Liquid chocolate: Really, that is what good hot chocolate should be at its essence. While the drink is defined by the quality of the chocolate, its dairy enrichment, vanilla flavoring and spark of salt conspire to make it all that it is -- which is quite wonderful.

The most engaging and, well, the sexiest of all hot chocolates is made by creating a lush chocolate base that gets whipped into a saucepan of hot milk, resulting in a lightly thickened potion. It qualifies as dessert. The basis for my hot chocolate is dark chocolate cream, an emulsion of chocolate and heavy cream known as a ganache.

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Once this suave chocolate ganache is at hand (it can be used after its 30-minute rest or refrigerated for longer keeping), it is combined with the heated ingredients to turn it flowing. The magic of the drink is in the careful mingling of the elements: The milk-and-sugar base should be cooked only until bubbles appear at the edges of the pan; after the ganache is added, the mixture should be heated just to drinking temperature. At either stage, allowing the liquid to come to a more vigorous boil will diminish the drink's gleaming texture.

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If I'm in a playful mood, I treat the finished drink, one portion at a time, to an animated frothing with a steamer nozzle. That turns the already delicious mixture into the softest, creamiest potion ever.