Real Hot Chocolate Recipe

“Happiness. Simple as a glass of chocolate or tortuous as the heart. Bitter. Sweet. Alive.” 
~ Joanne Harris, Chocolat

And I couldn’t resist this quote for me and all my writer friends and book lovers:

“Chocolate is a perfect food, as wholesome as it is delicious, a beneficent restorer of exhausted power…it is the best friend of those engaged in literary pursuits.” 
~ Justus von Liebig

This is a simple traditional European hot chocolate recipe that was given to me in the little hillside town of Gubbio in Italy.The recipe makes a thick, rich drink which is not too sweet. It will make two small servings, or one mug. It’s worthwhile using good quality chocolate. Maybe get a little extra too, to have something to snack on while you make your drink!

Ingredients:

1 cup of full cream milk, 2 ounces (60 grams) of milk chocolate and 2 ounces (60 grams) of dark semisweet or bittersweet chocolate broken into small pieces, 1 teaspoon potato starch or cornstarch (cornflour) and one tablespoon of cold milk extra, tiny pinch of salt, pinch of cinnamon.

Method:

Heat the milk until small bubbles form at the edges of the saucepan.

Add the chocolate and melt carefully, stirring constantly. Season with the salt and cinnamon.

*If you are happy with the thickness of the drink, you are now done. If not, read on…

For the traditional THICK hot chocolate add the cornflour or potato starch, which has been mixed with a little extra cold milk to blend it. Bring to a low boil and allow to thicken, making sure to keep stirring. It will only take a minute or so.

Take off the heat and allow to cool slightly. Pour into small cups. May also be topped with whipped cream or sweetened further if desired.

I apologise for the lack of good photos of the made drink, but we forgot to take any until we were nearly done! That’s how yummy this is…

Enjoy!

PS – I sometimes add a pinch of cardamom powder or a pinch of dried chilli for an extra flavour burst. It’s also sublime with a shot of espresso. 🙂