Hot Chocolate Recipe – Homemade & Zero Waste

Winters are great for snow, holiday lights, cosy fires, warm socks and what else… Hot chocolate!!! It’s just perfect to read a book or binge-watch our favourite series on Netflix accompanied by the hot chocolate on those winter evenings! Don’t you agree? And today I’m going to share the perfect hot chocolate recipe for those perfect evenings. If you have hot chocolate on a regular basis irrespective of the climate, you can go for the hot chocolate mix. It’ll be quite easy for you to make them when they are in the powdered form. Not only that, but the hot chocolate mix is also an ideal gift for your loved ones for Christmas or any winter celebrations. So, I’m going to share how to make the hot chocolate recipe from the scratch as well as the hot chocolate mix. I’ve also included a few variations of the hot chocolate recipe.

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Table of Contents

Hot Chocolate Recipe:

How do you make hot chocolate from scratch?

Here are the ingredients to make a perfect zero waste hot chocolate for your winter cravings.

Ingredients:

Whole milk/ full fat milk – 1 cup
Cocoa powder – 1 tablespoon (unsweetened)

Sugar – 1 tablespoon (powdered)
Dark or Milk Chocolate – a few pieces
Vanilla extract – 1 tablespoon

Marshmallows – As required (optional)
Whipped cream – As required (optional)

Instructions:

Take the milk in a saucepan and start heating it in the medium flame.
Add the cocoa powder and sugar to it and start mixing till you find no lumps.
Once the milk started to heat up, add the pieces of chocolate as of your choice.

Stir them till they are completely melted.
Add the vanilla extract to it and stir it well.
Now serve the hot chocolate by adding marshmallows or whipped cream or sprinkle some grated chocolate on the top.

Note: Here we’re using milk instead of water to get a creamy hot chocolate. You can alter the recipe as you wish. If you need a rich flavour, add more cocoa powder, or you can avoid the dark chocolate if you find the hot chocolate is quite strong. Just play with it. But try to add everything little in the beginning and then alter the recipe after tasting it. You don’t want to waste your hot chocolate.

Hot chocolate recipe with chocolate chips:

All you’ve to do is to replace the chocolate chunks with the chocolate chips in the above recipe. But if you need a rich flavour you can add both chocolate chunks and chocolate chips.

Healthy homemade hot chocolate mix:

Ingredients:

Cocoa powder – 1/2 cup (unsweetened)
Coconut sugar – 1 cup (powdered)
Milk powder – 1 cup

Salt – 1/2 teaspoon
Vanilla powder – 1 tablespoon (optional)

Instructions:

Mix all the above mentioned ingredients well and store it in an airtight container. Don’t worry, it won’t be spoiled. Since we’ve added milk powder you no need to add milk.
Just add from 3 to 4 tablespoons of hot chocolate mix in the boiled water. And give it a good stir and serve hot.
But I prefer milk than water because it makes the hot chocolate more creamy and delicious!

If you couldn’t find vanilla powder, you can always add a few drops of the vanilla extract while making the hot chocolate with water.

Storage:

Store in the airtight container in a dry cool place and it won’t be spoiled.

Homemade hot chocolate mix without powdered milk:

This hot chocolate mix without powdered milk recipe is similar to the above one! Just ignore the milk powder in the above recipe. You can store this in the airtight container. But make sure to add this mix only in milk to get the required taste.

Instructions:

All you’ve to do is heat the milk and add the hot chocolate mix in it.
Stir it well until the mix completely diluted in milk. Make sure not to boil it.

Serve hot with marshmallows or whipped cream.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What can you add to the hot chocolate mix?

As I mentioned above, you can add marshmallows and whipped cream. To enhance the flavour you can sprinkle the cinnamon powder.

Can you use chocolate powder instead of cocoa?

No, you must use cocoa because the chocolate powder contains other ingredients as well. So try to use the cocoa powder to get the flavour of the authentic hot chocolate.

Is hot chocolate mix better with milk or water?

It’s absolutely best to have hot chocolate with milk. But if you had included the milk powder in the hot chocolate mix you can go with water.

Is Hot Chocolate Mix bad for you?

Yes, the store-bought ones are bad for you as it contains artificial flavours and dextrose which are not good for your health.

But if the hot chocolate is homemade it is good to go. Also, if you’re using dark chocolate in the hot chocolate recipe, awesome! The dark chocolate is great for your heart health. But make sure to eat less often (even homemade) as they are high in calories.

What to do with the leftover hot chocolate?

Couldn’t complete your hot chocolate in one sitting? No worries, refrigerate it once it reaches to the room temperature. Then reheat it and have it whenever you like. It’ll be good from 2 to 4 days.

Why do marshmallows melt in hot chocolate?

Like every substance, marshmallow has its melting point. So, in order to avoid that, you can do the following

Use large marshmallows to avoid the melting quickly.

Only add the marshmallows when you’re about to have your hot chocolate. That way you can prevent the marshmallows from melting in the cup.

How can I make hot chocolate mix better?

As I mentioned above, you can add marshmallows and whipped cream. You can also add one teaspoon of cinnamon powder to the chocolate mix. If you’d like to add nut butter (after adding the hot chocolate mix to the milk), go for it.