Hot Chocolate Recipes

Historically, hot chocolate is known as both a wintertime children's treat and an ancient Aztec aphrodisiac.

It is a delicacy created by the world's top pastry chefs, a common breakfast treat for the Spanish working class and a necessity for moms looking to cure their children's pink-cheeked sledding ailments.

There are a myriad of hot chocolate recipes available to cater to any mood or situation. Though traditional Western hot chocolate recipes simply combine six ounces of semisweet chocolate with two cups of milk, there are many other ways to inject additional flavor into this timeless treat.

Angelina's French Hot Chocolate
Ingredients:
- 6 ounces of fine-quality semisweet chocolate
- 1/4 cup of room temperature water
- 3 tablespoons of hot (not boiling) water
- 3 cups of hot milk
- whipped cream

Preparation:
- Combine chocolate and 1/4 cup of water in a double-boiler over low heat. Stir until smoothly melted.
- Remove top of double-boiler pan. Whisk in 3 tablespoons of hot water. Stir in 3 cups of hot milk.
- Top with whipped cream.

Aztec Chili Hot Chocolate
Ingredients:
- 1 2/3 cups of milk
- 1/2 a vanilla bean, split lengthwise
- 1 red chili pepper, split with seeds removed
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 1/2 ounces of grated bittersweet chocolate

Preparation:
- In a saucepan, simmer milk, vanilla bean, cinnamon and chili. Heat for about one minute.
- Whisk in grated chocolate and continue to stir until it is melted.
- Remove from heat and let thicken for 10 minutes.

Chocolate Caliente
Ingredients:
- 4 squares of Baker's chocolate
- 2 cups of skim milk
- 3 drops of vanilla
- Cinnamon
- Cloves

Preparation:
- Break chocolate and melt—without boiling—in a saucepan with milk and vanilla.
- Whisk until foamy.
- Top with pinches of cinnamon and cloves.

Mexican Hot Chocolate
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 ounces of unsweetened chocolate
- 1/4 cup of sugar
- 2 tablespoons of instant coffee crystals
- 1/2a tablespoon of ground cinnamon
- 3/4 cups of water
- 2 cups of milk
- whipped cream

Preparation:
- In a saucepan, mix chocolate, sugar, cinnamon, coffee and water. Heat on low until mixture is melted and chocolate is smooth.
- Simmer for about four minutes while continuously stirring.
- Add milk and continue heating without boiling.
- Remove from heat and whisk until foamy.
- Add dollop of whipped cream.

Hot Orange Mocha
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of milk
- 4 ounces of chopped, bittersweet chocolate
- 3 pieces of orange zest
- 1/2 tablespoon of instant coffee
- 1/8 tablespoon of ground nutmeg

Preparation:
- In a saucepan, melt all ingredients without bringing to a boil.
- Whisk until foamy.
- Carefully remove pieces of orange zest.
- Whisk again and serve hot.