December 21, 2022
The weather is closing in on us, with the days getting colder and the nights longer. It is during these Winter months that we seek warmth and comfort and there is nothing better than snuggling under a warm blanket with a lovely mug of hot chocolate is there? In this deliciously tempting article we will take a look at some of the best hot chocolate recipes out there and, for those who just want heaven in a mug without the fuss, we’ll point you in the direction of some super flavours from your favourite stores.
Christmas Spiced Hot Chocolate
As it is nearly Christmas, any article on hot chocolate would not be complete without a Christmas spiced hot chocolate recipe. You will need:
- 200ml Full fat milk
- 4 tbsp of drinking chocolate powder
- 30g finely grated dark chocolate
- ¼ tsp of cinnamon
- ¼ tsp of ground Nutmeg
- A dash of Brandy
- Some squirty cream
This one is very simple to make. Simply heat the milk in a pan until it is just simmering. Whilst the milk is heating, mix the drinking chocolate, dark chocolate, cinnamon, nutmeg and brandy in a heat proof jug. Once the milk is ready, pour it into the jug and mix thoroughly using a whisk until everything is melted and mixed together. Pour straight into cups and top off with the cream. There you go, in just a few short minutes you have the perfect Christmas spiced hot chocolate.
Velvety Smooth
This hot chocolate recipe is a straight up hot chocolate recipe with no frills, but it is so rich and velvety smooth we couldn’t leave it out. What you’ll need:
- 700ml whole milk
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla paste
- 1½ tbsp cornflour
- 1½ tbsp cocoa powder
- 70g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
- 20g milk chocolate, roughly chopped
- 2½ tbsp double cream
Mix the milk, vanilla paste and sugar in a pan and gently heat until it is just warm. Whilst it is heating put the cocoa powder and the cornflour into a mixing bowl and mix. Once the milk mixture is warm pour a small amount into the cocoa mixture and mix it thoroughly to a smooth paste. Pour this paste into the milk mixture and keep heating until it thickens nicely. This should take 4-5 minutes. Once the mixture has thickened add the chocolate and mix until it has melted. Finally stir in the double cream, re-heat and then serve. We think you’ll agree that the addition of the cornflour to thicken it, the mix of chocolate and the cream creates the most amazing thick, velvety hot chocolate.
Luxury Hot Chocolate Topping Buffet
For this Hot Chocolate idea all we are doing is making a normal hot chocolate but we will be setting out an array of toppings and additions for guests to choose from. What you’ll need for the hot chocolate:
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder
- 5 litres whole milk
- 3 tbsp demerara sugar, plus extra to taste
- 100g dark chocolate, chopped
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 150ml single cream
Topping Buffet Suggestions:
- dark rum, whisky, brandy, Disaronno or Baileys
- squirty cream
- Cadbury flakes
- Wafer rolls like these ones from Amazon
- cinnamon sticks
- ground cinnamon
- chocolate chips
- mini marshmallows
- fudge chunks
Put the cocoa into a mixing bowl and mix in enough milk to create a nice smooth paste. Pour the rest of the milk into a pan and heat it up, once warm pour into the cocoa paste and mix thoroughly. Put the cocoa mixture back in the pan and add the sugar, chocolate, vanilla and the single cream and mix everything together. Once everything is warm and the chocolate is melted, pour the hot chocolate into mugs and then let everyone go wild with the topping buffet. They can pour in the alcohol to suit, squirt on the squirt cream and crumble on the wafer rolls and the fudge. In all honesty you can do what you want here as it will all taste amazing no matter what.
Shop bought delights
If you want convenient fast hot chocolate, there are some very good shop bought products available.
No article on Hot Chocolate is complete without a browse through the delicious array at Hotel Chocolat. As everyone knows they have a pretty extensive range of delicious hot chocolate flavours. One of our favourites is the Black Forest Gateau flavour which just brims with morello and black cherry flavours. If that is not to your taste then we can personally recommend the White chocolate and Madagascan vanilla flavour, very, very yummy!
For something a little more exotic, try this limited edition Turkish delight flavour from Whittards. Described as a rich, velvety milk chocolate with a hint of fragrant rose, this really is a Turkish Delight lover’s dream.
A simple way to spice up your hot chocolate is to add a splash of your favourite flavoured syrup, not just for coffee lovers these syrups work just as well in a hot chocolate!
This really is an article that we can spend an age writing as there are so many wonderful recipes and choices out there. We hope that we have got your taste buds tingling and your imagination whirling with our small selection and we wish you happy hot chocolate making as we disappear off to make our own favourites.