Known for its famed homemade breads and pastries, creamy gelatos, sandwiches, and perfectly crafted coffee drinks — Sant Ambroeus has been a neighborhood favorite for decades among its devoted clientele. Whether you’re visiting in New York City, Southampton, or Palm Beach, the eatery celebrates the connection between food, friends, and family. It’s a place where meals are savored, not rushed.
The quintessential Milanese café’s Coffee Bar Cookbook offers seventy-five recipes for coffee drinks, breads, cookies, cakes and pastries, gelati and sorbetti, and light fare such as tramezzini and panini.
The book aims to bring the “true soul of Milanese culture into readers’ homes — quality, craftsmanship, and the feeling of being among friends.”
The hardcover cookbook is available from Rizzoli New York for $45.
Here, we share a recipe for Sant Ambroeus’ cioccolata calda, a very rich and dense hot chocolate recipe, that falls somewhere between a drink and a pudding.
Sant Ambroeus’ Cioccolata Calda
For our cioccolata calda, pure dark chocolate is combined with hot water at a luxurious ratio of one to one. We serve a side of hot milk with our cioccolata calda for those who prefer a sweeter taste.
Ingredients (1 serving)
½ cup (about 4 ounces) chopped unsweetened 58% Belgian chocolate
1 ⁄3 cup hot water
Directions
Place the chocolate in a small saucepan. Pour the hot water over the chocolate. Stir so that the chocolate melts partially. Place over low heat and cook, stirring, until the chocolate has melted completely and the mixture is just beginning to bubble. Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool slightly, 10 to 15 minutes, then return to low heat and reheat, stirring, until hot.
