Recipe by Caroline Barty, House & Garden UK
Makes 8 x 150 ml mugs
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
150g dark chocolate, 70 per cent cocoa solids
4tbsp cocoa powder
4tbsp dark brown
Muscovado sugar
1tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of ground nutmeg
Pinch of ground ginger
Pinch of ground cloves
1 vanilla pod
Method
Finely grate the chocolate and refrigerate for about 20 minutes to firm up. Stir in all the remaining ingredients apart from the vanilla pod. Pour the mixture into a presentation bag or jar and add the vanilla pod. Attach a label with the following instructions:
To make the hot chocolate:
Heat 150ml milk, or milk and cream, and bring to the boil.
Place 3tbsp of the hot chocolate mix in a mug and pour over about 2-3tbsp hot milk. Stir until smooth, then pour in the remaining milk.
Add the vanilla pod, leave for a few minutes to infuse, then stir and serve. You can reuse the vanilla pod – wash well after use and leave to dry out.
Top Tips
For a really sumptuous drink, heat a mixture of milk and whipping cream and top with freshly whipped cream. There is no need to keep the mix in the fridge unless stored in a really warm kitchen.
Feature image: Jonathan Pielmayer, Unsplash