Italian Hot Chocolate Recipe (Cioccolata Calda)
Italian hot chocolate is such a treat! This thick, rich and creamy hot chocolate is so much better than the store-bought mixes and is perfect for cold weather!
Ingredients
- 4 oz dark chocolate
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 1 ¼ cup whole milk
- 1 ½ teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract optional
Instructions
- Place milk and sugar in a saucepan and place over medium heat.
- When the milk starts bubbling around the edges, add the cocoa powder and cornstarch.
- Mix well using a whisk and then add the chocolate chunks. Whisk over medium heat until the chocolate is melted.
- If desired, add a little bit of vanilla extract.Pour into mugs and serve plain or with whipped cream.
Notes
- It's best to use quality chocolate bars to make this rich hot chocolate. Chocolate chips are not going to work as well.
- It's important to constantly stir the hot chocolate to make sure it doesn't burn.
- If you'd like your Italian hot chocolate to be richer, add ¼ cup heavy cream to the milk.
- I like Cioccolata Calda to have strong dark chocolate flavor therefore I use chocolate that has 70% or 80% cocoa. However, if you like yours sweeter, you can use anything below 60%.
- To make a thicker hot chocolate, add an additional teaspoon of cornstarch to the mixture.