Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

Good morning friends, I’ve been seeing a plethora of peonies, daffodils and other spring photos on  Pinterest  and Instagram lately, and although I am anxiously awaiting spring I am still savoring my favorite season winter. I know that I am in the minority but I love winter, it is my time to rejuvenate and relax. You can find me every morning after yoga sitting by the fire, reading a chapter of a book and sipping a cup of chocolat chaud or hot cocoa.

Believe it or not hot chocolate and hot cocoa are not the same thing, to put it simply hot chocolate is lots of chopped chocolate mixed with heavy cream typically or milk. Hot cocoa is hot milk or water with cocoa powder and sugar mixed in.

This recipe for Hot Chocolate Mix is from the fabulous baker Stella Parks of Bravetart, the former blog and the cookbook. Currently you can find her at Serious Eats. 

I am not typically a fan of hot cocoa, it reminds me of the watered down cocoa that I used to drink from the packets as a child. This recipe however makes easy and delicious hot cocoa and because you process the cocoa and chocolates in the food processor making a very fine powder you can simply heat the milk and mix this in with a spoon. Stella calls it hot chocolate mix because there is both chopped chocolate and cocoa powder I call it hot cocoa because it is a rich, creamy cocoa drink but it is defiantly not the hot chocolate or chocolat chaud that I am used too. That said it is an easy and probably less caloric drink compared to my usual chocolat chaud.

Hot Chocolate Mix Recipe

Recipe From Serious Eats

Ingredients

1 cup minus 2 tablespoons of moderately toasted sugar(recipe here)

5 ounces white chocolate,(30-35% Cocoa butter) about 3/4 cup finely chopped

4 ounces dark chocolate, 75-80% cocoa butter

1 cup( 3 oz.) of Cocoa Barry Extra Brute cocoa powder

1/2 cup(2 oz.) malted milk powder

1 teaspoon instant espresso powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

Place all ingredients, both chocolates, cocoa powder, malted powder, espresso salt, and sugar into a food processor and pulse until the all of the chocolate is ground and the mixture is s fine powder. Once you are finished place into an airtight container, a Tupperware container, zip lock bag or a glass canister. This mixture is good until the expiration date on the white chocolate bar.

To Make Hot Cocoa

Heat 6 ounces of milk per cup of cocoa, then add 2 tablespoons of the mixture and stir. If making in a pan use a whisk to froth the mixture a bit. If you are making a single mug stir well with a spoon.

You can add a dash of vanilla to taste if you like. I make this mix and give it as gifts. If you are a coffee drinker(I am not) you could also add a tablespoon to your coffee to make a mocha drink.

Do you have a favorite hot chocolate or hot cocoa recipe? Or a winter beverage? Share your recipes here so that we can try them as well.

Have a great day friends and thank you again for your kindness, comments, concerns, emails and prayers, they are all welcomed and appreciated.