So along with my slight obsession with breakfast (and porridge) I also love hot drinks.
And I particularly like a really good hot chocolate. Having tried and tested many homemade hot chocolates and been too an almost infinite number of cafes I feel that I have become rather too much of a hot chocolate critic.
What I look for in a hot chocolate is a perfect balance between sweetness, chocolate flavour and creaminess. Too sweet and the chocolatey flavour is lost, too chocolate-y means the sweet treat I desire is not there either and too creamy lacks the chocolate depth needed.
In Durham the best hot chocolate in my books is found at Leonards. It is insanely creamy and chocolatey and also has the right sweet balance.
Hot chocolate is decadent so here I have put up a recipe for which you can choose other substitutions for sweetener, milk and chocolate flavour as you wish. The milk can be replaced with any other non-dairy milk. I particularly like Almond milk (which can easily be made at home) or Rice milk. Alternatively normal milk works just as well.
Cocoa powder can be replaced with Cacao powder. All you need to do is simply use half or 2/3rds of the amount of cacao.
Sweetener. Here I have used honey to sweeten but you can use anything in the same quantities. This might be agave syrup, fruit syrup, date syrup, maple syrup...whatever you have really. Just look for what's on offer in the shops and stock up!
Salt. Now this is key. Again like my porridge it sounds odd to put salt in a sweet drink but it really intensifies the flavour of the chocolate - dreamy!
For me the most essential piece of equipment is my cafetiere. You may think this is odd since we are definitely not making coffee here, but having been inspired when I was a child by going to a friends house and having frothed milk (simply using a cafetiere) I have found it is the perfect milk frother!
Hot chocolate
serves 1
Ingredients:
1 mug milk (any milk, dairy or non-dairy)
1 tbsp cocoa powder (or Cacao)
1.5 tbsp honey (or any other sweeter - agave, maple syrup, fruit syrup, date syrup)
2 pinches of salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
Method:
Put all the ingredients in a saucepan and heat until the milk is just about to boil
Once hot, place in your cafetiere and pump up and down until the milk is really frothy. Bang the cafetiere gently on the work surface, swill around and then repeat pumping. Do this a couple of times.
Pour into a mug. Leave for a bit until cool enough to drink and then consume!
Notes and variations
Milk: any milk will work, dairy or non-dairy. Generally normal milk froths much better unless you buy 'barista' labelled non-dairy milks
Cocoa powder: feel free to also use cacao here
Sweeteners: anything will work here (sugar, maple syrup, agave, you name it). Just add and taste it to adapt it to how sweet you would like it.
Flavours: I have put the cinnamon and vanilla as optional. I love this as it just gives a greater depth of flavour but through in what ever you fancy. Putting just a segment of orange peel while the hot chocolate warms gives a lovely citrus hint.
Extras: Adding a blob of homemade Nutella is also INSANE in this.