Making your own homemade hot chocolate mix just takes 5 minutes! On the next chilly winter night, a dozen portions will be ready for you, along with some warm milk. Please accept my apologies, Swiss Miss! Next time, try a white hot chocolate.
The only thing nicer than someone else bringing me a huge cup of hot chocolate is when I can make my own.
That is why I keep a container of homemade hot cocoa mix in the house throughout the winter season; you never know when a hot chocolate desire may strike after a marathon snowman-building session.
Contents
- What is hot cocoa?
- What is the difference between hot cocoa and hot chocolate?
- Ingredients for homemade hot cocoa mix
- Is powdered milk the same thing as evaporated milk?
- What kind of cocoa powder should I use?
- How to make homemade hot cocoa mix
- Ingredient substitutions in hot cocoa
- Helpful tips
- FAQs
- Toppings for hot cocoa
- How to make spiked hot chocolate
- Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix
- FAQs
- What is hot cocoa mix made of?
- What can I substitute for hot cocoa mix?
- What is difference between hot cocoa and hot chocolate?
- How do you make cocoa powder from scratch?
- Is cocoa powder just hot chocolate mix?
- What gives hot cocoa its flavor?
- What is the best milk for hot chocolate?
- What type of cocoa powder is best for hot chocolate?
- Is hot cocoa just warm chocolate milk?
What is hot cocoa?
Hot cocoa is a sweet, heated beverage that is often associated with winter and the holidays. Whipped cream, small marshmallows, or shaved chocolate are common garnishes.
Hot chocolate mix, which you can get at grocery shops and simply needs to be mixed with water or milk, is really hot cocoa, not hot chocolate.
What is the difference between hot cocoa and hot chocolate?
Hot cocoa is produced from powdered cocoa powder, while hot chocolate is created from melted, solid chocolate.
Hot cocoa is thinner than hot chocolate due to the difference in components and needs the addition of sugar to sufficiently sweeten the mix.
Because of the naturally inherent sugar in solid chocolate, hot chocolate may usually be consumed without the addition of extra sweeteners. It also provides a richer, more delicious sipping chocolate experience.
Ingredients for homemade hot cocoa mix
- sifted dry milk powder When coupled with hot milk, this evaporated milk powder makes everything lovely and creamy (or water, in a pinch)
- Sweetener: powdered sugar
- Dutch processed cocoa powder (or Special dark) or natural unsweetened cocoa powder. Scroll down to learn more about the many forms of cocoa powder.
- White chocolate enhances the richness.
- Chocolate, dark or unsweetened For taste, and, well, chocolate!
- Cornstarch adds thickness and a smoother texture.
- Salt To balance the sweetness, reduce it somewhat.
Is powdered milk the same thing as evaporated milk?
Despite the fact that powdered milk is made by evaporating fresh milk, powdered milk and evaporated milk are not the same thing!
Powdered milk is just that: powder. The milk’s water content has been fully evaporated.
Evaporated milk is liquid milk that has had 60% of its water evaporated.
You may replace powdered milk for evaporated milk by combining equal parts powdered milk and water, but you cannot substitute evaporated milk for powdered milk.
What kind of cocoa powder should I use?
It all depends on your own taste preferences! For mine, I use a combination of Dutch processed and natural unsweetened cocoa powder, but you may also use:
- Dutch processed cocoa powder has been treated with an alkalizing chemical to lower natural acidity in cocoa, resulting in a less bitter flavor and darker color).
- Unsweetened cocoa powder, also known as natural cocoa powder, has a lighter brown hue and a more bitter flavor than Dutch processed chocolate. Because of its acidity, it is usually used with baking soda in baking.
- Surprisingly, the special dark cocoa powder is also Dutch processed! Special Dark is just Hershey’s trademarked moniker for it.
How to make homemade hot cocoa mix
Step 1: Place all of the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until fine powder is formed.
Step 2: There is no step two; that is it!
Ingredient substitutions in hot cocoa
- Powdered sugar may be substituted for granulated sugar, raw sugar, or coconut sugar. I haven’t tested it with zero-calorie sweeteners like monk fruit, so I can’t comment on the outcomes.
- Cocoa powder: As stated before in this essay, you may use Dutch processed cocoa, unsweetened cocoa, or a combination of the two!
- White chocolate: I prefer the smoothness that white chocolate lends to the mix, but you may replace it with more dark chocolate.
- Since some individuals dislike dark chocolate, you might use semisweet chocolate.
Helpful tips
- Instead of baking chips, use chocolate baking bars. White chocolate and ordinary chocolate chips are designed to resist heat during baking and do not melt as readily as baking bars. Hence, for the benefit of Future You, while preparing a cup of hot chocolate, add baking bars to ensure that the mixture melts evenly!
- Make use of high-quality ingredients. The tastes of everything you use are prominent, so make sure you choose things you appreciate the taste of! Nestl Carnation Instant Nonfat Dry Milk or Bobs Red Mill Milk Powder, Ghirardelli baking chocolate bars, and Ghirardelli cocoa powder are my favorites.
- Little marshmallows should be stored separately. If you want to add small marshmallows to your hot chocolate, keep them separate rather than adding them to the mix itself to ensure an equal distribution and that they don’t all settle in one area in the container.
FAQs
No, you must include the powdered milk in this recipe so that it may interact with the milk you add while creating your drink.
Anything you want! Cow’s milk is usually a winner, but if you’re looking for a dairy-free choice, I recommend oat milk and cashew milk. In my perspective, almond milk has an unusual taste. I haven’t tried macadamia milk yet (yet!).
3 cup hot cocoa mix. I suggest combining 1 cup of your preferred hot milk with 1
Yes, technically, but I do not suggest it. You’ll lose out on the whole taste possibilities, and it’ll be a little thin.
It may be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one month or in the refrigerator for up to three months.
3 cup for each meal, for a total of 12 servings of hot cocoa. This yields around 4 cups of powdered mix. As a result, if you utilize 1
Toppings for hot cocoa
I love the old standbys: whipped cream and tiny marshmallows! Nevertheless, you might also include:
- Caramel syrup, chocolate syrup, and white chocolate syrup
- Shaved chocolate
- Toffee pieces
- peppermint leaves, crushed
- a dash of cinnamon or nutmeg
- Or just sprinkles!
How to make spiked hot chocolate
While I previously said that this is actually hot cocoa rather than hot chocolate, when discussing the adult version, let’s simply call it spiked hot chocolate to make things easy.
In general, once you’ve blended the milk and cocoa mix, you might add 1 ounce of any of the following liqueurs to your hot chocolate:
- The dark rum
- Bourbon
- Brandy
- Irish cream Baileys
- Kahlua
- Menthol creme
- schnapps with peppermint
- Chocolate liqueur Godiva
Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix
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Description
Equipment
- The food processor
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried milk powder
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup dutch processed (or Special Dark) or natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 4 ounce white chocolate bar, coarsely chopped
- 4 ounce dark or bittersweet chocolate bar, coarsely chopped
- 2teaspoonscornstarch
- teaspoonsalt
Instructions
- 8 teaspoon sea salt
12 cup white chocolate, 13 cups powdered sugar, 1 cup cocoa powder, 2 cup dark or bittersweet chocolate, 2 tablespoons cornstarch 1
Combine dry milk powder, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, white chocolate, dark chocolate, cornstarch, and salt in a food processor bowl.
1 cup dry milk powder, 2 cups dry milk powder - Transfer to an airtight container after pulsing until mixed into a fine powder.
- 3 cup hot cocoa combine with 1 cup of your preferred milk, whisk until totally dissolved. Serve immediately with whipped cream or any chosen toppings and enjoy!
When you’re ready to utilize it, mix 1