3 Luxury Hot Chocolate Recipes – A Chocolatier Guide

A Chocolatier Guide to Luxury Hot Chocolate

In this article we will share our best Luxury Hot Chocolate Recipes! Melt Chocolates is an artisan chocolate boutique based in Notting Hill London, and our ethos is to teach people to enjoy chocolate in its purest form. This includes hot chocolate!

As we move swiftly into the cold months of November and December, we enter a new, cosier phase of living. One which centers around warmth, comfort and happiness. As the leaves turn golden and the days grow darker, we take harbour from the crisp winter air in small cafes filled with the smell of hot chocolate and cakes.

You can’t beat that feeling of contentment, when you hold that warm mug of hot chocolate, the steam curling onto your face, as you sit wrapped up in a blanket watching the cold wind blow outside.

This feeling is defined by Scandanavian people as ‘Hygge‘. Though it has no direct translation, we can better understand Hygge as a concept with key features or practices. Some of the ways to experience hygge is to light soft atmospheric candles, sit under a warm blanket with a book, and to enjoy a hot drink and a sweet treat!

The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking found that the number 1 thing that Danes associate hygge with was hot drinks.

So we want to share our best luxury hot chocolate recipes so that you can recreate that perfect hot chocolate café moment at home with your friends and family.

The Key to Any Luxury Hot Chocolate:

Chocolate

The key to a delicious hot chocolate is the chocolate!

In our luxury hot chocolate recipes we use pure chocolate – not cocoa powder or hot chocolate mixtures. Make sure you choose high quality solid chocolate. We would recommend choosing any chocolate over 35%. Anything below and it risks your hot chocolate just becoming too sugary.

Also good quality chocolate melts at body temperature. If you held one button of dark chocolate and one white chocolate button in the palm of your hand, the dark would melt first. So when you’re making hot chocolate, you want your chocolate to melt beautifully into the milk. So the higher the percentage on the chocolate (the darker it is) the better it is for hot chocolate!

No Added Sugar

We also believe in letting the chocolate flavours speak for itself, so in all of these recipes there is no added sugar. There is enough sugar in milk chocolate already to make the hot chocolate sweet!

We like our hot chocolates to soothe rather than to excite, just like the hygge mentality. The feeling after drinking a hot chocolate should be peaceful, not a sugar rush!

Though of course, each person is welcome to personalise these recipes as they wish! Adding some sweet whipped cream or marshmallows to make your hot chocolate perfect for you is encouraged.

So, here are some simple recipes to inspire you to make the best hot chocolate you can:

1. The Fluffy Bunny Hot Chocolate:

The Fluffy Bunny is the perfect hot chocolate for children, or for those of us who prefer the milkier, fluffier kinds of hot chocolate. This hot chocolate recipe was created specifically for founder of Melt Chocolate’s, Louise Nason’s children! It was a way to get her younger kids with a sweet tooth to enjoy a more high quality hot chocolate while avoiding the richer, more bitter flavour of dark chocolate. With its cute name and a delicious taste, the fluffy bunny is an irresistible hot chocolate for this winter.

It is a super simple recipe and takes no time at all.

The Recipe:

• Heat 200ml of full-fat milk (for a thicker consistency) in a pan on a low/ medium heat
• Stir your milk gently so it heats evenly
• Add about a small handful per cup of high quality milk chocolate – we would recommend using about 35-40% milk chocolate (check the label before you buy)
• Whisk until it’s fully combined and the milk becomes bubbly
• Pour it into your favourite cup (perhaps add some marshmallows) – and voila!

2. The Molten Hot Chocolate

The Molten is a hot chocolate for those with a taste for the richer, darker types of chocolate.

The Recipe:

• Heat full-fat milk in a pan on a low/medium heat
• Wait until your milk is simmering
• Add your high quality dark chocolate – we recommend about 70-80% cocoa percentage (you can also use dark milk which is around 50% if you want to get used to darker hot chocolates first)
• Stir slowly to let it melt and dissolve into the milk
• You can add more dark chocolate – it should be a dark brown, almost grey colour, however don’t expect it to look like melted chocolate yet! The chocolate will settle and darken once it is finished
• Pour into your favourite cup – and you’re ready to go!

3. The Hot Chocolate Block

This hot chocolate recipe couldn’t be easier.

The Recipe:

• Heat your preferred milk in a pan over a low/ medium heat (or microwave)
• Pour your milk into the mug
• Place hot chocolate block into the mug
• Stir gently and wait for it to melt!

Check the products on our hot chocolate page to get the very best quality chocolate for your cuppas! If you are thinking about chocolate gifts for Christmas, there is nothing better than our Hot Chocolate Gift Sets. They are the perfect stocking presents to open on Christmas morning. Just dissolve the chocolate blocks into warm milk and watch as the chocolate melts into a luxurious, tasty hot chocolate. A very low effort for a lazy hygge occasion.

Our Store in London

If you don’t feel like making your own hot chocolate, then come and visit our chocolate shops in Holland Park and Notting Hill, and our chocolatiers will make it for you! You can ask for a fluffy bunny or a hot chocolate block, whatever you fancy. Thank you to the Lonondist who rated us as one of London’s Best Hot Chocolates in their recent article.