There are some quite busy days behind me! We moved from Illinois to Tennessee and although I unpacked boxes from morning to night there is still some unsorted stuff around that needs to find a new space. So far I like it here although I am a little surprised about the weather, we heard about snow in Memphis right before our move, arrived in sunshine, spend a wonderful day with nearly 18 C / 65 F, after that had two days of constant rain and then snow again. One lady at the grocery store told be there is rather no snow at all or tops two days every winter. So that’s it for this time, no more snow until next November… right?
But I am prepared (me saying that is unusual or abnormal) for these days. If you life out of boxes like me, the christmas time is in full swing but passing me by and I am feeling like I am missing out on coziness and you need something that makes you feel like home. Hot chocolate helps in every life situation and makes you equipped to deal with anything life can throw on you. It’s just the truth!
I love to make hot chocolate like Mr F and myself used to enjoy it in Barcelona. The Spanish just got it right. Not too sweet, a good load of real chocolate, creamy and a little thick but not like pudding.

hot chocolate

Use the best chocolate you can afford, it really makes a difference.
Makes 2 to 3 servings if you use small cups.

500 ml / 2 1/8 cups milk, 2 % or whole
at least 50 g / 2 ounce chocolate (70% is the best) in pieces
1 teaspoon corn starch
1-2 teaspoon sugar (optional depends on the chocolate)

Pour the milk but some teaspoons into your sauce pan, add the chocolate, sugar and if you like some spices and stir until the chocolate is completely melted.
In a small bowl add the remaining cold milk and the corn starch and stir until dissolved, pour mixture into the hot chocolate and bring to boil for a few seconds while gently stirring.
Serve in coffee cups.

Life offers you a lot of reason for hot chocolate and here are some variations of flavor:

★ make it spicy with a pinch of cayenne pepper, chile pepper…
★ use flavored chocolate like mint or marzipan but leave out the one with nuts, you don’t want to chew while drinking chocolate.
★ try different combination of spices, cinnamon and coriander are one of my favorites together
★ add some booze like rum or amaretto liquor
★ orange flavored chocolate with Cointreau or Grand Marnier
★ dip in some churros
★ add a cinnamon stick to the milk (1 stick is enough for 2 servings, remove before serving)
★ cut a vanilla bean in half and with the tip of a knife scrape out the seeds, add the bean and the seeds to the milk (remove the bean before serving)

some notes:
If you don’t care for calories, replace a 1/4 of the milk with heavy whipping cream, you don’t need to add corn starch anymore.
In summer: cold chocolate with some ice cream and whipped cream.
Short cut: heat the milk and stir in some teaspoons of nutella.