I make hot chocolate

but I don't know what I'm doing so bear with me. See the Tags page for a list of flavours and if you have any thoughts/suggestions/questions or have tried a recipe, let me know! note - if you reblog any of my posts please don't delete my description, I'd appreciate it a lot.

[imakehotchocolate]

Dark chocolate bars with cranberries and white chocolate chunks

Ingredients:

80g dark chocolate

A very small handful of dried cranberries, chopped

2 white chocolate discs, broken up

Had enough for two and a bit bars, although I overfilled them slightly.

I was nervous about this one just because the chocolate was very nice chocolate, wouldn’t want to waste it, but I’m pretty pleased with the outcome :)

[imakehotchocolate]

Dark and white chocolate truffles

What a disaster lol. These are two of the better ones, turns out white chocolate is not my friend.

Dark chocolate truffle mix (adapted from here)

70g dark chocolate

70ml double cream

12g butter

White chocolate truffle mix (adapted from here)

88g white chocolate

35ml double cream

9g butter

Fillings: stem ginger slices, raspberry jam, lemon and lime marmalade, cranberries

I used a 15 cup mould, which I had almost enough filling for but ran out of dark chocolate. I half filled the moulds, chilled in the fridge for ~15 mins, then added fillings and topped up, then chilled for a few more hours. It worked great for the dark chocolate but the white chocolate never properly set, even after putting it in the freezer, and was a sticky nightmare to get out. Tasted good though :)

[imakehotchocolate]

Chilli and ginger dark chocolate bar

Ingredients for x3

56g extra dark chocolate (3 rows)

19g dark chocolate (1 row)

1/4tsp chilli powder

1 ball (nugget? blob?) stem ginger, cubed

Verdict: tasted nice. The last one was more ginger than chocolate because I had to stretch out the chocolate to fill a whole bar, and it fell to pieces when I de-moulded it. The flavouring amounts were about right.

[imakehotchocolate]

Chocolate bar - cardamom white chocolate / coffee dark chocolate

Found a mini chocolate bar mould in the shop so I’m back.

Ingredients x4:

65g white chocolate with ~1/2tsp ground cardamom

70g dark chocolate with ~3/4tsp coffee essence 

Verdict:

The cardamom/coffee combo is good. Next time maybe a bit more dark chocolate though to make the base fully dark chocolate, also let the white chocolate set more before adding the dark chocolate to stop them mixing.

[imakehotchocolate]

Lemon and Green Tea Hot Chocolate

Hello I’m still here.

250ml milk

5tsp cocoa powder

peel of half a lemon

1tsp sugar

tiny pinch salt

1 green tea bag, steeped in the mug for 2-3 minutes

Verdict - very delicate flavour, not bad at all. There was a bit left over that I had chilled the next day, which if anything I preferred.

[imakehotchocolate]

Banana and Cinnamon ‘Cold Chocolate’

No picture this time, but I’m recording the ingredients I used anyway

250ml milk

5tsp cocoa powder

half a banana

1/4tsp cinnamon

1tsp honey

tiny pinch salt

I mixed half the milk with the banana in the blender, and cooked the other half with the rest of the ingredients in a pan as normal. Then I mixed the two together in the pan, put in a glass, and left in the fridge to chill.

Verdict - not cold enough, it needed to be put in the freezer or blended with ice cubes really. Otherwise it was very nice. The banana gives it a really nice texture.

[imakehotchocolate]

Cinnamon Mocha 

We got an espresso machine!!!! So I tried making a mocha. This is how I did it.

For the chocolate “syrup”:

100ml milk

4tsp cocoa powder

1 1/2tsp sugar

1/4tsp ground cinnamon

Mix and heat up on med-high in a pan. Take off the heat, then add:

100ml milk, steamed (use spoon to hold back the foam)

1 shot espresso

Pour in mug, spoon milk foam on top and sprinkle cinnamon. 

Verdict - It was good. Next time I’ll try making it with a double shot for a stronger coffee flavour, this one was fairly mild. Also I think the steamed milk lost some of it’s volume when I added it to the pan, so next time I’ll add it straight into the mug. 

[imakehotchocolate]

Chilli and Vanilla Hot Chocolate

It’s Easter so I thought some melted chocolate was necessary. 

Slightly irrelevant - I really like the texture of the hot chocolate in the photo? It’s all nice and smooth and calming. 

225ml milk

4tsp cocoa powder

25g dark chocolate

1/4tsp vanilla extract

1/8tsp mild chilli powder

Verdict - nice enough, but a bit boring? As in, it’s just chilli and vanilla. meh. Another flavour was needed imo. Not that I’m brave enough, but a more “exciting” kind of chilli powder might have done it. Also, too much vanilla for my liking, but that’s because I wasn’t careful when I measured it out :/

That sounds very negative. I did enjoy it. It just didn’t make me think, “ooh”, as I drunk it. 

[imakehotchocolate]

Lime and Lavender Hot Chocolate

I got this idea from a lime and lavender chocolate bar in a gift shop on holiday. Gift shops are the best for adventurous foods for non-adventurous people. 

250ml milk 

5tsp cocoa powder

just under 1/4tsp lavender extract

peel of half a lime

1tsp honey

tiny pinch salt

Verdict - I overdid it with the lavender just a bit, but I quite liked it anyway. Lime and lavender definitely go together. I preferred lemon and lavender though. 

[imakehotchocolate]

Vanilla and Turmeric Hot Chocolate

250ml milk

5tsp cocoa powder

1/4tsp ground turmeric

1/4tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2tsp sugar

Verdict - from what I remember it was good? No, I definitely remember enjoying it. I don’t remember what it tasted like though. It’s been too long!

[imakehotchocolate]

Chilli and Basil Hot Chocolate

Hellooo everyone sorry I haven’t posted in a while, I put this and the next post in drafts and kinda forgot all about them. Oops. 

250ml milk

5tsp cocoa powder

1/8tsp mild chili powder

1tsp sugar

tiny pinch salt

A couple of sprigs of basil, left in the hot chocolate for 2-3mins

Verdict - I liked this a lot, basil always works nicely with the cocoa and the chilli gives it a (mild) kick. 

[imakehotchocolate]

Lemon and Cardamom Hot Chocolate

250ml milk

5tsp cocoa powder

3 crushed cardamom pods

peel of half a lemon

1tsp demerara sugar

tiny pinch salt

Verdict - really nice! the first one I’ve been properly pleased with for a while. 

[imakehotchocolate]

Orange and Thyme Hot Chocolate

For one portion:

250ml milk

5tsp cocoa powder

1tsp honey

peel of a quarter to a third of an orange

medium sized sprig of thyme

tiny pinch salt

Verdict - I liked it for dipping a croissant in. Something about the buttery taste of the croissant worked well with the thyme. Not so keen on the thyme flavour on it’s own though. It doesn’t bring out the cocoa flavour as well as basil/coriander/parsley do. 

[imakehotchocolate]

This is such a cute blog!! Where do you find these recipes? And are these cups yours? They’re so cute!

oh I just make them up! sometimes it works sometimes it doesn’t. 

And yes they are mine. Thank you :)

[imakehotchocolate]

Blueberry and Lime White Hot Chocolate

Ummmm..... apologies for the colour.

200ml milk

50g blueberries, blended

35g white chocolate

zest/peel of half a lime

tiny pinch salt

After making it I strained it through a sieve and then reheated on the hob.

Verdict - ummmmm. Well it looks like mushroom soup. I didn’t like the taste, too sweet and I missed the cocoa. My mum liked it though. I think I prefer lemon to lime in general so that’s probably part of it. Also if this was made with blueberry extract instead of blueberries it would have looked a lot less... grey. 

[imakehotchocolate]

I just wanted to say i think your mugs are so lovely! Just stumbled on this blog and with winter in full force where Im at, this gives me so much to look forward to. Thank you!

thank you! I might have a slight mug-hoarding habit.... they’re taking over the kitchen..... glad you like the blog :)

[imakehotchocolate]

Does it say on the bottom of the mug who made it? I really want that bear mug.

Just checked, it’s by Paper Destiny. They also have a cute penguin one.