Hot Chocolate

This is a thick and creamy European style hot chocolate! It’s easy to make at home and is perfect with some homemade cookies while watching a holiday movie marathon. I love topping mine with some whipped cream to make it extra creamy and frothy - as you can see I made quite the mess too!

You start by heating up your cream and milk - I like to heat it until it smells sweet and starts to form tiny bubbles. Make sure not to bring it to a boil or heat at too high of a temperature because you can burn the milk, which makes for quite an awful tasting hot chocolate. A bit of cornstarch helps thicken up the hot chocolate. I mix it with sugar (and a pinch of salt) so it incorporates easily and then whisk it into the heated milk.

I like to use unsweetened chocolate so I have more control over how sweet the hot chocolate turns out. Two 4 oz chocolate bars is usually enough - roughly chopping them makes it easier for it to dissolve into the warm milk!

I like taking the milk off of the heat while whisking in the chocolate so I don’t risk burning it. However if you’re having a hard time getting the chocolate to fully melt you can heat on low and whisk until the hot chocolate is velvety smooth. Ladle into your favorite mug and top with whatever you like, whipped cream is my favorite but a big roasted marshmallow is also a great idea.

Ingredients

6 cups whole milk
3 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup white granulated sugar
2 tsp cornstarch
pinch of salt
8oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
Optional: Whipped cream for serving

Instructions

Heat milk and cream in a pot on the stove on medium heat. Don’t let come to a boil. just warm up until it starts to get foamy and fragrant.
In a small bowl mix together the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Whisk into the milk and then remove the pot from the heat.
Chop your chocolate bar so it melts easily. Stir into the milk, heat on low if its not melting. It can sometimes take a while to fully incorporate.
Pour into your favorite mug and top with whipped cream, enjoy!