Hot chocolate from the comfort of your home

How to prepare the best home made hot chocolate?

A creamy delicious cup of hot chocolate, the perfect treat for this autumn.

As the days are getting colder, there is nothing better than a cup of hot chocolate.  😉

Drinking chocolate

Start with high quality chocolate

I know, I know….. nothing you haven’t heard before.

But imagine making an apple cake, with dull flavor-less apples. The same applies to chocolate. You want a good chocolate that will be the main character of that cup of chocolate.

Cocoa powder or chocolate?

We personally recommend to skip 100% cacao powder for hot chocolate, since it’s not always easy to find high quality cacao powder. Typically it’s easier to find alkalized cocoa powder, which has been processed to make it less bitter. But at the same time, it losses big part of the original cacao flavor.

It’s also very difficult to obtain a creamy result when using cocoa powder. I prefer taking a chocolate bar and chopping it into small pieces, because  chocolate has both cocoa beans and cocoa butter. This makes the most perfect silky hot chocolate!

Chocolate buttons can be also a good idea. Makers produce for gastronomy customers. Ideally, you can find a craft chocolate maker that already prepares a hot chocolate mix.

The options are infinite, with sugar, milk and even nuts. You can also keep it simple and look for a mix that only has cacao and maybe a little sugar. And everything else you can add following your personal taste.

Here you can find some drinking chocolates from craft chocolate makers, that will make the process a bit easier. But remember, you can also take you favorite chocolate bar to make that perfect hot chocolate.

Pure or with milk?

In the early 1500s pure hot chocolate hat gained popularity in Spain, but it still remained a cold and bitter drink. As it moved along to the rest of Europe, it started to be served hot and sweet, and was even being enjoyed as an after dinner treat.

It was only in the late 1700s that milk was added to the mix, making it creamier and milder in taste.

Now a days there is a tendency to back to basics, and keep it simple. The good news is, you can go for both. We believe it is a taste and occasion factor. You might want a creamier softer hot chocolate for breakfast, while you might want a stronger drank after lunch.

Of course if you want a creamier chocolate, the best option is to go add milk. You can also choose to keep it vegan and go for vegan milk alternatives, often called Mylks. The most common in hot chocolate preparations almond, oat or even hazelnut, which gives it an extra nutty taste.

How to make?

Ingredients:
  • 2 table spoon of good / high quality drinking chocolate (or any chocolate bar broken down to small pieces).
  • 270 ml of full cream or semi skimmed milk. (Vegan options: almond, oat, hazelnut or even coconut milk).
  • Sugar (Optional).
  • Spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, chili, etc (Optional).
  • Others for decoration, adding texture and flavors. Cacao nibs if you want crunchiness, or marshmallows if you want and extra sweet kick (Optional).
Preparation:

Duration:  5 min

  • Place and heat the milk of your choice in a pan. Make sure not to boil.
  • Put a tablespoon of the chocolate (powder or pieces) into the cup and sugar (optional). If you have big pieces of chocolate, you might consider first melting the chocolate, and then placing it in the cup.
  • Add a  little splash of warm milk to the cup. This will start dissolving the chocolate.
  • Add the spices, if using.
  • Find a plastic flash with lid, and pour the hot milk in it (Careful hot!!!), and screw the lid on. Alternatively, if you have a milk frother, this works perfectly as well.
  • Shake hard for a minute. Take of the lid and pour into the mugs.

You are ready to enjoy a perfect cup of delicious hot chocolate.

You are still not sure what is the right chocolate for you?

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