On Thursday of last week, it was 84 degrees Fahrenheit. So hot! On Friday, it was 62 degrees. It’s only down temperature from here. Summer is officially over in London, and fall is on its way. Pumpkin Spice Lattes are back at Starbucks, except not in the UK because apparently finding anything pumpkin is impossible here? More on that later…
Since it is officially fall, I decided to make one of my favorite cold weather drinks in celebration. Hot chocolate! Now this is not just any hot chocolate. I have a special recipe base that uses almond milk, and the additional flavor possibilities are endless. The two I made to kick off the beginning of autumn are Peppermint Hot Chocolate and Maple and Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate. I’ve got my eye on a Pumpkin Hot Chocolate as well, but canned pumpkin is next to impossible to find here in London. I did manage to find an actual pumpkin, but if anyone feels like putting together a care package, send pumpkin everything my way!
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Servings: 2 cups of hot chocolate, but feel free to multiply!
Almond Milk Hot Chocolate – my base recipe adapted from Martha Stewart
Ingredients:
½ liter or 2 cups of unsweetened almond milk
2 cinnamon sticks
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons sugar
A few drops of almond extract
2 ounces of a 70% dark chocolate bar
Directions:
In a medium pan, add the almond milk, cinnamon, cocoa, sugar, and almond extract. Mix until combined and heat until steaming, but not boiling. Add the dark chocolate, broken into small pieces. Stir until melted. You can drink this delicious drink, or use it as the base for these next two hot chocolate recipes.
Peppermint Hot Chocolate
Ingredients:
All of the above for Almond Milk Hot Chocolate
Peppermint extract
Candy Canes
Directions:
Begin with the basic Almond Milk Hot Chocolate above. Once steaming, add a few drops of peppermint extract and serve with a candy cane! It was a bit too early in the season for me to find candy canes, so I had to use extra peppermint extract to make it nice and minty.
Maple and Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate – adapted from this recipe
Ingredients:
All of the above for Almond Milk Hot Chocolate
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 tablespoon smooth peanut butter
Directions:
Begin with the basic Almond Milk Hot Chocolate above. Once steaming, add the tablespoon of maple syrup and peanut butter. Keep stirring until everything is fully melted. Serve with a cinnamon stick.
Hopefully I will be back soon to write about the Pumpkin Hot Chocolate recipe once I have tracked down some canned pumpkin!
What flavor would you add to your hot chocolate?
[addtoany] Yum