Lift your spirits with these recipes for a proper hot chocolate Chococo-style

Co-founder Claire here with a couple of simple hot chocolate recipes to cheer the soul this cold lockdown weekend. 
So light the fire if you have one (or candles if you don't), fish out a good book to read & make a delicious hot chocolate Chococo-style...enjoy

Classic Hot Chocolate & Salted Caramel variation:

Our house hot chocolate in our Chococo Chocolate Houses in Swanage, Winchester, Exeter & Horsham is made by melting flakes of pure 70% single origin Madagascar dark chocolate (that has been produced in Madagascar) into local fresh milk.
Click here to buy our 70% hot chocolate flakes

You can make your hot chocolate at home with any good quality dark chocolate (so make sure it definitely does not contain any palm oil or any other vegetable fats), and you can also make it vegan-friendly if you use any plant-based milks.

For the salted caramel variation, you definitely need to use a dark chocolate with a high cocoa solids content to prevent it becoming too sweet with the addition of the caramel. The amount of sea salt listed here works for our particular combination of Madagascar origin chocolate & caramel, but you may want to adjust the amount slightly to suit.

You will need to make x1 mug:

250ml milk, whole or semi skimmed (or plant milk for a dairy-free option)
30g 70% good quality dark chocolate, chopped 
1 tsp dulce de leche caramel or caramel spread (optional)
a large pinch of crushed sea salt  (optional)

Optional to serve:

2 tbsp whipping cream
Flaked dark chocolate 

If you are going to top your hot chocolate with cream & flaked chocolate, I suggest you prepare these first. I much prefer whisking a small amount of fresh whipping cream by hand to soft peaks than using canned cream, but you can use that sort of cream if you want.

To flake the chocolate, run a knife along the back of the rest of the bar of chocolate in short sharp motions (away from you) to create simple flakes.

Put the chopped chocolate and 2 tablespoons of the milk into a small heavy based pan and warm gently to melt the chocolate into the milk. 

Use a small balloon whisk to stir this mixture into a smooth paste and once the chocolate has all melted, add the rest of the milk. If you are making the salted caramel version, add the caramel & the salt at this point too.

Keep whisking the mixture as it heats up and the moment it starts to boil, take off the heat and whisk vigorously to make a foam.

Pour your foaming hot chocolate into your mug, top with cream and chocolate flakes and enjoy!