There’s nothing quite as comforting as a steaming cup of creamy, rich hot chocolate. This recipe takes your favorite childhood drink to the next level with just a handful of simple ingredients. Top it off with whipped cream, marshmallows, or your favorite toppings, and sip your way to pure bliss!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
When creating this recipe, I aimed to strike the perfect balance between a hot chocolate that’s rich and creamy without being overly thick, and flavorful and sweet without giving you a sugar overload (I had the worst headache from the first trial I did!)
After a few trials, I ended up with the perfect hot chocolate that is indulgent yet drinkable and can be enjoyed anytime of day.
The magic lies in four key ingredients that elevate this hot chocolate to the next level: heavy cream (in addition to whole milk) for a luxuriously smooth texture, high-quality dark chocolate for deep, authentic flavor, a splash of vanilla extract/essence for complexity, and a pinch of salt to enhance and balance the sweetness. Together, these ingredients create a cup of hot chocolate that’s so so so good!
What Type of Chocolate to Use
For the best hot chocolate, I recommend using a high-quality dark chocolate (also called bittersweet chocolate) block (as opposed to dark chocolate chips). The quality of the chocolate directly affects the flavor, so the better the chocolate, the better your drink will be!
I typically opt for dark chocolate with around 50% cocoa solids for a rich yet balanced chocolaty flavor. Anything up to 70% works well, too, without making the hot chocolate bitter. If you prefer it sweeter, you can always do a taste test at the end and stir in a bit more sugar as needed.
How to Make Hot Chocolate
You can find the full list of ingredients for this recipe in the recipe card at the end of the blog post (for easy navigation, hit the ‘jump to recipe’ button at the top of the blog post). Here is a quick visual breakdown of the recipe (recipe video is also provided in the recipe card below).
Place a saucepan on a stove over a medium heat and add in milk, cream, cocoa, brown sugar, vanilla and salt. Whisk until well combined and bring to a simmer (keep a close eye on it to make sure it doesn’t boil over).
Once simmering turn heat down to low and add roughly chopped chocolate to the milk mixture. Stir until it fully melts.
Once melted, pour the drink into two mugs. You can taste and add more sugar if desired. Let it cool for a few minutes, then top with your favorite additions, such as mini marshmallows or a dollop of whipped cream (I like to add some extra chocolate shavings on top!).
Rich Homemade Hot Chocolate
Print Pin VideoIMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided, as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.
Ingredients
- 1¾ cups (420 g) whole milk
- ½ cup (115 g) heavy cream
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder - I use natural cocoa powder
- 1½ tbsp soft light brown sugar - white okay too.
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract/essence
- 1 small pinch salt
- ½ cup (85 g) dark or semi-sweet chocolate - roughly chopped. If using cup measurements use a heaping cup of roughly chopped chocolate.
Instructions
- Place a saucepan over a medium heat and add in milk, cream, cocoa, brown sugar, vanilla and salt. Whisk until well combined and bring to a simmer.
- Once simmering, turn heat down to low and add in roughly chopped chocolate. Stir until fully melted.
- Once melted, pour the hot chocolate into two mugs. You can taste and add more sugar if desired. Let it cool for a few minutes, then top with your favorite additions, such as marshmallows or a dollop of whipped cream.
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.
7 Comments
Hey Hey, just wondering if you are coming to the International Cake Show in Australia from 11-13 Apr. I sooo hope so, would love to meet you. Some really awesome influencers will be there, so I just thought I’d make sure you knew about it so you could possibly consider it 🙂
You do awesome things!
Kind regards,
Tracie
MK!!! This hot chocolate is decadent!!! This is now my favorite recipe and standard. What a treat of velvety goodness🩷 I use maple syrup instead of sugar and I topped with whipped cream, cinnamon and nutmeg 🔥🤩
Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Aww so glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe Aneika! Really appreciate the feedback 😀
This hot chocolate recipe looks delicious, thank you! I will make it soon. HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Thanks Livia! Hope you enjoy the hot chocolate and happy new year to you too! 😀
Tried this recipe yesterday and it was really quick and delicious! Not too thick for my preference but still rich and tasty! This is definitely a recipe to try if you’re looking for a rich hot chocolate! I did however use Hershey’s dark chocolate chips and enjoyed the taste ☺️ I will attempt this recipe again reducing some of the ingredients’ quantities in the event of preferring a thinner consistency
Thanks so much Kyra! So glad to hear you enjoyed the hot chocolate recipe 😀