Hot Chocolate (Bad Wolf Style)

Back in my socket after an ops run into the city, I was blessed with decent weather for my trip, but the fates have decreed snow for me, 1-5″ overnight. Just thinking about this makes me cold, so time for a bit of a winter warmer.

SPOILER ALERT

Once you do this, there is no going back; one mug of this, and you will be hooked. Those powder packets will be served to visitors you wish would leave.

Hot chocolate or hot cocoa are classic winter warmers, but the powder packets are just lightly flavored sugar; I want a real chocolate punch. As one of my early taste testers said, “Like drinking a really good chocolate bar.”

The recipe as written is very basic, good, but basic; a few options to kick it up a level are:

• Booze – Like that would not be at the top of my list.
  • Bourbon – A classic
  • Rum – Another classic
  • Kahula – Mocca with a kick
  • Frangelico – Adds a nutty kick
  • Vodka – Ukrainian, not the other putzs
• Spices
  • Cinnamon
  • 5 spice mix
  • chai spice
  • Vanilla pod and a chili pepper
  • a dusting of cayenne
  • Peppermint and Orange rind
• Top with
  • Whipped Cream (whipped fresh with a shot of booze?)
  • Marshmallows – Classic
  • Coconut Cream – VERY RICH INDEED

If you use spices, add them at the start and let them simmer in the milk, then strain them out before adding the chocolate. One can add a dusting to the top of the mug just before serving.

To misquote Sir Mix A Lot and mangle the old song, “I love big mugs, and I cannot lie.” So BIG mugs 12-14 oz, THICK mugs to retain heat, and always preheat your mug with boiling water.

A note on chocolate, sweeter is not better; I suggest using bittersweet or semisweet chocolate. Bittersweet has little sugar added to it, so you’ll get a purer chocolate taste. Semisweet works too, and usually has more sugar added to it than bittersweet.

What about those cacao percentages? The higher the cacao percentage (noted on the chocolate package), the more chocolate solids are in the product and, therefore, the higher the intensity of the chocolate flavor.

Semisweet is usually 35-40% cacao, bittersweet up to (and sometimes higher than) 75%.

And the Cocoa name wars begin, with many definitions of hot chocolate and hot cocoa; here is my dividing line. Hot Chocolate contains cocoa butter; from the chocolate, hot cocoa has very little or no cocoa butter.

Bad Wolf Hot Chocolate

A winter warmer, but made from scratch. Dump the packets.

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 15 minutes mins

Course Drinks

Cuisine Global

Servings 2

Calories 444 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 4 oz Chocolate dark, semi-sweet (60% cacao)
• 2 cup Whole Milk
• 1 tsp Powdered Sugar
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 pinch Salt

Instructions

 

• Finely chop the chocolate into small pieces; I freeze the chocolate and grate it on a microplane grater.
• In a small, thick-bottomed pot on low heat, bring the milk to a low simmer, whisking occasionally
• Add the chocolate, vanilla, powdered sugar, and salt, and whisk vigorously until the chocolate has melted.
• Heat for another 4 minutes, constantly stirring, until the chocolate is completely melted.

Notes

The above is a basic hot chocolate, and to quote one denizen of the lair, “Like drinking a good candy bar.”  But it is basic.  

Some RougeChef twists:

• Add a splash of liquor
  • Bourbon – Always a classic
  • Dark Rum – Another classic
  • Kahlua – Mocca with a kick
• Steep spices in the milk, then strain
  • Vanilla pod and a chili pepper
  • Five Spice mix
  • Chai spice mix
• Whipped marshmallow

 

Nutrition

Calories: 444kcalCarbohydrates: 47gProtein: 10gFat: 27gSaturated Fat: 16gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 29mgSodium: 121mgPotassium: 533mgFiber: 3gSugar: 42gVitamin A: 395IUCalcium: 314mgIron: 2mg

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