In my hometown, there was this tiny, yet cosy cafe which served amazing thick hot chocolate. I fell in love with that kind of dense hot chocolate from the very beginning and the variety was also quite impressive. I wanted to enjoy that rich, creamy, chocolatey taste at home as well and when the cafe got closed, I know it was time to figure it out how to make it myself.

Hot chocolate is perfect for winter and Christmas time, but it’s dreamy when it’s thicker than a regular liquid. There’s only one ingredient needed to make the magic happen: cornstarch.

Ingredients:

• 200 grams of dark chocolate (60% cocoa)
• 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder (unsweetened)
• 6 tablespoons of confectioner sugar
• 8 tablespoons of cornstarch

You can adapt the quantities based on how sweet or thick you want the hot chocolate. Honestly, I don’t have certain amounts of ingredients for this recipe, I usually go with the flow. Also, this recipe will fill in a medium sized jar (0.7 l).

Start by chopping the chocolate. I don’t spend too much time chopping it too finely because it will melt later anyway.

Stiff the cocoa powder, sugar an cornstarch, to make sure there are no lumps.

And that’s pretty much it… Mix everything well and store the mixture in a cool place, in an airtight jar.

I made this thick hot chocolate mix for some of my friends that I knew loved thick hot chocolate. They adored it! I also gifted it in some adorable reindeer jars – that what the cherry on the cake.

Related: How to Make Reindeer Jars

Method:

Now that you have the mix done, you need to know some tips and tricks on how to make it actually thick.

Because it has cornstarch, the hot chocolate won’t thicken unless it’s prepared with a boiling hot liquid.

I highly recommend preparing the chocolate over the stove, not just warm up some milk over the mixture:

• put a couple of mugs of milk in a small saucepan and bring it to the boiling point
• once it starts bubbling, take the saucepan over the heat and at 2-3 tablespoons of thick hot chocolate mix for each mug of milk you added (in this care 4 to 6 tablespoons)
• put the saucepan back on the heat and start mixing continuously with a whisk. You have to mix until it starts thickening, otherwise, it might burn or stick to the bottom of the saucepan
• once it’s all nice and thicken you can decide if you want it thicker or more liquidy, so add more hot chocolate mix or hot milk accordingly

Some extra tips

• serve it with whipped cream
• make white thick hot chocolate by substituting the dark chocolate with white chocolate
• add ground almonds in the dry mixture for extra flavour and texture
• add your favourite flavours such as peppermint extract
• try it with dairy free milk or plain boiling water

Allergic to cornstarch?

I know a lot of people are allergic to cornstarch or simply don’t “trust” cornstarch. It doesn’t mean you have to give up having this yummy thick hot chocolate. Substitute cornstarch with plain flour. It has the same effect, you just need to make sure you cook it for extra couple of minutes, to make sure the flour is cooked (yes, flour can be cooked).

I recommend adding the flour while cooking the hot chocolate, so you have a little more control of the thickness.