Festive Hot Chocolate Recipes

Once again it is the time of year, where the weather is getting colder and the festive season is approaching. Here are some hot chocolate recipes to keep you warm through the winter months.

Create your own festive hot chocolate (Photo credit: Rick Chung, Flickr)

1. Slow cooker batch (two servings)

Ingredients: 400ml semi-skimmed milk, 100ml single cream, 75g dark chocolate chopped, 50g milk chocolate

First, add milk and cream into the slow cooker. Add both the dark and milk chocolate, then cover and cook for two hours, stirring occasionally. Stir again after 2 hours and continue to cook for a further 10 to 15 minutes. Put the hot chocolate into mugs and for extra options, serve with whipped cream, chocolate sprinkles or marshmallows.

2. Cinnamon and nutmeg twist (two servings)

Ingredients: 400ml whole milk, unsweetened cocoa powder, sugar, 75g milk chocolate chopped, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg

Add the cocoa powder, sugar, chocolate, cinnamon and nutmeg into a mug. Microwave the milk in a separate mug for 2 minutes. Alternatively, you can heat the milk up in a small pan over a medium heat until it simmers. Once heated, pour the milk into the mug and stir until all the ingredients are mixed.

3. Salted caramel (two servings)

Ingredients: 400ml skimmed milk, 40g dark chocolate chopped, salted caramel syrup, pinch of salt (optional), pinch of ground cinnamon (optional), pinch of nutmeg (optional)

Bring milk to the simmer in a small saucepan. Add the chocolate, caramel syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg to the pan. Stir until the chocolate has completely melted and once finished, serve and enjoy!

4. Pumpkin spiced (two servings)

Ingredients: 400ml skimmed milk, 120 grams chocolate chips, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg, 1/4 tsp ground cloves, 1/4 tsp ground all spice, 1/4 tsp ground ginger.

Add the milk into a saucepan and bring to the simmer. Remove from the heat and stir the chocolate chips and spices into the milk until it is thoroughly mixed. Serve the hot chocolate and enjoy.