Hot chocolate season is upon us! Today I’m sharing my very favourite, cozy hot chocolate recipe for the colder months (well…actually any time of the year!). It involves real chocolate (this isn’t hot cocoa!!), and salted caramel….because duh. I definitely won’t miss out on any opportunity to indulge in some salted caramel. Ha!

First we’re going to get our milk heating on a gentle temperature on the stove, then we’ll melt some chocolate and whisk it in until it’s velvety smooth. Then a dollop of caramel in our mugs, add in the hot chocolate, and top with a generous serving of whipped cream. A little drizzle of caramel and a sprinkling of flaked salt, and you’re done! It takes a little more work than the powdered kind, but it is so worth it!

So, let’s talk chocolate! What kind of chocolate should you use? How much is the perfect amount? How do we get it to not be too too sweet? Well. My all-time favourite is to use a bittersweet chocolate, since it isn’t overwhelmingly sweet, and is such a nice complement to the salted caramel. You can definitely use whatever your favourite chocolate is though! I always say start on the conservative side with the chocolate, and add in a bit more if you need to!

Also a note, that any kind of milk works here! I’ve made it with both dairy milk as well as almond milk, and both were amazing. The most important thing is not to let your milk boil, since we don’t want to scald it!

salted caramel hot chocolate

recipe: Kelsey Siemens
yields: 1 mug of hot chocolate - easily doubled, tripled, etc.

ingredients

1 cup milk (use your favourite, any will work!)

1-2 oz bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate (although any kind of chocolate will work)

salted caramel

whipped cream

to make

In a small saucepan, heat milk over medium low heat, stirring frequently. Heat until steaming, but don’t let the milk boil, or it may scald and burn. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate either using a microwave or small double boiler. Whisk melted chocolate into the hot milk until completely smooth. Taste the hot chocolate and see if you need more chocolate or milk and adjust accordingly.

Drizzle 1 tablespoon of salted caramel into the bottom of a mug, then fill with hot chocolate. Top with whipped cream and more salted caramel if desired.

Tip: to whip small amounts of whipped cream, I place 1-2 tablespoons of whipping/heavy cream into a small, tall container, and use a handheld milk frother to whip it until thick, adding in a bit of vanilla and powdered sugar.

Happy hot chocolate making!