a cinnamon stick
Hot Toddy
- One cup Water
- One tea bag Black tea
- Star Anise, Cloves, Cinnamon etc (all spice mixture)
- 30ml Spiced honey syrup
- 60ml Apple/Orange Juice
- Garnish with- Dehydrated orange, cinnamon stick
1. In a saucepan, add water, tea, and honey
2. Add cinnamon, cloves, star anise, or any other spice available and simmer on low heat
3. Add apple juice to the pan and bring to a boil
4. Strain into a warm glass
5. Garnish with dehydrated orange/ orange peel/ orange slice.