The Northern Italian city of Turin is famous for it’s chocolate and coffee production. A famous caffe called Bicerin founded in Turin in 1763 began serving exotic ingredients like chocolate, coffee, and orange juice. The caffe was a favorite among Count Cavour – the architect of Modern Northern Italy. Now al Bicerin (which is a slang for bicchierino, meaning little glass, has an in house chocolatier. When I need inspiration in the cold, winter months, this is a drink that I turn to. To be able to drink it on a fairly regular basis, I have replaced the whip cream for frothed steam milk, and serve it in small, clear stemmed glasses (champagne flutes work well). If you don’t have a cappuccino maker in your home you can use a portable milk frother to create foam on top. Serve this drink to guests with Tuscan Cantucci Cookies.

Ingredients:

4 demitasses of fresh espresso
1 1/2 cups skim milk, divided
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
Dash of salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons sugar
Dash of cinnamon
Preparation:

Divide espresso equally among glasses. Bring 1 cup skim milk, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla, and sugar to boil in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir well and whisk to combine. Pour chocolate mixture on top of espresso in glasses. Heat remaining 1/2 cup milk over medium heat and with a portable milk frother, froth milk into a foamy consistency. Divide milk among the four glasses and garnish with a dash of cinnamon.