Last month I reviewed The Princess Bride: The Official Cookbook by Jenn Fujikawa published by Smart Pop. Some of the recipes looked so good that I had to try them out myself so here we are with “Goodnight, Westley”. This hot chocolate/cocoa creation is so rich that a single cup was more than enough (I admit to usually drinking my hot cocoa in a sixteen-ounce mug, not an eight-ounce one). It’s the perfect way to warm yourself up on a cold day and also decadent enough to impress the princess, or prince, in your life. So continue on for “Good Night, Westley” hot chocolate!
[Note: “Good Night, Westley” is from The Princess Bride: The Official Cookbook by Jenn Fujikawa. This is not an original recipe.]
"Good Night, Westley" Hot Chocolate
During these chilly months, or if you're just looking for an impressive drink for someone special in your life, "Good Night, Westley" from The Princess Bride: The Official Cookbook by Jenn Fujikawa is the perfect hot chocolate to do so. This is a decadent chocolate drink with hints of cinnamon that will lull you off to sweet dreams, though hopefully not the same way as Westley in the film. This drink is richer than Prince Humperdinck, smoother than the Westley saying "As you wish", and sweeter than Princess Buttercup. So grab your whisk and gather your essentials, because "Good Night, Westley" hot chocolate will be your new "true wove". The Princess Bride: The Official Cookbook is available now from Smart Pop books, check out our review!
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon cocoa powder, plus more for Serving
- 2 Teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1/4 Teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 Cup whole milk. divided
- 2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
- Whipped cream, for serving
- Cinnamon stick, for serving
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk the cocoa powder, sugar, and cinnamon with 1/4 cup of the milk, until smooth. Set aside.
- In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, pour in the remaining 3/4 cup milk, chocolate, and cocoa powder mixture. Simmer and stir for 5 minutes, until combined and the chocolate has melted.
- Pour into a mug and top with whipped cream. Dust with cocoa powder, add a cinnamon stick, and serve.
Notes
This recipe is from The Princess Bride: The Official Cookbook by Jenn Fujikawa from Smart Pop, available now!
Time to pull out those calculators!
Now, Fujikawa’s recipe is for a single cup, but I quadrupled it. The reason is not that I needed to drink four cups but because at my house, I never drink hot cocoa alone. If I try to make myself a cup of cocoa then three little sets of eyes are going to be peeking at me as three little voices say “whatcha got mom?” and then three little boys start asking for some of their own. Hence, the four servings. If you need more than one serving just be like me and use multiplication. Math! They always said we’d need it someday, but who knew it would be to make enough hot chocolate for everyone!
A quick vocabulary lesson and a science class
One thing I found fascinating about Fujikawa’s recipe is that it’s both hot chocolate and hot cocoa in one. “What’s the difference?” you ask? Well, let me tell you! Hot chocolate is made with actual chocolate that is melted and mixed with milk as it is heated. Hot cocoa is made from cocoa powder and sugar mixed into milk and heated. Basically, hot cocoa is made with cocoa and hot chocolate is made with chocolate. Exactly like the names say but no one ever stops to think about it.
Now with the “Goodnight, Westley,” you both melt chocolate and mix in cocoa powder and sugar. I am struggling with what to call it. Hot coco-late? Hot chocoa? Let me know what you think is best! But for the sake of this recipe, we’ll just call it hot chocolate!
Will “Goodnight, Westley” actually help you fall asleep? People have said forever that drinking warm milk will help you fall asleep but does science agree? Well, sorta. Milk does contain tryptophan, the same thing in turkey that we blame on making us sleepy at Thanksgiving. However, that tryptophan has to cross the blood-brain barrier, which is significantly harder to do in the presence of proteins, like in milk or turkey. So it’s unlikely the tryptophan is going to be making you pass out.
However, both warmth and a full belly have been shown in studies to promote drowsiness. So filling your belly with warm milk might help you to doze off. Perhaps you shouldn’t operate heavy machinery after a “Goodnight, Westley” then?
A traditional approach in Jenn Fujikawa’s recipe
“Goodnight, Westley” also contains cinnamon. While this is traditional in some parts of the world including Mexico, where hot cocoa was invented, I’ve never tried it this way. I have always heard people rave about cinnamon in hot cocoa. “It brings out the chocolate flavor” I’m told, kind of like coffee is supposed to (so does chocolate…I’m just saying). Despite people assuring me I won’t notice the coffee flavor, just more chocolate, I taste the coffee. And with this recipe, I tasted the cinnamon, strong. It wasn’t necessarily bad, just different. I’m not sure it enhanced the chocolate and I’m not sure I’d do it again, but now I can say I have!
Enjoying the rich flavors of “Good Night, Westley”
I do sometimes drink hot cocoa without whipped cream but if I’m being honest, it’s a crime when I do. I love my whipped cream with my hot cocoa. And this was no exception, do not skip the whipped cream. As rich as it was to sip the hot chocolate, scooping up the whipped cream and dipping it into the brew was even better. That really brought out the chocolate flavor for me and made it almost sinfully decadent. Yummmm.
This recipe is a pretty easy recipe. It only took minutes to gather everything up, mix it together, and heat it up. I usually just mix in my cocoa powder, sugar, vanilla, and milk, then microwave for two minutes. This only took a few more minutes. Because I used chocolate chips instead of chopping a chocolate bar it was even faster. Now my hot cocoa is pretty good but I have to admit that “Goodnight, Westley” was far richer. Most likely because of the actual melted chocolate.
A hot tip for this recipe from The Princess Bride: The Official Cookbook
Be sure to be careful when heating the chocolate and milk. It is really easy to scorch milk and ridiculously easy to burn the chocolate, which makes warming milk and chocolate in the same pan a double hazard. Make sure the heat is nice and low and keep stirring the whole time. And when you pour it into the mug, be sure to allow a few minutes for it to cool off.
Don’t put the whipped cream on right away. That will just melt the whipped cream. And DON’T sip it right away. Melted chocolate might as well be molten lava and you will burn your mouth, maybe even your whole throat and it will be painful. Be patient, it’s worth it.
Don’t forget those little ones
Of course, my little pairs of eyes peeked around the corner as soon as I started warming the “Goodnight, Westley” up. They patiently (thank goodness it was only 5 minutes lol) waited while it all came together. And when the time came to drink it down, they all wanted their taste. They were very into the cinnamon chocolate flavor and happily slurped it up, down to the dregs. Scavenger approved! So mix up some “Goodnight, Westley” tonight and have some sweet dreams.
“Good Night, Westley” hot chocolate and more recipes can be found in The Princess Bride: The Official Cookbook, which is available now. Check out our review of the cookbook! Thinking of making this treat sometime soon for yourself or your family? Let us know on Twitter or in The Cosmic Circus Discord. And if you haven’t already, check out our most recent Cosmic Cuisine, Mantis’ Peppermint Bark Pretzel Sticks!
Book Review: The Princess Bride: The Official Cookbook
