Just because the festive season is over doesn’t mean we have to stop eating chocolate. Winter is still (unfortunately here), and with the tumultuous weather of recent weeks, hot chocolate is the perfect solution. My mother has also started drinking hot chocolate as an ‘alternative’ to caffeine, and I would recommend you follow her in her chocolaty footsteps.
I take Hot Chocolate seriously. There shalt be marshmallows. There shalt be a generous dousing of grated chocolate and sprinklings of cinnamon. Woe betide the heathen advocating water in the stead of milk. I even own a mini grater, specifically for the use of chocolate. And two separate kitchen utensils to froth milk. And a chocolate fountain. But that’s another story…
This recipe provides instructions for homemade hot chocolate.
Ingredients:
100g grams chocolate
1 pint full fat milk
Optional (but encouraged):
Cocoa
Cinnamon
Marshmallows
More chocolate
75 ml whipped double cream
1. Use a bain marie to melt the chocolate (put the chocolate in a glass bowl resting on simmering water).
2. Stir the chocolate until smooth and glossy.
3. Heat the milk in the saucepan until just under boiling point. Remove from the head.
4. Gradually add the milk to the chocolate, whisking as you go, until you have a thick paste. Keep going until your mixture is frothy.
5. Pour into mugs, add whipped cream, marshmallows, sprinkles of chocolate, cinnamon, ice cream, maltesers etc.
6. Enjoy.