Parisian Hot Chocolate – “Chocolat Chaud”

“YO YO, make yourself a wicked cup of COCOA…”

Happy first of November! I don’t know about you – and I’ve definitely seen a few people talking about it over on Twitter and Instagram – but as soon as the clocks go back and Halloween hits, it feels like time suddenly puts pedal to the metal and zooms right on through all the celebrations from now until the New Year. We don’t get a break! Bonfire Night, Thanksgiving (if you’re American), Christmas, New Year – bam, bam, bam! There are loads of birthdays in my family this time of year too – from my husband (who’s hitting a ripe old age tomorrow) to my brother, and then on to me! Oh, and then there’s the General Election (*groan* and that’s about as much as I’m going to comment about it on here). With all that rushing around in the weeks ahead, it’s definitely important to steal a few quiet moments when you can just to chill and stop your head spinning for a bit. And my preferred method is definitely stealing away with a slab of chocolate, a hot drink and a good book or magazine.

While I’m most definitely a tea fanatic, I do love the odd hot chocolate this time of year – and usually in the evening. But let’s be clear, we’re not talking about the powdered stuff you reach for in the middle of the night when you can’t sleep – the stuff we’re talking about is made with real chocolate and is basically the great granddaughter of the so-called “Drink of the Gods” that all the nobility were obsessed with in the 18th century.  It was brought over to Europe by the Spanish Conquistador Cortés and it became so popular so quickly (once they’d sweetened it with a little sugar) that it was even served up during the auto-da-fé of the Spanish Inquisition, and women became so obsessed with it that they insisted on swigging it during church! Lots of those Spanish noblewomen ended up marrying French noblemen and so the obsession spread. Parisian Hot Chocolate (“Chocolat Chaud”) is much thicker, and much richer than your regular cup of cocoa (yo yo), and pours into the cup like lava. It’s literally melted chocolate that you can drink. It’s so easy to make; too easy in fact, especially given that the traditional recipe calls for both whole milk and double cream before you even get around to adding in the chocolate. My recipe is a slightly skinnier version and uses just three ingredients, but it’s just as dreamy as the original and makes enough for two large cups (or four small taster cups). Even better, flask it up and take it along with you on bonfire night! Once you’ve cracked the base recipe, you can get creative adding flavoured syrups and spices – or even give it a go using different types of chocolate. 🙂

Parisian Hot Chocolate – “Chocolat Chaud”

You’ll never drink the instant stuff again (and you’re going to hate me for it)…

Ingredients

• 450ml skimmed milk
• 150ml double cream
• 150g of whatever chocolate you fancy (I really like Dark Milk Chocolate for this recipe; it’s got a higher cocoa content and so isn’t too sweet, but still has that creamy taste you’d expect from a bar of milk chocolate.)
• Serve with a dollop of whipped cream if you’re feeling fancy – or just enjoy as is.

Method

1. This recipe is so easy it should be criminal. First, pour the skimmed milk and double cream into a saucepan and then crank up the heat, stirring gently until you start to see small bubbles forming around the outside. Whatever you do, you don’t want the mixture to boil – so as soon as you start to see those bubbles, turn the heat down as low as you can.
2. Next, throw in your chocolate and stir until it’s completely melted into the milk and cream mixture.
3. Pour into cups and enjoy! It’s that easy! 😉

Have a cosy weekend guys, it’s going to be a gloomy one! 🙂