Serving Suggestions
Recommended Serving Instructions
Our hot chocolate flakes are a slight adaptation of a Parisian Hot Chocolate...
The golden ratio is 30g of hot chocolate flakes to 225-250ml of milk. This is basically an average sized mug of milk with 3 dessert spoons of flakes.
Put the milk and the flakes in the mug and then microwave for around 2 minutes. Stir and then enjoy.
If you have a steam wand (for catering) then this will easily work.
Scroll down for other serving ideas.
Alternative Recipes
Hot chocolate is a drink that has been consumed in Europe for centuries. Whereas the UK was rather late to the party and only really got into cocoa powder. Other European countries came up with some far more decadent variants... The following are a mix of traditional hot chocolate styles and a couple of new takes on old recipes.
Parisian
A Parisian Hot Chocolate is one of the most decadent around and is the basis for our hot chocolate mixes. If you want to be truly authentic though, you should use 30g of hot chocolate (three dessert spoons) to just 150ml of milk. The Dark 71 is the most accurate blend to use...
Parisian Puissante
This recipe is something akin to an Espresso; it is small but potent... Use 30g of hot chocolate flakes with just 50ml of milk. Heat the milk and chocolate cautiously in 15 second bursts in a microwave. It is very thick and very rich.
Viennese
Many traditional hot chocolate recipes are based around ways to make the drink thicker. A Viennese hot chocolate sounds odd but tastes surprisingly good. The secret ingredient... is an egg yolk! The egg yolk does not add anything to the flavour, but thickens the drink a little when mixed into the drink.
Start with our recommended mix of 30g chocolate to 225-250ml of milk. Once the drink is hot, add just the yolk and mix it in. Make sure the egg has come from a safe source; in the UK this will mean it has been stamped with a red lion.
Genevan
This drink is not that common and is a variant of a Viennese hot chocolate.
Prepare the drink the same way as its Austrian cousin but also add in a pinch of salt.
If you like things salty then this is a lovely drink.
Belgian
A Belgian hot chocolate is probably the simplest of these various styles of hot chocolate. There is no hard and fast rules with any of them; but the Belgian style usually is not sweetened in contrast to the Parisian one which typically is.
Our Belgian Collection is made in the Belgian style so are ready to go...
Colombian
In Colombia, they also have an unusual way of serving hot chocolate... with cheese. Prepare your hot chocolate to suit your tastes and then add 1cm cubes of haloumi, but mozzarella will also work.
Spanish & Venetian
Traditional Spanish and Venetian hot chocolates are rather different to their European cousins because they have taken indulgence to the extremes... A typical Spanish hot chocolate can be made by adding a massive 80-90g of chocolate flakes to 250ml of milk. (This is around two to three times what you will normally need for most other hot chocolates!) To make it even thicker, 1 tea spoon of corn starch is thoroughly stirred in.
Affogato
You will need a spoon...
For this you can use any of the hot chocolate recipes listed; the difference is that you add a scoop of ice cream.
With this version you get the fun of eating the now very chocolatey ice cream as well as drinking the chocolate.
Dutch
The proportions vary a little but the basic recipe is to add a little cocoa powder on top of the real chocolate flakes.
Warme Chocolademelk can be made with 30g of our hot chocolate flakes and 1 tea spoon of cocoa powder.
Irish
The measurements for this one are down to you; but as you can probably guess, add some Whisky to your hot chocolate to give it a new punch.
Red Eye
This is a fortified hot chocolate with a shot of Espresso poured in.
Simply make the base hot chocolate using the method of your choice before pouring in one normal espresso and stirring.