Cardamom & Orange Blossom Infused Hot Chocolate and Winter Surfing

I have finally reduced the hours of my full time employment down to a four day week this week so that I can concentrate more on my cooking school and food ventures. So the first Friday off was spent redoing my cooking school website, scheduling future classes and working on my Pacific culinary tour business plan…..wrong. The surf was perfect after many weeks of howling winds and stormy seas, the sun even peeped out for a few hours and my surf buddy also had the day off. So we called a board meeting at Maori Bay (our local beach) to discuss the finer points of growing a business in-between catching a few waves, well that’s my story if hubby asks what I did for the day anyway!

It’s winter in Muriwai and the water is 14C but we often get good surf at this time of year and less surfers crowding the water. It does mean you need a good thawing after a dip though and I knew just the thing, hot chocolate infused with cardamom and orange blossom water.

Ingredients – per person one large mug

50g Dark 70% chocolate, chopped

1cup milk

2 cardamom pods

2 drops of orange blossom water

Method

Heat the milk and cardamom pods in a saucepan to almost boiling.

Add the chocolate and orange blossom water and whisk until combined.

Serve hot and enjoy
Note: don’t be tempted to use more orange blossom water as it really is quite strong and fragrant.