The winter season is upon us, and we start to get that “curl up next to a fire and drink hot chocolate as we watch the snow fall” feeling. Make your very own delicious hot chocolate from scratch with a few helpful tips from us at Dorinda’s Chocolates!
Hot Chocolate Ingredients
You can make hot chocolate using cocoa powder and milk or by melting your own chocolate, depending on how much time you want to take and how decadent you want your hot chocolate to be. If you make your hot chocolate with cocoa powder, add some creaminess back in with evaporated milk or half and half cream. Sweeten your hot cocoa with sugar and add flavor with a dash of vanilla extract!
An epic hot chocolate recipe starts with good ingredients, like all amazing chocolate treats do. The quality of the chocolate you use will make a huge difference in how the hot chocolate turns out in the end. Too much semi-sweet chocolate could make your hot chocolate bitter, so use a combination of semi-sweet chocolate and milk chocolate to balance the chocolate flavor. Hot chocolate from scratch starts with heating milk and half and half and adding chocolate in so the heat of the milk melts the chocolate. YUM!
Famous Hot Chocolate
We are big fans of famous chocolatier Jacques Torres. His hot chocolate recipe is phenomenal! Jacques Torres uses corn starch and heavy whipping cream in his hot chocolate to make the liquid chocolate beverage even more rich and creamy.
Another life-changing hot chocolate experience is available in New York City at City Bakery, which is liquid chocolate with their popular homemade marshmallows! Serendipity 3’s famous Frrrozen Hot Chocolate in New York City is also a huge tourist attraction that is perfect for any time of year!
Don’t Forget the Marshmallows!
While the hot chocolate may be the main event, our inner child demands marshmallows! Add marshmallows immediately after pouring to encourage the marshmallows to melt into the hot chocolate.
If you want to take your gourmet hot chocolate made from scratch to the next level, add homemade marshmallows! You can make your own marshmallows with gelatin, sugar syrup, and vanilla. For special seasonal flavored marshmallows, add peppermint extract and red food dye for peppermint marshmallows to go with your hot chocolate!
Hot Cocoa Cones
Not everyone has the time or ingredients to craft some gourmet hot chocolate this winter, but you can give them the gift of hot chocolate made easy! At Dorinda’s Chocolates, we have Hot Cocoa Cones with cocoa powder, chocolate chips, and marshmallows! Keep your house stocked with ingredients for delicious hot chocolate by grabbing a few of this hot cocoa cones. Everything is already measured, which makes this hot chocolate trick perfect for kids.
Looking for some fun Christmas gifts? Hot cocoa cones from Dorinda’s Chocolates are perfect stocking stuffers! Stop by our stores at The Summit Mall in South Reno, The Village at Northstar in Truckee, our Squaw Valley location, or our downtown Reno location on the Truckee River Riverwalk!