Bicerin, a speciality drink from Turin, Italy

[Paul]

some time ago I found myself in a little piemonte town. in a cafe there I was served bicerin. At the time I thought it was a regular kind of choc/espresso thing. For some reason, I found myself thinking of it this morn so I dug up a couple of links to share:

http://www.cioccola-to.com/english/specialita/bicerin

Bicerin is a traditional hot drink native to Turin, Italy, made of espresso, drinking chocolate and whole milk served in layers a small rounded glass.

Has anyone had a true, layered bicerin in turin? I think i'll pull out some little glasses tonight and have a play to see how difficult the layering process is.

[cannonfodder]

That is a new one on me, but it sounds quite good. I may have to try that one out.

Thanks for sharing.

[CafSuperCharged]

Chips.
I just was in Torino two weeks ago and did not know this.

Well, I myself can only have the espresso fraction (complex allergy issues).
But I would have loved to see the reaction of my wife to it, and myself sampled an espresso from a barista skilled enough to also do this layering.

Regards
Peter

[Mark08859]

Seems very tasty. Now if I could only find a place in downtown New York City that made it.

[prettydeceextrap]

I actually did have this drink while I was there, and was just reminded of it last week when my dad visited Turin. It is indeed served all over the city, but most famously at Bicerin, a cafe right behind a small church (like there aren't millions of those).

I loved the drink so much that I actually brought a small bit of their drinking chocolate home. Layering was quite difficult. Getting the thickness of the chocolate to the point that it would actually pour, yet still hold layer was a tough balance. I don't think I ever got it right, though the combo of flavors is great regardless of how well it is layered!

I must admit this is recollection from a while ago ... I found that it was easiest to put the chocolate (hot) in the bottom of the cup, and pull espresso right on top of this. However, this is apparently improper layering, as the espresso is supposed to be on bottom. Plus, pouring the cream on top resulted in a coffee/cream mixture rather than true layering. Having the espresso on bottom was very difficult, as the chocolate was always too thick, and would mix with the espresso, leaving only a small layer of chocolate on top. But at least the cream floated on top of this. I think your best bet is to make the chocolate very very hot, which should keep it thin enough to work with. Good luck! Let me know if you figure it out, so I can take another shot at it!

[Paul]

cheers matt

how did/do you make your hot choc for this? I usually use locally made powders or syrups. I remember choc in italy being much thicker. Perhaps it is gently heated with milk or cream?

[CafSuperCharged]

I loved the drink so much that I actually brought a small bit of their drinking chocolate home.

A few years ago, in Tuscany, I had caffè-based chocolate drinks that locally were called Marocchino - a variant of Bicerin, I think: bit larger glass, less strict about the layering.
It struck me they used some liquid chocolate from (squeeze?) bottles - imagine pure chocolate bar melted into sauce with some substance added to keep it from hardening when cooling down and make it a bit viscous at (Italian) room temperature.
I have tried to find a local outlet for such bottled chocolate sauce but never found it.

the cream floated on top of this.

In my book, "cream" differs from "whole milk" in that cream is the fat/protein section of milk.
When you skim the cream off, you are left with skim milk, and the cream.
The cream you can whip into something fluffy, but that totally differs from the whole milk on top of your Bicerin, I would guess.

I think your best bet is to make the chocolate very very hot, which should keep it thin enough to work with.

I do not remember they heated the chocolate sauce in Tuscany.

Let me know if you figure it out, so I can take another shot at it!

The trick and the quality of the chocolate taste must be in the preparation of the chocolate sauce. I can imagine Italy has a market for ready made, bottled sauce today, but in the past people who did these drinks had their own "secret" recipes.

There are quite a few people with Italian (family) names in these fora that I would guess some of them were still pretty capable of the Italian language and maybe even have family contacts over there to be able to solve this puzzle quickly.

Regards
Peter

[prettydeceextrap]

I usually use locally made powders or syrups.

imagine pure chocolate bar melted into sauce with some substance added to keep it from hardening when cooling down and make it a bit viscous at (Italian) room temperature.
I have tried to find a local outlet for such bottled chocolate sauce but never found it.

I would advise against using chocolate milk of any sort. It really needs to be "drinking chocolate" or melted chocolate. And you certainly don't need any secret recipes or pre-bought items to do this, as making the proper chocolate for this is actually quite simple. It is a basic culinary technique called a ganache - used to frost pastries or to make truffles. Just add a teaspoon or so of vegetable oil to your chocolate - be it a bar broken up into pieces or chocolate chips. Then microwave it (or heat it on the stove if you are sans microwave) for about 30 seconds, until the chocolate is just melting. Stir it together and let the residual heat do the melting. It will indeed harden a bit as it cools, but as long as it is kept somewhat warm, it won't harden (or just add more vegetable oil). Meaning, as long as you add hot coffee and milk to it in a reasonable amount of time, it won't harden. You could easily put this into a squeeze bottle (I use small travel bottles intended for shampoo and lotion for all my sauce dispensing - cheap as hell, easy to clean, and small enough to work with), and even re-heat it if you wanted.

The thing I remember most about this drink from when I was in Turin was that it as hardly a drink - I had to eat most of it with a spoon.

The cream you can whip into something fluffy, but that totally differs from the whole milk on top of your Bicerin, I would guess.

This would make things much much easier to do it this way. Buy some cream, whisk the hell out of it (sugar or not), and just add whipped cream on top instead. It would make layering easier. I think the way I remember the Bicerin was with foamed milk ... probably foamed cream ... making it a sort of half way point between froth and whipped cream. Anyway, like I said ... it would be delicious either way.

I do not believe, however, that the trick to this is entirely in the chocolate, as I think a lot of it has to do with knowing how to layer things. It took me a while to learn how to layer cocktails - for instance - or to even learn how to properly pour foamed milk into my cappuccinos. This thread has really inspired me to try this drink again. The last time I attempted was two years ago, and I have come a long way in my drink making since then. I certainly plan on botching a couple - though those will be tasty trials - but I think it just takes a little practice.

On another tangent - I remember a drink made at Diedrich's Coffee in California (before they sold to ... grrrr) - that in retrospect seems quite similar to the Bicerin. I believe it was called The Diedrich, actually. It was a three layered drink that they would serve in those tall "Irish Coffee" glasses. Most of the baristas would mess it up. But I wonder if they now serve it at Kean Coffee in Newport Beach? That would be most excellent.

Matt

[prettydeceextrap]

It is a basic culinary technique called a ganache - used to frost pastries or to make truffles.

A totally random side note: As I was originally typing, I accidentally typed "panache" instead of "ganache." This reminded me of what a panache actually is, and I went ahead and made a batch, much to everyone's pleasure. Panache is a delicious drink made with beer and carbonated lemonade, perfectly refreshing for a warm Memorial Day. Use decent beer ... something crisp like a czech lager, wheat beer, or even a pale ale. Nothing on the brown ale or porter side of brews. Get the beer ice cold, and do a 50/50 with carbonated lemonade (you could even use sprite).

[Psyd]

If you start with a decent beer, why do anything else to it, like add Sprite? OTOH, if the lemonade is good, why add beer?
I dunno, some folks look at me weird when I have peanut butter and marshmallow toasts, too....

So, the ganache... add a teaspoon of vegetable oil? In how much chocolate? How much of that vegetable oil is supposed to end up in any one drink? Isn't it easier to buy chocolate that hasn't had, (what are they called, emulsifiers?) any hardening to them? The drink still sound pretty good. Another thing to try if you like it is an Affogato al Caffe, but with chocolate ice cream instead of vanilla.

[prettydeceextrap]

add a teaspoon of vegetable oil? In how much chocolate?

A teaspoon would be enough for quite a bit of chocolate. I don't really measure things ... but I would guess half a cup of chocolate.

How much of that vegetable oil is supposed to end up in any one drink?

I sense some concern regarding having oil in your drink. Fear not. It's just fat. Go ahead and taste the chocolate before you use it. Tastes pretty good. But if you are still concerned ... a ganache is probably better defined as chocolate melted in fat. You could just as easily use heavy cream ... or better yet ... double cream ... or butter. Using a cream ganache is more common when filling truffles. Perhaps more suitable?

But I am glad you brought it up. As I said, I have been trying to re-create this drink here the last few days. And sadly, I have no vegetable oil. I had actually been using butter. Works perfectly. Again, I don't really measure things, but I would estimate that a small slice of butter (a pancake pat size) works for half a cup of chocolate.

The other technique that I found to be somewhat effective in other applications for melted chocolate is just melting chocolate in water. It takes longer, and you have to heat the chocolate very slowly on the stove to avoid weird chalking/clumping. It actually probably takes closer to 10 minutes than the 30 seconds a ganache takes. But it is easy to pour, and won't harden on you. I start with 2/3 chocolate to 1/3 water, then adjust as needed. Maybe this is a better route.

Really though, when you taste it ... I don't think you will see much difference if using vegetable oil or butter or cream. The fat will give a silkiness and a sheen to the chocolate "sauce." More fat = less hardening. If you just try to melt straight chocolate, it doesn't work.

I am still having a tough time getting distinct layers, though I get better with each try (I have only tried three). Maybe the water-based approach is the ticket. Successful results ... is found ... to follow.

If you start with a decent beer, why do anything else to it, like add Sprite? OTOH, if the lemonade is good, why add beer?

Don't knock it 'till you've tried it Generally speaking, I agree with you ... but a change of pace ain't bad every now and again.

Matt

[billt]

In the 70s there was a fad for serving coffee with the cream as a separate layer on the top. To stop the cream mixing with the coffee you would hold a teaspoon at the coffee surface and pour the cream over the back of the spoon.

It certainly works for cream; it would probably work for the chocolate.

Bill

[kahvedelisi]

It is a basic culinary technique called a ganache - used to frost pastries or to make truffles. Just add a teaspoon or so of vegetable oil to your chocolate - be it a bar broken up into pieces or chocolate chips. Then microwave it (or heat it on the stove if you are sans microwave) for about 30 seconds, until the chocolate is just melting.

It's not advised to melt chocolate with microwave for taste and texture reasons, using bain-marie method would be the clever choice here. Also your description of ganache... uh! That's not ganache. Ganache is made with heavy whipping cream and couverture chocolate, if you reduce the amount of cream you get truffles, If you increase the amount and add peanutbutter or nutbutter you get cream chocolate that's suitable for spreading on bread etc etc

This would make things much much easier to do it this way. Buy some cream, whisk the hell out of it (sugar or not), and just add whipped cream on top instead. It would make layering easier. I think the way I remember the Bicerin was with foamed milk ... probably foamed cream ... making it a sort of half way point between froth and whipped cream. Anyway, like I said ... it would be delicious either way.

it's probably steamed half n half. In general people confuse milk and milk products so lets remember..

a) skim milk --> 1,5% fat
b) whole milk --> 3% fat (this ratio differs from country to country and brand to brand. Some label their whole milk 3,4% some label 3,1% and so on)
c) half n half --> 10-11% fat (50% milk + 50% cream blended)
d) cream --> 15-20% fat (still in liquid form but it's also suitable for whipping and gets thicker if you whip with an electric mixer but result is never too stiff)
e) heavy whipping cream --> 34-36% fat (you can easily whip without an electric mixer)
f) clotted cream (well at least turkish-english dictionary says so for "kaymak") --> 55% or more fat

I do not believe, however, that the trick to this is entirely in the chocolate, as I think a lot of it has to do with knowing how to layer things. It took me a while to learn how to layer cocktails - for instance - or to even learn how to properly pour foamed milk into my cappuccinos.

no matter what you do the one with higher density will sink bottom. With the help of extra ingredients you could try some tricks to change that order.. but with existing ingredients here chocolate will go bottom, either you'll pour chocolete over espresso and let it sink, or pour chocolate first and layer espresso over it.

[prettydeceextrap]

it's probably steamed half n half.

No ... it's not steamed anything. It's the foam part I have seen used, as well as good old fashioned whipped cream. Either way, you aren't pouring any liquid straight into the drink. As you pointed out, which milk product you use just comes down to fat content, so use what you like. Better results at the higher fat end of the spectrum.

no matter what you do the one with higher density will sink bottom.

Exactly. I have been pouring in chocolate first, then espresso, then cream. Works fine as long as the chocolate is somewhat thick.

With my trials here at home, any of the chocolate methods work fine, whether it is just melting chocolate with some water or making a ganache. I find the ganache to be of better consistency. Don't let rigid French definitions fool you, ganache can be made with any fat with equal success. Cream is for truffles, true. But any fat will work to loosen up the chocolate. My best results have been with butter. More butter (fat) = more pourable. The heat from the drink itself prevents hardening. And like I said, in Italy I was able to eat this thing with a spoon more easily than drinking it.

Pictures to follow.

[Soshry]

All:

Here is a recipe for Bicerin from a Feb 2006 issue of the NY Times. You can go to http://www.NYtimes.com and search for Bicerin (it is free but you must register). They published this during the 2006 Winter Olympics which were held in Torrino (formerly known as Turin). I tried it and am pretty sure I was able to get the 3 separate layers. The key is to go to a good gourmet store and get high quality cocoa powder and follow the heating directions in this recipe. I liked it (as did my girlfriend) but it is a fair amount of work and too decadent to have that often. Also, 99% of my espresso drinks are just straight shots.

enjoy the recipe!

February 8, 2006- NY TIMES
Recipe: Bicerin
Time: 10 minutes, plus more time for chilling
Yield: 2 drinks

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup high-quality cocoa powder, dark chocolate shavings or hot chocolate mix (see note)
• Sugar
• 2/3 cup chilled heavy cream
• Ground espresso (enough for 2 long shots, about 1/3 cup each).

Directions:

1. At least 15 minutes before making bicerin, place stainless steel cocktail shaker or jar in the freezer. Fill 2 water goblets or Irish coffee mugs with hot tap water.
2. In small saucepan combine chocolate with about 2/3 cup water, and set over medium heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until chocolate coats spoon, about 10 minutes. Add sugar to taste. Shut off heat.
3. Empty glasses and wipe dry. Remove shaker or jar from freezer, add cream and shake vigorously 1 minute. Make espresso. To each glass or mug add a shot of espresso and 1/3 cup chocolate, and carefully spoon 1/3 cup cream over top. Serve immediately.

Note: Venchi's Cacao Due Vecchi cocoa, produced in the Piedmont region of Italy and sold at DiPalo Fine Foods (200 Grand Street, at Mott Street, 212-226-1033), yields thick, rich hot chocolate that can be sweetened to taste. The cost is $8.99 for 250 grams, or about 9 ounces.