How to Make the Perfect Hot Chocolate: 5 Secrets and Tricks You Can’t Live Without!

When it's cold and there are short, rainy days we often go in search of comfort food, i.e. those dishes, sweet or savory according to taste, capable of giving satisfaction. Among the many most popular winter culinary indulgences there is certainly hot chocolate. To break the monotony of a working afternoon, to relax on the sofa on a Sunday, due to tiredness or hunger, there are many excuses for making a dessert like this.

The quickest solution, especially if you're in the office, is to get one at the bar: if you are at home, especially if it is a gloomy day and you really don't feel like going out, you can prepare it at home quickly and easily. Very convenient in this situation are the sachets of preparations that you can buy at the grocery store, in which you just have to add a little milk and mix. But if you don't have any at home or, as often happens, the one you bought a long time ago has expired in the meantime, you don't necessarily have to give up. Starting from the bulk ingredients, continuing with some tricks, here's how to make the perfect hot chocolate.

1. The Ingredients

If you are using a preparation, in addition to the powder in the sachet you will need some milk and probably some quality sugar if it is not already sweetened. If you prepare it with loose ingredients, here's what you need to have available.

Chocolate or cocoa

Cocoa powder is fine, preferably bitter: you can then add the amount of sugar needed to sweeten it. Alternatively, break up some dark chocolate and melt it in a bain-marie or in the microwave. Use a quality no higher than 70% because you would risk having a product that is too bitter and therefore, will need to use more sugar. You can also make white hot chocolate with the same process.

The Milk

Better if it's fresh, perhaps partially skimmed. You can also get similar results if you choose plant-based products like rice, soy or oat milk. However, in this case, be careful to choose unsweetened products or, if you don't have any, reduce or completely eliminate the amount of sugar.

The Thickener

The trick to making hot chocolate as thick as the one in the cafes is to add corn starch, maizena, or potato starch: a teaspoon and a half will be enough for each portion. The thing you need to remember, though, is to sift it together with the cocoa. Nobody wants to find those annoying lumps in their mouth, right?

Cream

The combination of hot chocolate with cream is almost essential. It isn't just a decorative element, but it completes the taste: some even use it instead of milk. In this case, however, as well as being fatter thank milk, you will have a different taste which could overpower the flavor of the chocolate.

If you use it to decorate we suggest you avoid the spray one, which is very convenient and always at hand, but which tends to come apart immediately, especially once sprayed on the hot drink. It is better to use fresh cream, whipped shortly before and kept in the refrigerator until shortly before use. Prefer the unsweetened one: you can always sweeten it to your liking. If you like doodles, insert it into a pastry bag with a wide star nozzle: you will create beautiful patterns.

The Decorations

A biscuit, a few flakes of dark chocolate, or a little bitter cocoa on top, are all elements that complete the preparation of hot chocolate. If you are preparing it to offer to guests, we suggest you accompany it with tea biscuits.

2. The Right Proportions

If you are using cocoa powder, add 30-35 grams for each person drinking the hot chocolate, adding 10 grams of corn starch. If you use dark chocolate, calculate 40-50 grams for each person. The sugar varies according to personal taste, but remember that the more you add, the less intense the chocolate flavor will be. Finally, as regards the milk, you must calculate 250ml for each cup, considering that, if you're trying for a thick chocolate, it will tend to shrink.

3. Tricks for Making Hot Chocolate

The ingredients are ready, all that remains is to get to the stove and start preparing the hot chocolate.

Sift the Cocoa

The first trick to avoid lumps, as mentioned beforehand, is to sift the bitter cocoa together with the cornstarch. In fact, the powders may not be completely "smooth" and, once the milk has been added, it may be difficult to mix them. Use a sieve and a teaspoon and stir slowly: you will see that this problem will not occur.

Heat the Milk

Before adding it to the cocoa, heat the milk in a saucepan, without bringing it to a boil, then pour it slowly over the cocoa with the heat off, and mix with the help of a whisk. In fact, pouring the milk all together is not recommended because lumps could form. Make sure the mixture is homogeneous and continue mixing by transferring the pan to the gas over low heat. Also use a wooden spoon, especially for the edges of the pan, where the milk tends to coagulate more easily.

Sugar and Cook

Add the desired amount of sugar. In fact, we recommend doing it at this stage so that the grains can dissolve easily during cooking. Continue to cook over a low heat until you reach the desired thickness.

4. How to Eliminate Lumps in Hot Chocolate

What if you followed all the steps perfectly, and yet a little lump has still popped up? Don't worry, you won't have to throw everything away: there are several things you can do to recover your hot chocolate.

• Make some more chocolate: repeat the process with a smaller amount of ingredients, then add the lumpy chocolate a little at a time, stirring gently. The lump will dissolve and you will slowly recover all the mixture.
• Sift: another way to recover is to use the sieve, placing it in another pot and pouring in a little chocolate at a time, stirring delicately with a wooden spoon. This operation takes a little longer but the result is guaranteed.
• Blend everything. If your craving for hot chocolate is kicking in and you don't want laborious methods to recover, you can use the immersion blender. Make sure the pot is high enough to prevent the contents from splashing away and within seconds you will have smooth chocolate. You will probably lose a little in density and in this case you will have to cook it a little longer to make it shrink.

5. How to Make Quick Hot Chocolate in the Microwave

Another rather quick method for making hot chocolate is to use the microwave: this way you will shorten the time. Sift cocoa and cornstarch into a suitable container, add the sugar and then pour in the cold milk. Place the container in the microwave and operate it at maximum power for one minute. Extract, mix with a spoon and repeat the operations for another minute. Check that you have reached the desired density and, if necessary, continue for a few more seconds. In fact, times could vary based on the power used.