Hot Cocoa
Ingredients
- 4 oz quality dark chocolate bar finely chopped (see note for recommendations)
- ½ cup (118 ml) heavy cream
- 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar may substitute granulated sugar
- 1 ½ cups (354 ml) whole milk
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 pinch sea salt table salt will also work (a "pinch" for me is about 1/16th teaspoon of salt)
- Mini marshmallows for serving optional
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Combine chocolate, heavy cream, and sugar in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and whisk to combine.
4 oz quality dark chocolate bar,½ cup (118 ml) heavy cream,2 Tablespoons light brown sugar - Whisk constantly until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth (don't turn up the heat to speed up the process, heat that's too high will give you grainy results).
- Once the chocolate is completely melted, slowly drizzle milk mixture into the saucepan while whisking constantly. I do this slowly, adding about 2 Tablespoons at a time and making sure the milk is completely incorporated and the mixture has time to regain temperature before adding more.
1 ½ cups (354 ml) whole milk - Once all milk has been added, whisk a bit longer until mixture is thoroughly heated (I look for steam coming off the pot or will hover my hand over the pot to make sure I can feel the heat radiating from it — the milk can cool the mixture quickly and you need to give it a bit of time to warm or your drink won’t be!).
- Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract and a pinch of salt.
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract,1 pinch sea salt - Pour into heatproof mugs and serve warm, preferably topped with marshmallows!
Mini marshmallows for serving
Notes
Scaling
You may easily divide this recipe in half for 1 serving or double it for 4 servings! When making 4 servings, I recommend using half light brown and half granulated sugar and I use ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt.
Chocolate
I recommend using a quality dark chocolate that you enjoy the taste of. I like a chopped 60% cacao premium chocolate bars (Lindt or Ghirardelli are good options). Couverture chocolate is another great option and does not need to be chopped if it is in chip form.Note that chocolate chips will work in a pinch, but are not the best choice here. Semisweet chocolate will yield a sweeter drink and you may wish to slightly reduce the sugar.
Hot Chocolate Mugs
For those of you asking, these are the hot chocolate mugs I used in my photos (affiliate link!). Love them!
Nutrition
Serving: 18-oz serving | Calories: 703kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 52g | Saturated Fat: 31g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 102mg | Sodium: 135mg | Potassium: 708mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 35g | Vitamin A: 1193IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 297mg | Iron: 7mg
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
