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The Coffee 100 · make it at home

Turin's bicerin: chocolate, espresso and cream in layers

15 min · 2 small glasses

Turin's own drink, served at the same marble tables of Caffè Al Bicerin since 1763: thick hot chocolate, espresso and cold cream layered in a small glass and never stirred.

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The real one

You need

• For the chocolate: 60 g (2 oz) dark chocolate 70%, chopped; 200 ml (3/4 cup + 2 tbsp) whole milk; 1 tbsp cocoa powder; 1 tbsp sugar; 1 tsp cornstarch
• 2 espresso shots (or 120 ml very strong moka pot coffee)
• 100 ml (scant 1/2 cup) cold heavy cream, lightly whipped so it just pours
• 2 small heatproof glasses, about 150 ml

How to make it

1. Chocolate (6 min): Whisk the cocoa, sugar and cornstarch with 3 tbsp of the cold milk until smooth. Heat the rest of the milk to a simmer, whisk in the paste and the chopped chocolate, and stir over low heat 2 to 3 minutes until it coats the spoon thickly. Keep warm.
2. Cream (2 min): Whisk the cream by hand until it thickens but still pours, like melted ice cream. Keep cold.
3. Coffee (1 min): Pull the two shots, or brew the moka pot coffee.
4. Layer (1 min a glass): Warm the glasses with hot water and dry them. Pour in the chocolate to a third full. Pour the hot coffee slowly over the back of a spoon held just above the chocolate so it settles on top. Finish with the cold cream, again over the spoon, to the rim.
5. Serve: At once, with no spoon. You drink it through the layers: cold cream, hot coffee, thick chocolate.

Tips

• The contrast of cold cream and hot drink is the point, so keep the cream in the fridge until the last second.
• Glass matters: you want to see three clean bands.
• Hazelnut? Turin is gianduja country: swap a third of the chocolate for gianduja.

Chef Amazing's own home version, in our words; not any café's recipe.