March 16, 2007, Chocolate, By Gonzalo Martinez,

In our pastry kitchen at Casa de Sierra Nevada, we create sweets ranging from apple and mango tart tatins with piloncillo sauce, to vanilla crème brulee, but no dessert is more popular than our chocolate fondant—chocolate cake that’s crispy on the outside and soft and melting inside.

Who doesn’t love chocolate?

Growing up visiting my grandfather’s farm in the state of Tabasco, we played among the cacao plants with their football-shaped fruit. Inside were white sweet pulp and cacao seeds, sometimes bitter in flavor. But the best treat was when we sat down in my grandmother’s kitchen, where she served us cups of rich hot chocolate made from those seeds, along with cookies, a piece of fresh baked bread, or some cheese and cinnamon, Oaxaca-style.

Let’s talk a little about the Mexican history of this sumptuous ingredient. Nobody knows for sure where the cacao plant originated, although legend says that the god Kulkukan traveled from paradise on the morning star to bring this “food of the gods” to the Mayan people in the Yucatán. Kulkukan was known as Quetzalcoatl to the Aztecs, who had the identical legend in their culture. Quetzalcoatl gave his people the gift of chocolate (cacahuatl in náhuatl), showed them how to toast the beans and grind them to make a drink called chocolatl. It was served with chile, and honey was sometimes added to curb the bitterness. Cacao was thought to be so valuable that the seeds were also used as currency by the Aztecs.

When the Spaniards arrived, they added milk and sugar to the drink, and considered it an elixir that cured illnesses and brought vigor and happiness to its drinkers. Early on, only noblemen and priests were allowed to drink chocolate, but of course now, cacao trees grow from Ecuador to Mexico, and all along the equator, in tropical weather zones. Chocolate was later used in the new fusion of food in Mexico. Mole, for instance, was created in a convent and grew to become one of our finest national dishes.

As a chef, I am grateful to the Italians for inventing incredible chocolate candies, and to the French for incorporating chocolate in mousses, cakes and soufflés.

Still, here in Mexico, we think the best way to enjoy chocolate is like abuela used to make it—a rich cup of traditional frothy cocoa, made with water or milk, mixed with masa to become atole or champurrado.

The most important part of preparation is using a molinillo to mix the chocolate particles and give it that rich foam. (A molinillo is a wooden tool, rounded on the end, with rings that allow for air-whipping.) And an important part of the tasting is to remember Quetzalcoatl for his magnificent gift that can be used a thousand ways, and always makes everybody smile.

Enjoy!!

Hot Chocolate with Almond Mescal

1 tablet Oaxaca chocolate

4 parts water

2 parts heavy cream

1 cinnamon stick

Dash of almond mescal

A touch of organic honey

Boil the chocolate tablet in water.

Add the cinnamon stick and heavy cream, and heat just enough to warm it.

Add the mescal and honey, using a molinillo.

Finally, holding the top of the molinillo, whip everything together until you get a good amount of foam.

Gonzalo Martinez is the Executive Chef at Casa de Sierra Nevada. Born in San Miguel, he spent 12 years working with renowned chefs in some of the finest US restaurants, including the legendary Windsor Court in New Orleans. Each month in Atención, Gonzalo shares recipes and secrets of seasonal products and innovative Mexican cooking. Next month: San Miguel’s organic vegetables. www.casasierranevada.com.