Unless you have been living under a rock, you are probably familiar with the term polar vortex at this point. Thankfully, Boston had been cold but not especially bitter. We only bottomed out at -15F with wind chill on Thursday. Through the midst of it all, I just wanted a cup of hot chocolate, so I made myself a hot white chocolate.
When I was younger, one of my cousins used to say that white chocolate is technically not chocolate. “It is mostly cocoa fat,” she would say. And I just didn’t care. It tasted nice and felt creamy. Over the years, I have an off and on relationship with white chocolate. During my days in San Diego, I used to make a massive white chocolate cheesecake to serve with a raspberry sauce. I always felt very sophisticated with that combination.
A trip I took to LA Burdick in Harvard Square inspired this cup of hot white chocolate. A friend of mine took me there. I loved the ambience of the space with the twinkling light and the intimacy. But I adored the hot white chocolate the served even more. It felt like a cup filled solely with cream, white chocolate and a hint of vanilla.
This is the feeling that I am chasing with the cup.of hot white chocolate. Due to the parity of the ingredients, using the best quality white chocolate is important. I tend to love buying blocks of Callebut White chocolate or I use Giradelli chips. My other big find for this hot white chocolate was pork-free marshmallows. The one I currently use is made with fish gelatin. It melts so well in the hot white chocolate and it totally decadent. I finish off my white chocolate with a dusting of cinnamon and nutmeg.
The recipe for my decadent creamy hot white chocolate is below.
Hot White Chocolate
Ingredients
- 1 cup Whole Milk
- 1/2 Cup Heavy Cream
- 1/2 Cup White Chocolate Chip or 3 oz of white chocolate
Instructions
- In a saucepan, warm up the whole milk and cream together. Once tiny bubbles appear on the side of the pan, the milk is hot enough to remove.
- Add the white chocolate to a small bowl. Pour in the hot milk, whisking slowly to allow chocolate to dissolve. Keep whisking until all of the chocolate has been combined with hot liquid thoroughly. Alternatively, you can add the white chocolate to a blender and pour in the warm milk. Cover blender and pulse until chocolate has dissolved into the milk. The blender method would also create froth on the hot white chocolate. Serve.
- You can put toppings on the hot white chocolate including marshmallow, cinnamon, nutmeg or even biscotti.