Champurrado

Champurrado

A thick, warming Mexican chocolate atole thickened with masa harina and scented with cinnamon and vanilla. Traditionally sipped during Día de los Muertos and cold winter mornings.

Prep

5 min

Cook

25 min

Total

30 min

Serves

4

Difficulty

Easy

Recipe ingredients

• •1000 ml (4 cups) whole milk, or split half milk / half water for a lighter drink
• •250 ml (1 cup) water
• •60 g (½ cup) masa harina, instant corn flour for tortillas; do not substitute cornmeal
• •100 g (3½ oz) Mexican chocolate (Abuelita, Ibarra, or Mayordomo), discs roughly chopped; see note if substituting
• •50 g (¼ cup) piloncillo, unrefined Mexican sugar, chopped; or substitute dark brown sugar
• •1 stick Mexican cinnamon (canela), true canela (Cinnamomum verum, Ceylon) is traditional; cassia is acceptable
• •5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla extract
• •1 g (¼ tsp) fine salt

Steps

1. 1 Whisk the masa harina into the 250 ml (1 cup) of cool water in a small bowl until completely smooth with no lumps. Set aside.
2. 2 In a heavy saucepan, combine the milk, 60 g chopped Mexican chocolate, piloncillo, cinnamon stick, and salt. Heat over medium, whisking often, until the chocolate melts and the piloncillo dissolves, about 5 minutes.
3. 3 Pour the masa slurry into the saucepan in a thin stream while whisking constantly to prevent clumping.
4. 4 Continue cooking over medium heat, whisking frequently and scraping the bottom, until the champurrado thickens to a pourable, light-pudding consistency, 12–18 minutes. Do not let it boil hard; reduce the heat if it begins to bubble vigorously.
5. 5 Remove the cinnamon stick. Stir in the vanilla. Taste and add more piloncillo if you want it sweeter.
6. 6 Serve hot in mugs or clay jarritos. Optional garnishes: a small pinch of ground cinnamon, a few drops of vanilla, or a Mexican chocolate shaving.
7. 7 Note on substitutions: if you cannot find Mexican chocolate, use 60 g (2 oz) dark chocolate (70% cacao) plus ¼ tsp ground cinnamon and 1 tbsp sugar to approximate the cinnamon-spiced profile. If you must use cornmeal instead of masa harina, soak 80 g medium-grind cornmeal in the water for 30 minutes, then blend smooth and strain before whisking into the milk, as unprocessed cornmeal will not dissolve the same way.