Necessarily decadent hot chocolate

by bfbaker

november4 042  november4 051

november4 054

      I know Christmas is over and we’re well and truly into January 2014 now and everyone is grumbling about those extra pounds or having to stop ourselves buying those new shoes or – heaven forbid – they’re on this dry-January thing. Don’t be daft, of course I’m not partaking in the latter. However if you are giving up the vino this recipe is a perfect way for you to wind down in the evening and, if you’re definitely not abstaining, add a slug of whiskey or Baileys – see, a cheeky recipe for all (unless you’ve been utterly mad and decided to give up chocolate for the entirety of 2014)!

      I find luxurious wee treats like this once in a while make the January blues dissipate a little; just because it’s cold, and Christmas lights and sparkles have been put away, doesn’t mean evenings can’t still be cosy on the sofa, in front of a film, with mugs of glorious hot chocolate.

For 3 helpings…

Recipe

300ml milk

200g good dark chocolate

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp cocoa

½ tsp cayenne

1 tbsp golden caster sugar

  1. Pop your milk in a saucepan and heat gently.

  2. Stir in all the cinnamon, cocoa, cayenne and sugar.

  3. When all has been stirred in, and the milk is just below boiling, add in the chunks of chocolate and stir well until it has dissolved into the milk.

  4. Serve up and enjoy!

They are particularly tasty with marshmallows (homemade if you can gather up the strength for it!).