Ten delicious ways to doctor a mug of basic hot chocolate
Let us pause in our busy lives and pay homage to a great man, a man of science, a man of ideas: Sir Hans Sloane.
Sloane, who lived from 1660 to 1753, was a man of many accomplishments: He developed an early method of classifying plants; he collected objects that initially made up the bulk of the British Museum.
But most important, he invented hot chocolate.
People had been eating and drinking chocolate for more than 1,000 years, but no one made it deliciously creamy until Sloane, who was 27 when he journeyed from England to Jamaica. He tried the local drink of chocolate mixed with hot water, but found it unappetizing. After some experiments, he discovered (or popularized) a method of mixing it with milk, and we have been drinking hot chocolate ever since.
The entire marshmallow industry owes him its eternal gratitude.
There is, after all, something intensely comforting about drinking a warm mug of nature’s most perfect food – chocolate! Add a dollop of freshly whipped and lightly sweetened cream and it doesn’t get much better.
Or maybe it can. To help take our hot cocoa game to the next level, we decided to see how many deliciously ways we could doctor a mug of basic cocoa. Turns out, the possibilities are pretty inspiring (and tempting). So we picked our top 10 to share.
Start with your favorite purchased hot cocoa mix or make our hot cocoa. For homemade, heat 1 cup of whole milk until steaming. Sift together 1 tablespoon cocoa powder and 1 tablespoon sugar. Whisk into the hot milk along with 1/4 cup milk chocolate bits until completely smooth. Add any of the following and garnish with whipped cream:
– Almond praline: Use brown sugar in place of the white sugar. Stir in 1 teaspoon almond extract or 1 tablespoon amaretto liqueur.
– Hazelnut: Whisk in 2 tablespoons chocolate hazelnut spread (such as Nutella). Add 1 tablespoon Frangelico liqueur, if desired.
– Grasshopper: Whisk in 1/2 to 1 teaspoon peppermint extract, to taste.
– Raspberry: Strain 1 tablespoon raspberry preserves through a fine mesh strainer. Discard any solids, then whisk the raspberry puree into the hot cocoa.
– Chili: Stir in a pinch of cayenne and a pinch of cinnamon.
– Gingerbread: Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of molasses and 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice blend. Stir in 1 tablespoon ginger liqueur, if desired.
– Coconut-lime: Add the finely grated zest of 1/2 lime and 2 tablespoons of cream of coconut. Add 1 ounce of rum, if desired.
– Honey-pepper: Use 1 1/2 tablespoons of honey in place of the sugar. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper.
– Peanut butter-banana: Mash 1/2 of a very ripe banana until smooth. Whisk into the hot cocoa along with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter.
– Vanilla bean cheesecake: Scrape the seeds from a 1/2 vanilla bean pod into the cocoa. Transfer to a blender, add 2 tablespoons cream cheese, then puree until smooth.
Hot cocoa
A mug of hot cocoa. (Cristina Fletes-Boutte/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/MCT)
This Nov. 3, 2014 photo shows chocolate for hot cocoa in Concord, N.H. Once the cooler weather arrives, the hot coca craving can intensify. (AP Photo/Matthew Mead)
This Nov. 3, 2014 photo shows chocolate for hot cocoa in Concord, N.H. Once the cooler weather arrives, the hot coca craving can intensify. (AP Photo/Matthew Mead)
This Nov. 3, 2014 photo shows vanilla bean cheesecake hot cocoa in Concord, N.H. Once the cooler weather arrives, the hot coca craving can intensify. (AP Photo/Matthew Mead)
This Nov. 3, 2014 photo shows chocolate for hot cocoa in Concord, N.H. Once the cooler weather arrives, the hot coca craving can intensify. (AP Photo/Matthew Mead)
This Nov. 3, 2014 photo shows vanilla bean cheesecake hot cocoa in Concord, N.H. Once the cooler weather arrives, the hot coca craving can intensify. (AP Photo/Matthew Mead)
This Nov. 3, 2014 photo shows chocolate for hot cocoa in Concord, N.H. Once the cooler weather arrives, the hot coca craving can intensify. (AP Photo/Matthew Mead)
This Nov. 3, 2014 photo shows gingerbread hot cocoa in Concord, N.H. Once the cooler weather arrives, the hot coca craving can intensify. (AP Photo/Matthew Mead)
This Nov. 3, 2014 photo shows coconut lime hot cocoa in Concord, N.H. Once the cooler weather arrives, the hot coca craving can intensify. (AP Photo/Matthew Mead)
This Nov. 3, 2014 photo shows coconut lime hot cocoa in Concord, N.H. Once the cooler weather arrives, the hot coca craving can intensify. (AP Photo/Matthew Mead)
Gingerbread hot cocoa.