Chocolat Chaud

Also known as: Real Hot Chocolate. I mean none of the powdery stuff but actual chocolate melted into actual milk. It is so much better than chocolate milk powder with a bit of hot water in it. It's not even comparable.


A few years ago I saw the name 'chocolate chaud' pop up in a tv-series I followed back then. Chocolat Chaud was made with just milk and lots of chocolate and was said to be a traditional French drink. Now, after testing a few recipes for you, I found out that almost every European country has a tradition of serving real chocolate in milk as hot chocolate. Better yet: years before any of us Europeans started the tradition the Mayans knew how to make a real cup of cacao. By trying to find out where hot chocolate comes from, I dipped straight into the history of chocolate itself. I'm going to save all this newfound knowledge for an 'Oven Info' some time soon!

Chocolat Chaud
serves 1 person

1 cup milk
40 grams chocolate * 
1 tablespoon cream (optional)

1. Heat the milk in a small pan on medium fire. Make sure your milk doesn't boil.
2. Add the chocolate and keep stirring or whisking until the chocolate is fully incorporated.
2A. For Brownie Chocolat Chaud: Add 2 tablespoons of brownie mix to the chocolat chaud and set the fire to 'high'. Leave on high heat for 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Adding brownie mix will give a very thick chocolate chaud.
2B. For Chestnut Coffee Chocolat Chaud: Add 3 small chestnuts or 1-2 tablespoons ground chestnuts and 2 teaspoons espresso to the chocolate chaud and leave on low fire for 2-3 minutes. Sieve the chocolate chaud before serving.
2C. For Banana Chocolat Chaud: Add 3-5 slices of banana and leave the chocolat chaud on low fire for 2-3 minutes until the banana becomes very mushy and practically dissolves into the milk. Sieve the chocolat chaud before serving. 
3. Add 1 tablespoon cream, stir one last time and serve! Preferably with a lot of whipped cream.

* I prefer half dark chocolate and half milk chocolate.

In case you are wondering why I'm posting a recipe of hot chocolate at the start of july: it cold here! With a sad 16-20 degrees Celsius, a lot of rain and wind and even more clouds I craved a cup of hot chocolate in what should have been summer.


So there you have it. We've gone from Dutch to German and back to Dutch and now we've arrived at the French. I'm really excited as to what traditions I'll be dipping into next!

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