Hot Chocolate For Love!

Baby it’s cold outside- so make a cup of steamy hot chocolate  to warm and satisfy the soul!

 

Enchanted Chocolates' ground 70% cacao chocolate

Enchanted Chocolates’ ground 70% cacao chocolate

It’s fun and so easy to do.  Start with a good quality chocolate bar- a higher cacao will make a richer, more chocolatey flavor.  Finely chop or grate 2-4 ounces (per cup of milk) according to your taste.  Heat milk in a small sauce pan or preferably double boiler till hot – don’t let it boil though.  Add the chocolate and stir with a spoon till smooth.  Try a whisk for a lovely froth.  Pour and enjoy!

Feeling creative?  Hot chocolate blends well with so many flavors, be original and make it your own special potion.

  • Scrape out the seeds of a vanilla bean and add .
  • Try adding a splash of your favorite liqueur- I love Chambord, Grand Marnier or Ammaretto.
  • For added richness mix a small amount of cream with the milk.
  • Go Mexican- add ground cinnamon or a cinnamon stick- remove stick before serving.
  • Add Chinese 5 Spice for a tasty Asian flair.
  • Valentine’s Day is coming, make a love spell hot chocolate- add cinnamon and  cardamom with the chocolate- all considered aphrodisiacs.  Your lover will love you for it!
  • Add crushed peppermint stick for the perfect snowy day cup of hot chocolate.
  • Is Chocolat one of your favorite books?  Make your own magick taking a cue from the beautiful, haunting Vianne Rocher.  Add a cinnamon stick, a seeded hot chili pepper and vanilla bean to the heating milk.  Remove all before serving.
A freshly made batch of Keep It Real Hot Chocolate in the Bialetti Hot Chocolate Maker ;)

A freshly made batch of Keep It Real Hot Chocolate in the Bialetti Hot Chocolate Maker 

 

*** Please Note *** Hot chocolate and hot cocoa are 2 entirely different beverages, although the terms are unfortunately interchanged often.   I much prefer the richness and depth of hot chocolate (made with melted chocolate) versus hot cocoa which is made with sugar and cocoa powder.  In my opinion the author Shirley Jackson put it best when she said  “Cocoa? Cocoa! Damn miserable puny stuff, fit for kittens and unwashed boys. Did Shakespeare drink cocoa?”

If you find yourself making lots of hot chocolate you might want to consider buying a Bialetti Hot Chocolate Maker & Milk Frother.  Simply add milk and chocolate, turn it on and in five minutes you’ll have a great frothy cup of deliciousness.  Included is a frothing paddle which I’ve never felt the need to use as am I more than satisfied with the amount of fluffy light froth it creates without the additional paddle.  I use it with our Enchanted Chocolates’ Keep It Real Hot Chocolate regularly, making 2 8 oz. cups at a time- much more and it can splash out near the end of the heating cycle.  Despite this limitation I recommend it for its’ ease of use and cleaning.

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