Rich Dark Hot Chocolate (Chocolat Chaud)
Inspired by techniques from NYT Cooking and Serious Eats.
Cocoa is whisked into boiling water, then whole milk; chopped dark chocolate, sugar and a pinch of salt are melted in until glossy and slightly thick, and vanilla goes in at the end.
Always check the labels of the products you use.
Method
- 1
Bloom the cocoa. Bring the water to the boil in the saucepan, then whisk in the cocoa to a smooth paste; a few lumps are fine. Hot water releases the cocoa's flavour.
- 2
Add the milk. Lower the heat to medium and whisk in the milk, sweeping around the sides of the pan to dissolve the cocoa.
- 3
Melt the chocolate. When the milk starts to steam and bubble at the edges, whisk in the chocolate, 1 tbsp sugar and the salt. Turn the heat to low and whisk for 2-3 minutes until melted, glossy and slightly thickened; don't let it boil hard.
- 4
Finish. Taste and whisk in more sugar if you like, then take the pan off the heat and whisk in the vanilla.
- 5
Serve. Pour into the mugs and serve straight away; it thickens further as it cools.
Storage
Refrigerate leftovers, covered, for up to 2 days. Reheat gently, whisking. Cool leftovers in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour on a day above 32°C).
EU nutrition claims
- Low salt: 0.17 g salt per 100 ml (limit ≤ 0.3 g)
Per 100 ml of the finished dish, worked out from the nutrition per serving and the lowest likely cooked weight (about 171 ml a serving), so the true values are, if anything, lower. Thresholds from the Annex to EU Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. How we decide
Caffeine · Free sugars
- Per serving: about 32–39 mg caffeine (serving: 1 cup). Source: per serving 5 g cocoa × USDA FDC SR Legacy #169593 (cocoa powder, 230 mg/100 g) or #169594 (Dutch-processed cocoa, 78 mg/100 g), plus 32.5 g dark chocolate × #170272 (60–69% cacao, 86 mg/100 g); the lower figure is for Dutch-processed cocoa.
- Scaling: making more servings does not change the caffeine in each serving; what counts is how many servings you drink in a day. 1 serving: 32–39 mg · 2 servings: 64–78 mg · 3 servings: 96–117 mg · 4 servings: 128–156 mg.
- General guideline: EFSA Scientific Opinion on the safety of caffeine (2015): for healthy adults, up to 200 mg in a single dose and up to 400 mg per day do not raise safety concerns. 1 serving = 8–10 % of 400 mg. EFSA
11 g per serving
22 % of the 50 g daily maximum · 44 % of the ideal 25 g
Free sugars under 50 g a day, ideally about 25 g, based on WHO free-sugar guidance (not endorsed by WHO). The share shown is the share of one serving. WHO
Equipment
- medium saucepan
- balloon whisk
- chopping board and serrated knife
- 4 small mugs
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 334 kcal |
| Protein | 9.4 g |
| Carbohydrate | 30 g |
| of which sugars | 20.5 g |
| of which free sugars | 11 g |
| Fat | 20.6 g |
| of which saturates | 11.8 g |
| Fibre | 5.4 g |
| Salt | 0.29 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
2.8 g High Protein needs ≥ 5 g (20% of energy)
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
