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Landmark New York Eatery Turns 50

NPR's Liane Hansen at work on the Serendipity 3 Frrrozen Hot Chocolate.
Elaine Heinzman, NPR
NPR's Liane Hansen at work on the Serendipity 3 Frrrozen Hot Chocolate.
'Sweet Serendipity' book cover.
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'Sweet Serendipity' book cover.

This year on New York's Upper East Side, the small, quirky restaurant and boutique Serendipity 3 celebrates its 50th anniversary. Since it opened in 1954, Serendipity 3 has attracted celebrities and civilians alike with its decadent desserts.

Serendipity 3 co-founder Stephen Bruce has written Sweet Serendipity: Delicious Desserts and Devilish Dish, a book of his eatery's recipes and stories about its glamorous clientele.

NPR's Liane Hansen talks with Bruce about the book and samples the signature Serendipity 3 Frrrozen Hot Chocolate (recipe below).

Serendipity 3 Frrrozen Hot Chocolate

6 half-ounce pieces of a variety of your favorite chocolates

2 teaspoons of store-bought hot chocolate mix

1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar

1 1/2 cups of milk

3 cups of ice

Whipped cream

Chocolate shavings

Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place it in the top of a double boiler over simmering water, stirring occasionally until melted. Add the hot chocolate mix and sugar, stirring constantly until thoroughly blended. Remove from heat and slowly add 1/2 cup of the milk and stir until smooth. Cool to room temperature.

In a blender place the remaining cup of milk, the room temperature chocolate mixture, and the ice. Blend on high speed until smooth and the consistency of a frozen daiquiri. Pour into a giant goblet and top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Liane Hansen
Liane Hansen has been the host of NPR's award-winning Weekend Edition Sunday for 20 years. She brings to her position an extensive background in broadcast journalism, including work as a radio producer, reporter, and on-air host at both the local and national level. The program has covered such breaking news stories as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the capture of Saddam Hussein, the deaths of Princess Diana and John F. Kennedy, Jr., and the Columbia shuttle tragedy. In 2004, Liane was granted an exclusive interview with former weapons inspector David Kay prior to his report on the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The show also won the James Beard award for best radio program on food for a report on SPAM.