How to make hot chocolate at home, nice thick and with cocoa!
How to make hot chocolate at home with cocoa in such a way that it is as tasty and dense as the one prepared at the bar? The recipe for this delicious gastronomic treat is simple on the surface, but it is necessary to pay attention to many small details (starting from the ingredients) for the result to be truly exceptional!
Hot chocolate was born in South America, it finds its origin in the pre-Columbian civilizations that invented the recipe that we could consider ancestor of ours: they used cocoa paste to prepare a drink flavored with flowers or spices such as vanilla, chilli or cinnamon. It would then have been imported into Spain only in the 16th century, immediately adored by the aristocrats and the courts of Europe. Italy soon became one of the excellences in the field: it seems that the first hot chocolate was drunk in Florence in the 17th century, imported directly from the traveler Francesco d "Antonio Carletti.
Who doesn't like sipping hot chocolate today on a rainy winter afternoon, especially if it is homemade and thick? It's part of chocolate therapy! Let's find out now how to make the best possible hot chocolate with the use of cocoa! For those who want, here is an explanatory video:
How to make hot chocolate at home: here are all the ingredients, from cocoa to fresh milk!
To prepare a perfect cup of hot chocolate you need to start with high quality ingredients. First of all you will need milk. The best way to get a thick chocolate with a more intense flavor is to use fresh whole milk.
The second fundamental ingredient is sugar: be careful, however, do not add too much or the risk is to overwhelm the flavor of the cocoa, which must be the real protagonist of this delicious drink. So get some icing sugar.
We come to cocoa: the most common mistake that is made is to use sweet cocoa, but in reality you need just the bitter one! lukewarm and then mix with the rest.
Finally, here is the secret to make your homemade hot chocolate thicken: add some cornstarch or starch to act as a thickener.
So let's summarize the ingredients, with also some quantitative indications to be able to regulate the ratios:
- 250 ml of fresh whole milk
- 65 g of bitter cocoa
- 15 g of corn or starch starch
- 25 g of powdered sugar
- 2 vanilla pods (optional)
See also
The best way to make a dense hot chocolate at home like in the bar!
Start by sifting cocoa, corn starch and powdered sugar into different bowls. If you like the flavor of vanilla, add the cocoa pods as well and mix them together. Use a food bag and add all the ingredients to mix, then put the powder in a saucepan and pour some of the milk very slowly, always stirring with a whisk, so that no lumps form.
When the cocoa is perfectly dissolved in the milk, add the rest and put the saucepan on the stove. Never stop mixing, it is important that no lumps form! Turn off the moment you think it is thick enough for your taste.
And if you want to give your hot chocolate an even more gritty flavor, use dark chocolate cut into flakes. Dissolve it in a third of the hot milk, mix with a whisk and then add it to the rest of the milk with the other ingredients and continue as mentioned above.
The variants of homemade chocolate for vegans and lactose intolerant!
Are you lactose intolerant or vegan? And who said you can't enjoy a nice hot chocolate too? In this case, of course, the problem is milk, but an alternative chocolate is possible. Just use almond, soy or rice milk as a liquid base.
It probably won't be as thick as chocolate made with fresh whole milk, but it will still be delicious. Start by mixing cocoa and sugar (together with any vanilla pods) and then mix the powder with the vegetable milk of your choice. Add, if you like, the dark chocolate flakes, also in this case.
Bring the milk to a boil while continuing to stir, without ever stopping, so that it does not stick to the bottom and do not form the usual lumps. And here's how to make homemade vegan chocolate!
Tips for an unforgettable hot chocolate!
To make your own hot chocolate at home you will need to pay attention to some important details. First of all, remember to put the saucepan on the stove over low heat, so that the chocolate can slowly thicken. Also consider that the thickener, whether it is starch or potato starch, will continue to act even when the flame is out ... therefore, don't wait too long to remove the chocolate from the heat!
Finally, to make your chocolate even tastier, you can add whipped cream, or a sprinkle of cinnamon or caramel.
Chocolate is good, first of all for the mood (it is an antidepressant food) ... browse our album and let yourself be inspired!
