A decadent, creamy, thick hot chocolate is the counterpoint to any cold wintry night (or day). Make your own delicious hot chocolate at home (and save money at the coffee shop) with this super chocolatey Hot Chocolate Mix. You can also turn it into a Red Velvet Hot Chocolate Mix and use it as the perfect starting point for some fun Halloween drinks! They make excellent holiday season gifts too!
(PIN IT FOR LATER)
I made myself the first hot chocolate of the season the other day, and I realized that was as a good a sign as any that the season for ice creams, sorbets, popsicles and all other frozen treats is almost over for those of us in the northern hemisphere. This might also be the season for pumpkin spice lattes here in the US, but for me, there’s nothing like a delicious, steamy, thick hot chocolate. That’s just pure liquid chocolate gold.
My definition of a perfect hot chocolate is deeply chocolately, creamy, sweet (not cloyingly sweet!), with a touch of spice. And maybe if I’m lucky or feeling fancy, a nice fluffy marshmallow on top too! 🙂 If you want to make your own perfect hot chocolate at home (and save some $$ at the coffee shop), I’ve got the perfect Hot Chocolate Mix for you guys today! And as an added bonus, I also have an awesome Red Velvet Hot Chocolate Mix for all the red velvet fans out there – like Mr. K!
A good hot chocolate mix is imperative for a decadent, creamy cup of hot chocolate. The store-bought mixes are replete with preservatives and other undesirable stuff, but here you only got good quality 70% dark chocolate, good quality cocoa powder, cane sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon. That’s it. The result is a decadent hot chocolate that’ll warm you up with cozy feelings (and memories) on all the winter nights (and days) to come. And it’s a LOT more economical than paying several bucks each time at the coffee shop!
Admittedly, I’ve also gone a little red velvet crazy lately. Red velvet is Mr K’s favorite cake, and I’ve made it for his birthday before. Recently I also made these kick ass red velvet pudding popsicles, and then I thought why not a red velvet hot chocolate? It’s everything that a creamy hot chocolate is, but RED! Perfect for Halloween, Fall, Winter, Christmas, Birthdays, Game days, Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, well… you get the picture. And they also make great gifts for the holiday season too!
So this is a basic recipe for a super chocolatey, hot chocolate mix, with the option of turning it into a red velvet hot chocolate mix as well. If you’d like to give the red velvet hot chocolate mix as a gift, you can add the powdered color dust to the basic hot chocolate mix to get that instant red color. If it’s just for you, make the basic mix and simply add the coloring to the drink instead. I’ve made both here as you can see in the pictures, and it’s AWESOME! 🙂
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Ingredients:
- 100 g 70% good quality chocolate I used Lindt
- 50 g Good quality cocoa powder I prefer Valrhona or Callebaut / Cacao Barry
- 200 g white sugar Use 150 g / ¾ cup for less sweetness
- 40 g cornstarch about ¼ cup , spoon and leveled
- ½ tbsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp red food coloring powder (for red velvet mix)
Instructions:
- Grate the chocolate and transfer it to a food processor.
- Add the cocoa powder, white sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, salt and food coloring (if you're making red velvet) and process until you get a fine powder.
- Store the hot chocolate mix in an air-tight, dry bottle/jar.
To make Hot Chocolate
- Heat 1 cup of milk.
- Add 2 - 3 tbsp of hot chocolate mix and stir briskly to mix.
To make a frothy Hot Chocolate
- Place 1 cup of hot chocolate in a small saucepan. Add 2 - 3 tbsp hot chocolate mix and heat the mixture while stirring, until completely dissolved and the drink is nice and hot.
- Place the hot chocolate mixture in a sealable bottle OR in a small french press.
- Shake the bottle until the milk is frothy, or use the french press by moving the depressor up and down vigorously to froth the milk.
- Pour into a mug, top with marshmallow and serve. Enjoy!
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
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Kathryn Weber says
What brands of chocolate do you recommend?
Dini says
Hi Kathryn!
I used lindt chocolate for this recipe. It’s always my go to for hot chocolate. Another chocolate I like to use is Callebaut (which is more expensive), but Lindt chocolate is easier to find! 🙂