Champurrado and Atole: Mexican Hot Corn Drinks for Australian Winter

Before hot chocolate as most Australians know it, there was atole: a hot drink made from corn masa, thickened until it coats a spoon, sweetened and flavoured. Mexico still drinks it every day, from street stalls at dawn to family tables at Christmas and on the Day of the Dead, and its chocolate version, champurrado, is the obvious answer to a cold Australian morning. Both need only masa harina, which Australian shops now sell, plus a few pantry ingredients. This guide explains what they are and how to make them here.

Atole: the corn drink

Atole is a hot, masa-based drink of Mexican origin; the name is believed to come from the Nahuatl ātōlli. Its roots go back to the Maya: inscriptions on Classic Maya painted vessels name two main contents, cacao and atole. In Mexico today it is made from masa (or masa harina), water or milk, piloncillo (unrefined cane sugar), cinnamon and vanilla, with fruit or chocolate added in many versions. It typically accompanies tamales, and is especially drunk on the Day of the Dead and during the Christmas posadas.

Flavours run from plain cinnamon to guava, strawberry, rice, and fresh corn: atole de elote, made from fresh sweetcorn, is a seasonal favourite. Our fresh corn atole, guava atole and rice atole recipes show the range.

Champurrado: atole with chocolate

Champurrado is a chocolate atole. It is made with masa or masa harina, piloncillo, water or milk and chocolate, sometimes with cinnamon, aniseed or vanilla. In Mexico it is drunk with a churro for breakfast or as an afternoon snack, and, like plain atole, it is a fixture of the Day of the Dead and the posadas, served with tamales. It is traditionally frothed with a molinillo, a carved wooden whisk rolled between the palms of the hands; a blender or a whisk does the job at home.

The Philippines has its own descendant, champorado, which reached Manila on the galleons from Mexico and became a chocolate porridge made with glutinous rice rather than masa. If you know champorado from a Filipino household, champurrado is its Mexican ancestor.

What you need in Australia

• Masa harina. The one specialist ingredient: corn flour that has been nixtamalised, cooked with lime, before drying. It is not the same as Australian cornflour, which is a pure starch, or cornmeal, which is not nixtamalised. Our guide to masa harina in Australia explains who sells it.
• Piloncillo. Unrefined cane sugar, sold in Mexico in small truncated cones; it is the same product that much of Latin America calls panela, and many Mexican sweets, atole and champurrado among them, are made with it. Mexican grocers sell it; dark brown sugar, rapadura or panela from Latin and health-food shops are good substitutes, and South-East Asian palm sugar works in a pinch.
• Mexican chocolate. Sweetened, grainy chocolate flavoured with cinnamon. Substitute good dark chocolate plus a little sugar and an extra pinch of cinnamon.
• Cinnamon. Ceylon cinnamon, the soft, flaky kind, is milder than the cassia sold as cinnamon in many Australian supermarkets. Either works; use less cassia.
• Milk or water. Water is traditional for many atoles; milk gives a richer drink. Half and half is a good compromise.

A basic champurrado for four

1. Simmer a litre of water or milk (or a mix) with a cinnamon stick and a piece of piloncillo or a few spoons of dark brown sugar, until the sugar dissolves.
2. Whisk about half a cup of masa harina into a cup of cold water until completely smooth. Lumps now mean lumps later.
3. Pour the masa mixture into the hot liquid, whisking constantly, and keep stirring over medium-low heat as it thickens.
4. Add a disc of Mexican chocolate, or a small block of dark chocolate, broken up, and stir until melted.
5. Simmer gently, stirring and scraping the bottom, until thick enough to coat a spoon, a little thinner than custard. Thin with milk if it goes too far.
6. Remove the cinnamon stick, froth with a whisk or a molinillo, and serve very hot.

Our champurrado recipe and chocolate atole recipe give exact quantities.

Getting the texture right

• Too thin? Simmer longer, or whisk in a spoon more masa harina dissolved in cold water.
• Too thick? Add hot milk or water a little at a time.
• Lumpy? Blend it, or pass it through a sieve. Next time, mix the masa harina into cold liquid first.
• Catching on the bottom? Lower the heat and stir with a flat-ended spoon. Masa scorches easily.

Variations worth trying

• Atole de vainilla. The plainest version: masa, milk, sugar, cinnamon and a split vanilla pod. A good way to taste what masa itself brings.
• Fruit atoles. Blend ripe fruit, such as strawberries, guava or mango, into the finished atole off the heat. Australian strawberries are plentiful in spring, which makes them an easy place to start.
• Atole de elote. Blend fresh sweetcorn kernels with milk, sieve, and cook with sugar and cinnamon until thick. It needs no masa harina at all, which makes it the easiest atole to make in Australia.
• Champurrado with aniseed or orange. A few aniseeds or a strip of orange zest simmered with the cinnamon changes the drink completely.
• Champurrado with a splash. In Mexico it is sometimes spiked for adults. A little rum or a reposado tequila stirred into each cup works on a cold night.

What to serve with it

In Mexico, atole and tamales are a pair. In Mexico City, a classic street breakfast is the guajolota, a tamal tucked into a bread roll, bought with a cup of atole; the pair is known locally as a guajolocombo. Champurrado also goes with churros, with pan dulce such as conchas, or simply on its own. For an Australian winter morning, a pot of champurrado and a plate of toast with butter and cinnamon sugar is not traditional, but it is in the spirit.

When to drink it in Australia

In Mexico, atole and champurrado belong to cold mornings and to the winter festivals: the Day of the Dead at the start of November and the posadas before Christmas. In Australia those dates fall in late spring and early summer, which is why our pieces on Día de Muertos in an Australian spring and a Mexican Christmas table for 35 °C suggest lighter drinks for those days. Champurrado's real season here is June to August: a winter breakfast with a churro or a sweet roll, a cold afternoon with tamales, or a bonfire night. Our piece on rebuilding the Mexican festive calendar for Australian weather pairs it with pozole, and our guide to making tamales in Australia covers the food it goes with.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use cornflour instead of masa harina?

No. Australian cornflour is pure starch and will thicken the drink but give no corn flavour. Masa harina is nixtamalised corn and is what makes atole taste of corn.

What is the difference between atole and champurrado?

Champurrado is atole made with chocolate. Plain atole can be flavoured with cinnamon, vanilla, fruit, rice or fresh corn.

Can I make it dairy-free?

Yes. Water is the traditional base for many atoles; oat or almond milk also works.

Can I make it ahead?

It thickens as it cools. Reheat it gently, whisking in hot milk or water until it is the right consistency again.

Sources

• Wikipedia, Champurrado (masa, piloncillo, chocolate, molinillo; champorado in the Philippines): en.wikipedia.org
• Wikipedia, Panela (piloncillo in Mexico; used in atole and champurrado): en.wikipedia.org
• Wikipedia, Guajolota (tamal in a roll, sold with atole): en.wikipedia.org
• Wikipedia, Atole (Nahuatl ātōlli, Maya vessels, tamales, Day of the Dead and posadas): en.wikipedia.org