Chocolate is such a versatile ingredient. If you’re craving a quick post-lunch snack, you can eat it as it is. Melt some chocolate bain-marie style, and you’ve got yourself some flavoring for your cake batter or a smooth and airy batch of mousse. Apart from using chocolate as a core ingredient, you could even use it as a topping on cookies and ice cream.
Moreover, chocolate drinks are somewhat like a Jack of all trades when it comes to beverages. If you’re indoors, hiding away from the cold weather, a hot cup of cocoa is all you need to warm yourself up. On the other hand, if you’re trying to escape the torment of the summer heat, a tall cup of chocolate milkshake would do just the trick. Whether it’s the former or the latter, we’ve got you covered; here are some simple recipes for chocolate drinks that are a quick and easy fix.
Chocolate Hazelnut Milkshake
Have you ever wished for Nutella in the form of a beverage? Time to start getting busy in the kitchen and make this a reality. Now, you don’t have to get up and drive to your nearest coffee shop for one of these gems. Unfortunately, you may not have some of these ingredients just lying around your house. So, you need to pre-plan to purchase ingredients like hazelnuts and cream on your next grocery run. This recipe includes hazelnut paste which can be bought as a readymade item. But if you like a little challenge, you might want to try to make it from scratch with the help of this recipe from Food.com. This paste can even be used as a spread for crackers, which may become a family favorite. Plus, hazelnuts come with health benefits like improvement in blood circulation, decreasing levels of LDL, and an increase in iron, potassium, and vitamin E, to name a few.
Ingredients
- 1 cup cocoapowder
- 2 tablespoons hazelnut paste
- 1 cup cream
- 1 cup milk
- ice cubes
- chocolate shavings
- assorted nuts
Instructions
- Combinecocoa powder, hazelnut paste, cream, milk, and ice cubes.
- Blend the ingredients into a mixture.
- To serve, pour the blended mixture into a glass and top it with chocolate shavings and assorted nuts of your choice.
Notes
Extra tip: If you like your drink to be extra creamy, you can add a scoop of ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream on top.
Your Own Notes
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Vanilla Coffee Chocolate Shake
Why choose when you can get the best of both worlds? Incorporate your love for coffee, or should we say caffeine dependence, in this chocolate drink. This drink starts off with a base of cold coffee. Equipped with the HyperChiller feature, a Nespresso coffee machine should help you with this step in no time at all. Do also note that despite the detailed measurements, this recipe is very much up to customization. Feel free to adjust the sugar level and thickness of coffee according to your preferences.
Ingredients
- chocolate syrup
- chocolate shavings
- coffee capsule
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- warm water
- 2 cup whole milk, chilled
- 1 tablespoons unsweetened cocoapowder
- 2 tablespoons chocolatesyrup
- 1 tablespoons milkpowder
- 2 scoops chocolateice cream
Instructions
- Coat the inner walls of glass with chocolate syrup.
- Put some chocolate shavings on a plate. Turn the cup upside down and shimmy the glass rim among the chocolate shavings. The sticky chocolate syrup will ensure that the rim is coated with the chocolate shavings. Creative tip: You can replace chocolate shavings with toppings such as cocoa powder, popping candy, or chocolate sprinkles.
- Put the glass into the freezer to let the chocolate syrup and toppings harden.
- In another glass, brew some coffee. You can do this manually through a coffee filter or use a coffee maker instead.
- Mix the brewed coffee, sugar, and warm water until the sugar dissolves.
- Blend the coffee mixture, whole milk, unsweetened cocoa powder, chocolate syrup, milk powder, and chocolate ice cream. A quick tip: If you don’t want the beverage to be too chocolatey, you can opt for vanilla ice cream instead of chocolate.
- Pour the chocolate and coffee blend into the chocolate syrup-covered glass from earlier. Plop a scoop of ice cream on top and drizzle some chocolate syrup or honey for a finishing touch.
Your Own Notes
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Marshmallow Hot Chocolate
This one is a timeless classic. The soothing heat of the rich hot chocolate and the sweet oozing marshmallows are enough to make you want to wrap yourself in a blanket and stay home. Here’s the best way to bring out the flavors of this hot chocolate beverage.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
- 1/3 cup whole milk
- 1 pinch salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- marshmallows
Instructions
- Continuously whisk chocolate, milk, sugar, and salt in a saucepan while simmering on a medium heat setting until the chunks of chocolate are fully melted.
- Take the pan off the stove and stir in some vanilla extract.
- The hot chocolate is ready to be served, topped with its one true pairing, marshmallows. You could simply pop a few marshmallows into the cup, but you can also take it a step further and use microwave to melt them instead. For the best result, a 30-second interval is ideal.
Your Own Notes
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Spanish Hot Chocolate
The Spanish hot chocolate packs in the heat and spice in an unassuming and sweet beverage. The fusion of cinnamon and chocolate, known as the chocolate Caliente, is found to be unexpectedly refreshing. To make it as the Spanish did, you can other spices such as nutmeg or allspice for an extra kick. Plus, if you prefer it to be sweeter, adding honey is never off the table.The strong flavors from the Spanish hot chocolate are truly something else when you pair it with some delicious apple chewy cookies. It is a great combination for a movie night with the family. This is how you put a cultural twist on the all-time classic.
Ingredients
- 16 ounces dark chocolate
- 5 cups whole milk
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 pod vanilla bean
Instructions
- Whisk milk and cornstarch in a saucepan until it comes to a boil.
- Add sugar to the concoction and continue to stir until the sugar dissolves.
- Throw in the finely grated chocolate and salt. It is best to grate the chocolate to ensure that it melts faster and thus shortens the cooking time.
- Put in the cinnamon stick and let it simmer over medium heat. Extra tip: Here’s where you add the spices of your choice.
- Once the flavors of the spices are well combined, take the saucepan off the stove and serve with a cinnamon stick. With an added aesthetic value, you can now take a picture of this chocolate drink with your Xiaomi phone because it can definitely make the cut for an aesthetic Pinterest post.
Your Own Notes
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Chocolate’s most common use of all is probably the everyday hot chocolate. If you’re not an avid coffee or tea drinker, you will probably be having some sort of chocolate drink to start your day. And even caffeine lovers don’t mind a chocolatey option every once in a while, especially during the festive seasons. Now that you have these recipes at your fingertips, making a few quick and easy chocolate beverages will be a breeze.
Feel free to share PGEW‘s post with your social networks.
