This isn’t your little kid’s hot chocolate. This isn’t even your teen’s hot chocolate. This is your let’s-invite-some-other-adults-over-and-enjoy-a-decadent-cup-of-warm-silky-goodness-and-just-decompress-for-a-minute hot chocolate. It’s smooth, delicious, and perfectly luxurious. And we’re going to show you exactly how to make it with real coverture chocolate and heavy cream. It’s really easy, but oh so decadent! Fair warning, you probably won’t want hot chocolate any other way after this.
Before we get started, let’s talk about ingredients. There isn’t a lot involved in mixing up this decadent hot chocolate, so you want to make sure the ingredients you choose are impeccable. And ultimately, it comes down to the chocolate. For this recipe we went with a couverture chocolate. Here we aren’t worried about tempering, because this chocolate is not intended to set back up. Instead, the focus is all about the flavor and hands down, the couverture tastes the best. We tested several different brands of chocolate and different percentages, but the general consensus for the best all-around hot chocolate was the Callebaut Belgian, Semi-Sweet Callets. Not too sweet, not too dark, and totally delicious.
The first tip for making your hot chocolate, make the ganache (cream and chocolate mixture) as smooth as possible. Taking the time to really melt all the chocolate and emulsify it with the cream will elevate the texture of your hot chocolate just that much more.
Next, when you’re adding the ganache to the hot milk, make sure both mixtures are close to the same temperature. This is how you get the ingredients to combine into a nice, smooth, homogenous mixture. But take care! You’ll want to watch your ingredients closely and DO NOT scorch your chocolate or scald your milk. It can happen so fast and will ruin the taste or texture of your end product.
This delicious hot drink is all about slowing things down and creating a moment. It’s a ritual. A pause. So don’t feel like you need to rush the process. Check on your chocolate and your milk a couple of times to get that melting temperature just right. Dont get distracted and start doing other things. And when it’s ready, we hope you invite some friends over and share it.
Place the heavy cream in a tall microwave-safe container. Heat in the microwave or on the stovetop for 2 minutes until the cream reaches about 160°F, hot enough to melt the chocolate. Add the chocolate to the heated cream and mix well to create a smooth, aerated ganache. In a separate container, heat the milk in the microwave or on the stovetop until a tolerable drinking temperature. Add hot milk to chocolate ganache and blend the mixture with a whisk, frother, or hand blender until evenly mixed and fully emulsified. Serve warm and enjoy topped with marshmallows, whipped cream, or a peppermint stick.Decadent Hot Chocolate
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