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Hey y’aaalllll (insert Southern drawl here), come on over for some hot chocolate! Some real hot chocolate. I’m hosting a virtual party for a special anniversary. Do you know what happened around this time 2 years ago? No, I did not get married, or have a baby, or anything earth-shattering like that. I just posted my first blog recipe on 11/22/13. It was (coincidentally) a hot chocolate recipe that I dubbed “Better Than Starbucks Hot Chocolate”, and it wasn’t even really a recipe but rather a few tweaks on a hot chocolate trimmacino recipe that Trim Healthy Mama posted on Facebook eons ago. The recipe was actually posted on my old Blogspot blog (which you can no longer find on the blogosphere unless you stumble across some really old pins in the nether regions of cyberspace), but I reposted it to my new website last year when I moved everything over.
Fast forward to last November. For my one year bloggiversary I posted another hot chocolate recipe – this time an actual recipe. I liked that recipe so much that I named it after myself, and “Briana’s Hot Chocolate” was born. It still gets rave reviews. Fuel Pull, filling, and fantastic…
Why not carry on the hot chocolate tradition for my second bloggiversary? Since it’s a special occasion and all, I went a little more all out with this one. You actually make it on the stovetop, and it takes unsweetened baker’s chocolate, cream, and all that good stuff. Whipped cream, chocolate shavings, and cinnamon sticks add some holiday flair and total yumminess.
I actually have yet another hot chocolate recipe that was not posted for an anniversary of any sort but rather just for the anywho of it all. It’s this 5 ingredient hot chocolate recipe that is super easy to put together. And there’s a white chocolate version too.
While this is a single-serve recipe, it’s super simple to do the math and double or quadruple it.
I would venture to say that of all the healthy hot chocolates I’ve had, this one comes closest to Nestle packets and hot milk.
Since chocolate and sweetness are rather subjective, you should definitely adjust the cocoa and sweetener amounts to your own personal taste. In my opinion, go dark or go home, but I realize that not everyone shares my sentiments.
I used THM Gentle Sweet (which can be purchased from the Trim Healthy Mama online store) to sweeten this hot chocolate since it does an admirable job of sweetening chocolate stuff with minimal aftertaste. Xylitol would also be a good choice, but you’ll need more of it.
Need other hot drink ideas for the winter season? Right here!
I’m giving away a $50 Trim Healthy Mama gift card in honor of my bloggiversary. Click here to go to the giveaway post and scroll to the bottom to enter!
You can find this recipe in my cookbook, Necessary Food.
- ½ oz. unsweetened baker's chocolate
- 2 T heavy whipping cream
- Dash of salt
- Dash of vanilla extract
- ½-1 T cocoa powder
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 T THM Gentle Sweet, or more, to taste
- Homemade sweetened whipped cream, chocolate shavings, and cinnamon sticks for serving
- In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the baker's chocolate, cream, salt, and vanilla together, stirring often to prevent burning. When the chocolate is melted, whisk in the cocoa powder and almond milk. Heat until the desired temperature is reached. Take the hot chocolate off the stove and whisk in your desired amount of THM Gentle Sweet. Top with whipped cream, chocolate shavings, and serve with a cinnamon stick stirrer. Yields one serving, but you can definitely multiply the batch.
I recommend using THM Gentle Sweet to sweeten this hot chocolate because a) it desolves well and b) it's not bitter in chocolate stuff.
Suggested products:
- Unsweetened baker’s chocolate
- Hershey Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- Cinnamon sticks
- THM Gentle Sweet can be purchased from the Trim Healthy Mama online store.
I just finished a cup of this and it was AWESOME. Definitely tasted just as good as Nestle. The only change I made was using coconut milk instead of almond because #nutallergyprobz but it was divine. This one is going in my favorites..thanks Briana!
Wonderful! I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Jordan!
I love this recipe! It is creamy and sweet! I used 2 tbsp cocoa powder and 2 tbsp gentle sweet for a double batch.
Just want to check with you. The “T” is for Tablespoon right and a “t” would be teaspoon
Correct. 🙂 I generally use “T.” for tablespoon and “tsp.” for teaspoon.
I just tried this recipe oh my gosh it’s amazing, certainly the best hot chocolate I’ve had since starting THM, it delicious a real treat as it is decadent. reminds me of a Milano hot chocolate we get here in Europe. Thanks for sharing.
Wow – that’s quite a compliment! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I would get the strive lend and flours
YUMMY!!!
This looks so decadent. Hope to try it soon.
I would LOVE to try the baking blend, the gentle sweet and I’m almost out of Pristine Whey Protein Powder! 🙂 Thank you for the chance to WIN!
I can’t wait to try this hot chocolate! 🙂