I saw these marshmallows at Asda the other day and I just could not resist picking up a package! They are so cute. Little snowman faces. I just couldn't pass them by without picking up a package! (or two)
Hot cocoa has never been my favorite drink. First of all I am not fond of chocolate milk, or chocolate ice cream. I adore chocolate candy and chocolate bakes, but when it comes to milk, I could take or leave it.
Add to that the fact that most hot cocoa powders you get to use at home and largely disappointing. You end up with watery hot cocoa with lumps and bits of cocoa powder in them, because no matter how hard you try you just can't get the cocoa to dissolve completely!
About the only place you can get a decent hot chocolate is at one of the coffee shops and then it costs more than a coffee and is far too sweet for my taste.
Todd, on the other hand, really loves a nice cup of hot cocoa, although in all truth he finds the packaged hot cocoa mixes a huge disappointment as well.
One exception is the Strawberry Hot Cocoa Mix that I make myself. That is perfectly delicious. I saw a recipe on a blog called Baking Mischief the other day for a creamy rich hot chocolate sized for one person the other day and so I printed it out and decided to try it for Todd.
Oh boy . . . this is the Cadillac of Hot Chocolates! Its rich and creamy and quite delicious!
I adapted it to our tastes and measures. I left out the espresso powder as we don't drink coffee drinks in our home as we are Latter Day Saints.
Do feel free to add it if that isn't a problem for you, its only 1/4 tsp. I also adapted it so that I could make it in the microwave without having to dirty a saucepan.
I confess I had a little sip and it was absolutely gorgeous! That's coming from me who doesn't really like hot chocolate, so you know it must be really good! Todd felt very special when I set this down in front of him.
Creamy and Rich Hot Cocoa For One
Yield: 1Author: Marie RaynerThe perfect cup of cocoa, rich and creamy and beautifully sized for just one. You don't get much better than this!
ingredients:
- 1 TBS white sugar
- 1 TBS unsweetened cocoa powder
- pinch salt
- 1 TBS boiling water
- 160ml whole milk (2/3 cup)
- 80ml heavy cream (1/3 cup)
- 2 heaped TBS semi sweet chocolate chips
- your favorite toppings (marshmallows, whipped cream, etc.)
instructions:
How to cook Creamy and Rich Hot Cocoa For One
- Combine the sugar, cocoa powder, salt and boiling water to make a paste in the bottom of a measuring cup. Add the milk, whisking to combine well. Put in the microwave and microwave on high for one minute. Whisk in the cream and return to the microwave and microwave on high for one minute longer. (Keep an eye on it. You don't want it to bubble over.) Add the chocolate chips and whisk all together to melt the chocolate chips. Transfer to your favorite mug, top as desired and enjoy!
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There are ways that you could adapt this to someone who needs to watch their sugars. For one, leave off the marshmallows. Two you could use a granulated sugar substitute instead of real sugar. You could also use evaporated skim milk instead of cream and semi sweet milk instead of whole milk I would leave in the chocolate chips however. We can't take away ALL of the fun and goodness can we?
