| How to Make Flavored Hot Cocoa Dec 26th 2012, 00:00 Why be boring and stick to the humdrum warmed chocolate and milk this winter when you can add pizzazz and spunk to your cup of hot cocoa? Any hot chocolate recipe can be jazzed up with a little imagination and ingenuity; however, knowing what tickles your fancy is the best place for hot chocolate enthusiasts to start. Making the hot cocoa - Use quality cocoa for making your homemade hot chocolate. What pre-packaged hot chocolate mixes with added flavors have by way of simplicity, they lack in depth of flavor and quality. By avoiding the standard packaged versions, you'll be assured of a great tasting brew.
- Use only high quality ingredients wherever possible. Choose high grade quality cocoa (dark Dutch cocoa is a superb choice). Cocoa can often be purchased from quality grocery stores or from online sellers. Alternatively, melt quality dark chocolate for a gooey, rich and velvety tasting hot chocolate.
- Use the best quality cream and sugar.
- Be savvy about the hot chocolate recipe you use. Go for the one you can manage and will enjoy making––if there are too many intricate steps involved, you might be tempted to take shortcuts that reduce the quality of the outcome. Simple is good when it comes to making hot chocolate! You might like to use How to make hot chocolate as a tried and true recipe base.
- Check you have the right cooking utensils, including a double boiler and grater if you intend to melt real chocolate.
- Make the hot chocolate according to the instructions in your recipe. If it already includes flavors such as spices, you have two choices––decide whether these flavors match the flavors you intend to add, or leave them out altogether.
Pump up the flavor - Use cool flavors for a refreshing blend. Your number one choice here has to be peppermint or mint, a flavor that tastes fresh and marries well with chocolate. Some minty flavoring suggestions include:
- Add 1 tablespoon of mint chocolate chips to every cup of hot cocoa.
- Crush a peppermint candy cane (or other mint candy). Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of crushed peppermint candy on top of the hot chocolate. It will sink and melt into the drink. Finish with a dollop of whipped cream.
- Add 1 tablespoon of peppermint extract. Mix well and serve.
- Amplify the chocolate flavor. If you truly love chocolate, you'll appreciate increasing the intensity of its flavor. This can be done easily to make your regular hot chocolate even better:
- Melt 1 cup of white chocolate chips into 6 cups of hot whole milk and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract for a white hot chocolate.
- Make hot chocolate fudge by adding a huge chunk of fudge or a brownie at the bottom of the cup, add hot chocolate and top with homemade whipped cream and chocolate shavings. You'll need to provide a long stemmed spoon to help eat up the mushy delight at the base. And be aware, that this isn't to everyone's taste.
- Get a little nutty by combining 2 tablespoons of Nutella to 1 cup of hot chocolate. Allow the Nutella to melt and combine to create a nutty/chocolatey flavor.
- Enhance the chocolate flavor of your hot cocoa by drizzling caramel sauce over the top of your cup.
- Spice up your hot chocolate. Infuse your hot cocoa with flavors of the season such as cinnamon, nutmeg and pumpkin spice (mixed spice).
- Complement those gingerbread men cookies with a gingersnap hot chocolate. Add ¼ teaspoon of ground ginger, allspice and cinnamon to your hot chocolate, mix well and top with homemade whipped cream.
- Design a dessert to remember with a flair for pumpkin. Add 1 tablespoon of canned pumpkin and 1 teaspoon of brown sugar to regular hot chocolate recipe. Top with crushed graham crackers and whipped cream.
- Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of cinnamon into the hot chocolate and add a cinnamon stick to each cup for stirring. If you like cloves, add 2 whole cloves and 2-3 drops of almond essence for a Mexican twist (optional). Add grated dark chocolate for a topping.
- Make your hot chocolate fruity. Chocolate goes well with various fruit flavors, such as banana, berries and orange.
- Mix raspberry and chocolate by adding 1 tablespoon of good raspberry preserve to your hot cocoa. Top with whipped cream and a fresh raspberry. Or try making strawberry and raspberry hot chocolate.
- Make orange hot chocolate. Add 1/2 teaspoon orange extract and a 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla essence to the hot chocolate. Add grated dark chocolate as a topping and stir with a cinnamon stick.
- Make banana hot chocolate. Add 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon of sugar to the hot chocolate. Mash 1 banana. Place both the banana and the hot chocolate into a blender and combine quickly to make smooth. Drink immediately; this is a rich, heavily textured hot chocolate that is just perfect for very cold winter nights.
- Use common sense when blending flavors. There are basic flavor matches you can find by searching online, just as there are mismatches. For example, banana and chocolate are a marriage of great flavors, while adding paprika to that mix might just spoil things.
- One easy way to guess what flavors will blend well with a hot chocolate is to think about which chocolate flavors you like from the range of bars of chocolate. In general, most of those flavors should transfer nicely to a hot chocolate taste too.
- Finished.
- Skip the pre-made whipped cream topping and make your own. All you will need is a heavy whipping cream, sugar and vanilla. Combine in an electric mixer and whip until peaks form.
- Consider adding a dash of cayenne pepper or chili powder for spicy chocolate.
- Use candy as garnish. For fall hot chocolate, candy corn makes for the perfect candy garnish or use a candy cane during the winter holidays.
- Make a choffee––one part hot chocolate and one part coffee. Delicious for those who love both!
Edit Things You'll Need - Hot chocolate recipe
- Hot chocolate making equipment
- Mugs
- Flavor additions
- Stirring utensil
Edit Related wikiHows Edit Sources and Citations |  |
No comments:
Post a Comment