How to make luxurious hot chocolates at home for cold winter nights 🍫☕

Nights are getting longer, days are getting colder, and Christmas is just around the corner, giving us the perfect excuse to spend afternoons snuggled by the fire, with a warm mug of hot chocolate in hand ☕🌨.

Nothing says ‘cosy’ quite like it 🥰

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Now, we could settle for a microwaved packet version of our favourite winter beverage, but that’s not really our style. Rather, we want to
create rich, indulgent hot chocolates, which achieve the silky consistency and full flavour that we’ve been craving, which we're able to enjoy from the comfort of our sofa 🏡.

There are numerous ways that you can achieve this luxurious indulgence at home: You could go all out with the toppings, the thick creamy consistency, or your chosen spices and flavourings. As long as you’ve got a quality chocolate as your base, the world is your oyster 🌍🍫

So, as chocolate is our area of expertise (even if we do say so ourselves!) we’ve provided you with our 3 favourite recipes for creating the ultimate hot chocolates at home 😍. Read on to discover the best luxury hot chocolate recipes for you to master this winter!

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Creamy Italian-Style Hot Chocolate
Thanks to the use of heavy cream (we don’t do things by halves), you can achieve a thick, velvety consistency for your hot chocolate, at a level which is normally reserved for the pros 👩🏼‍🍳. This hot choc is the perfect addition to a winter movie night, snuggle into your sofa, put your fluffy socks on, and sip away as you're warmed from the inside out ❤

Serves 2
Ingredients:

• Whole milk, 120ml
• Cornstarch, ½ tsp
• Heavy whipping cream, 120 ml
• Caster sugar, 2 tbsp
• Love Cocoa Hot Chocolate Buttons, 70g

Method:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together half of the milk and the corn-starch.
2. In a separate, medium saucepan, combine the cream, sugar and the rest of the milk.
3. Place the saucepan on a medium heat, and keep whisking until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture starts to bubble.
4. Once bubbling, add the corn-starch and milk mixture to the pan. Keep whisking on the heat for a further minute.
5. Reduce the heat. Add the chocolate to the pan, then whisk the mixture well. The chocolate will melt into the mixture, resulting in a thick, glossy drink
6. Pour into two of your favourite mugs and serve.

Top tip: Squirty cream and mini marshmallows doesn’t quite fit the aesthetic of this classy hot choc. So, to decorate, we’d recommend whipping some heavy whipping cream until soft peaks start to form. Then, blob a dollop of the cream in the centre of the mug, and top with shavings of chocolate to create hot chocolate flakes (which can be created using a cheese grater).

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Rose and Cardamom White Hot Chocolate
This elegant flavour combination works beautifully with sweet and velvety white chocolate. This rich, warming drink makes for the perfect date-night-in drink, or a bonfire party showstopper, guaranteed to keep smiles on faces and a rosy colour in everyone's cheeks 😊🌹.

Serves 4
Ingredients:
For the flavoured milk:

• Whole milk, 450 ml 
• Rosewater, 1 tsp
• Cardamom pods, 8, crushed

For the hot chocolate:

• Love Cocoa White Hot Chocolate, 4 tbsp
• Rose water, ¼ tsp
• Allspice powder, a pinch (to decorate)

Method:

1. Start by making the flavoured milk. Pour the milk into a large saucepan. Add in the rosewater and cardamom. Then heat the mixture on a medium heat for around 10 minutes, stirring regularly.
2. Pour the mixture into a large jug. Leave to cool, then store it in the fridge overnight.
3. The next day, strain the milk into a clean saucepan (then discard the cardamom shells).
4. Add in the hot chocolate powder and rosewater. Heat the mixture on a medium temperature, continuously whisking as you do so. Once the mixture begins to bubble at the edges, take off the heat and pour into 4 mugs.
5. Sprinkle a dash of allspice over the top of each mug, and serve.

Top tip: You can use these hot chocolate instructions as a base to try all sorts of luxurious flavour combinations. For instance, our white hot  chocolate goes brilliantly well with spices like ginger and cinnamon. So, you could replace the rosewater with a stick of cinnamon, 2 tsp of ginger, 1 star anise and use just 4 cardamom pods, to create a festive Gingerbread Hot Chocolate 🎅🎄

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Cereal Milk Hot Chocolate
No matter who you're making it for, whether it's grown-ups, children, or the young at heart, this is a sure-fire way to excite. It’s a fun-filled treat, which tastes like a dessert in a mug, and is perfect for a snow day, or served as a well-deserved treat after a wet and windy winter walk ☔🌬

Serves 4
Ingredients:
For the hot chocolate:

• Love Cocoa Hot Drinking Chocolate, 4 tbsp
• Whole Milk, 350ml
• Single cream, 100ml
• Vanilla essence, 1 tsp
• Brandy, 20ml (just for the grown-ups!)

For the toppings:

• Squirty cream
• Your favourite chocolate cereal, 40g

Method:

1.  Add all of the hot chocolate ingredients into a large saucepan on a medium heat. Continue whisking until the cocoa has dissolved and the mixture starts to bubble at the edges.
2. Pour the mixture into 4 mugs. Cover with a generous layer of squirty cream.
3. Split the cocoa cereal into 4 portions, then sprinkle the cereal on top of the cream.

Top tip: If you haven’t got brandy in stock, there’s loads of spirited options for you to choose from. You could add whiskey, Irish cream liquor, or a dash of amaretto. We encourage you to experiment with your hot chocolate making - see how the choice of spirit alters the flavours of the drink.

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Your Mouth watering? Ours too 😋

We can’t wait for a cosy evening in with the family, snuggled up under blankets, with the fire roaring, slurping on a mug of one of these hot chocolates 🔥☕

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If you’re ready to transform your home hot drinks experience, head over to the Love Cocoa online shop, and stock up your cupboards with our luxury hot chocolate powders, buttons, and other goodies 🍫

Blankets at the ready! 🤗