Terrific Ho-Cho 4.12 A Family Matter

“Please do not say that word again.” “It's a free country.” “Just say hot chocolate or say nothing at all.” “Mmm, terrific ‘Ho-Cho!’” “Oooh, I hate that. It's so cutesy-wootsy.”

Ingredients:

For the hot chocolate:

6 oz dark chocolate

1 cup heavy cream

½ cup whole milk

½ tsp instant coffee

¼ tsp pink Himalayan salt

For the homemade whipped cream:

½ cup heavy cream

2 tbsp powdered sugar

¼ tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Roughly chop up the chocolate into similar size pieces.

2. In a large saucepan, add the heavy cream and milk. Place over medium-low heat. The key to this hot chocolate is to heat it low and slow. Allow the cream mixture to simmer until warm for about 5 minutes. You don’t want it to reach boiling.

3. Stir in the instant coffee and add in the chopped chocolate.

4. Whisk together until the chocolate begins to melt for 3-5 minutes.

5. Once the chocolate has fully melted, add the salt. You can use kosher salt, but I wanted to use pink Himalayan salt since it has a slightly milder flavor but will still help to cut through the sweetness.

6. Allow to simmer for an additional 5 minutes.

7. Meanwhile, make the whipped cream if you aren’t using store bought by adding the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract to a medium mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer or whisk, mix the cream until soft peaks form.

8. Pour the hot chocolate into your mug of choice and add the whipped cream on top. Serve with any additional toppings of your choice. I added gold sprinkles to mine because I like to be fancy.

I know this is a longer process than stirring in some powder, but trust me, it's worth it.

Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with dumping scoops of hot cocoa powder into a mug of steaming hot milk, but sometimes, you just want to get a little extra fancy with your hot chocolate. This is still an easy recipe to whip up when you want to treat yourself to a rich and decadent hot chocolate. This recipe was inspired by the French chocolat chaud— very thick and creamy. Chocolat chaud was the very first thing when I was fresh off the plane during my trip to Paris, (9 years ago!) so it was fun to recreate.

You can definitely use store bought whipped cream, but I just wanted to be a little extra fancy with mine.

Earlier this week, I was invited to join the Gilmore Gals Podcast to talk about my Eating Gilmore journey thus far. You can stream it wherever you listen to podcasts. Be sure to give it a listen!

Happy cooking from the Hollow!

If you missed what I made last week, catch up here!

Top your hot chocolate with whatever toppings make you happy!