If you have ever been to Europe and ordered a hot chocolate, you didn’t get a watered down cup of chocolate. The Europeans know how to do their chocolate and serve it to you thick and pure. They often serve it like melted pure chocolate with no milk or sugar added. Instead, milk and sugar are served on the side for you to add at your leisure. This way it resembles coffee very much in its bitterness and can be readily drunk in the morning. Chocolate served this way does have nutritional content unlike the sugared up versions served in the U.S. Although, nobody can beat a good cup of cocoa with mini marshmallows, so I can’t bash on the U.S. completely.
In my attempt to satisfy my cravings for straight up hot cocoa European style, I set out to buy Nestle’s 100% cocoa powder and make my own mix. What makes European hot chocolate so unique is the richness of chocolate that is not lost in the copious amounts of milk or sugar added. The drink is also fairly thick because of the high density of chocolate. This recipe can be further perfected but served to curb my cravings for now. Hope you enjoy and dare to experiment.
Ingredients (for 1 person):
- 1 cup milk
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 2 heaping tablespoons Nestle’s cocoa powder
These are the ingredients I used. Only a dash of cinnamon at the end for my personal preference.
1. Place the milk in a small pot and heat until it bubbles. Make sure that it does not bubble over because this will create a mess in a half.
2. Add the 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder and 2 tablespoons sugar (raw or plain).
3. Whisk ingredients into milk. Lower the flame so the mixture does not bubble over.
4. Taste a spoonful (blow on it first!) and add any more ingredients if necessary. If you add water or more milk, bring mixture to boil again. If you add any dry ingredients like the powder or sugar, whisk until it dissolves.
*For a Mexican flair add 1/2 or 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. I just couldn’t resist it, it’s worth a taste*
