On a recent adventure to Peru, to climb the Inca Trail, we stumbled upon The Choco Museo, a chocolate museum in Cusco. We were exploring the main square in need of some lunch, thinking we should enjoy the local cuisine, we searched for a tasty Spanish influenced option. Many suggestions ended with let’s stop for ice cream. Little did we know, this amazing ice cream is actually scooped in a cute café within a chocolate museum.
In a quick review of the café dessert menu, we quickly realized chocolate, chocolate, chocolate is the main feature. We decided to forgo the ice cream for now and go with Churros that are dipped in chocolate, and, why not, some hot chocolate too.
Churros are yummy fried sticks of dough, almost like a choux pastry (the dough in cream puffs) than sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon. Perfect when served warm and dipped in chocolate.
The hot chocolate is served the same. Can’t you just taste it? Chocolate is melted and mixed with steamed cream, so creamy and velvety smooth.
Definitely the right chocolate choice from the menu, as we jump into local cuisine. Not sure Churros and hot chocolate count for lunch, but a sweet treat to start our adventure in Peru.
TIPS from the PRO..
- Hot Chocolate is best made with chopped chunks of chocolate, melted, not cocoa powder which can cause clumps
- Use REAL dark chocolate for the best flavour, as milk chocolate will be too sweet
- Heat the milk/cream just until small bubbles start to form, don’t scald the milk.
DID you know ..
- Churros are traditional in Spain and Portugal and brought to Peru during the early 19th century
- Cacao is a superfood: full of antioxidants. BUT during the roasting process cacao loses 75% of its nutrients, so Chocolate is not nearly as good for your health.
- To be RAW Cacao, it cannot be heated over 60C.
