Recipe: The Perfect Hot Chocolate

In How to Drink Victoria Moore describes hot chocolate as being perfect "as a remedy for a dank, grey morning when the wind and drizzle seem to creep through the window frames into your skin". 

Looking out on leaden sky and listening rain thwapping on the stone terrace, I feel a cup could certainly solve a thing or two today.

As with most things in life though, the key is to do it properly...and to first ask Nigel Slater.

THE RECIPE - for one {what? I am an only child}

Grate 50g of dark chocolate into a saucepan containing 250ml of milk approaching the boil

Stir until the chocolate has dissolved and the liquid has slightly thickened - be careful not to let the mixture boil once you have added the chocolate

I like to add a tsp of cinnamon here for extra winter warmth

For get a creamy top, beat with a small whisk as soon as the chocolate has melted

Stir in some sugar to taste, how much depends on how sweet your chocolate was

If you wish, spoon in a tbsp of double cream before serving

POINTERS

Most chocolate has too much sugar in to make a good hot drink, so ideally use chocolate with at least 70% cocoa solids, then sweeten it yourself.

Goats' milk works fine with this recipe {I like St Helen's Farm} but in my experience any nut milks get weird when heated

OPTIONAL EXTRAS
Ground cinnamon, added after the chocolate, is popular, as is a scraping of nutmeg on the surface. Cardamom also gives chocolate a wonderfully heady drink - please tell me if you try this, as I have yet to!

Enjoy! x

This recipe was published by Nigel Slater in The Guardian, 2011