How to make my own hot chocolate mix?

January 7, 2021 1:47 PM

I'm looking to make my own homemade hot chocolate mix, what ingredients and proportions should I use for best results?

Over the past few months, I've splurged on an expensive hot chocolate mix from a local bakery. As much as I want to support local businesses and "treat myself," I'd rather not pay so much money for hot chocolate mix!

How can I make my own? This mix from the bakery has seriously ruined my taste for the plain old hot chocolate mixes seen in stores. I'm in Canada and it seems that our hot chocolate brands are limited. I've never been a big fan of Coronation or Tim Hortons hot chocolate mixes. (I also really liked the Williams & Sonoma brand hot chocolate, but my city doesn't have a Williams & Sonoma store anymore and their hot chocolate isn't much cheaper than the one I'm currently trying to "replicate")!

The jar for the fancy hot chocolate reads that it has dark chocolate, milk chocolate, cocoa powder, sugar, nutmeg, cardamom, salt, and all spice. Texture-wise, it's tiny chunks of milk chocolate and dark chocolate mixed with the dry ingredients. I love it, it tastes so "different" from the regular hot chocolate mixes that are available. It's not too sweet, but not too "spicy, either." I'd almost describe it as a bit bitter! I put 3tbsp of it into 1 3/4 cups of 2% milk and it's just the right amount for my giant mug!

I'm not looking to re-create this recipe specifically, I know I wouldn't be able to make it as good! But I know people make their own hot chocolate mixes at home, what proportions would I need of specific ingredients to make a mix of my own? Any specific techniques (shaving chocolate) that I need to keep in mind? Any specific brands of chocolate, etc?

Ideally, I'd like to make a bunch of the mix at one time so I can keep it in a jar. Lots of recipes I'm finding online a) look bland and b) are for single servings.

I'm open to suggestions for all different types of hot chocolate, so it doesn't need to be like the one I'm currently used to. I just want to be able to make my own jar of hot chocolate mix that I can use at any time! Any ideas?

posted by VirginiaPlain to Food & Drink (24 answers total)

I can vouch that Alton Brown's Reloaded recipe is quite good. Should be a decent starting point if you want to riff on it.
posted by General Malaise at 1:51 PM on January 7, 2021 [2 favorites]

Personally, if I were you, I'd just get ahold of all of the ingredients in the mix you like, heat up some milk on the stove, and add small measured amounts of each ingredient to the pot, tasting and adjusting (again, measuring) until you get to a flavor you like. Add up the measurements of everything you added, scale up to a whole jar, and you've got a recipe!

(And yeah, I'd shave chocolate for quicker melting. Any high-quality chocolate bar should work - especially if there's one you already know you like. Williams Sonoma uses shaved Guittard chocolate.)
posted by mosst at 2:05 PM on January 7, 2021 [1 favorite]

This is my mom's cocoa recipe. It's very good. I haven't made it in a while because it makes more cocoa than I personally have appetite for cocoa, but it's great. Makes A LOT. You will need MANY JARS. My mom always stored it in a giant tupperware cake saver turned upside down.

Hot Chocolate Mix

1 (8 qt.) box Carnation powdered milk
1 (11 oz. or 16 oz. powdered Coffeemate (non-flavored)
1 lb. Nestle's Quik powdered chocolate drink mix
1 to 1 1/2 lbs. powdered (confectioner's) sugar
1/2 jar Carnation powdered chocolate malted milk mix
1/3 cup Hershey's powdered cocoa
1 small box Jello instant pudding mix (Devil's food or chocolate)

Mix all ingredients together well in a large bowl. Store in an airtight container. Have Kraft Jet-Puff mini-marshmallows and/or whipped cream handy to add, if desired.

1/3 cup of mixture in mug, add hot water = hot chocolate
1/3 cup of mixture in 8 oz. cold milk (in quick-shaker) = chocolate milk
1/3 cup mixture in mug, add hot coffee = cafe mocha
posted by phunniemee at 2:05 PM on January 7, 2021 [8 favorites]

I make it with two ingredients: a chopped up chocolate bar and heated milk. I buy fancy dark chocolate, but I think it would work with any reasonably decent bar. I definitely don't like it sweet and don't add sugar.
posted by pinochiette at 2:11 PM on January 7, 2021 [8 favorites]

Judy the Elf's Hot Cocoa from The Santa Clause | Binging with Babish
posted by oceano at 2:12 PM on January 7, 2021

Response by poster: Thanks for the suggestions, so far. Some seem a bit complicated for what I'm hoping to re-create, but look like they'd be good for a treat!

I'm a bit hesitant to just try to re-create the hot chocolate mix myself because I have *no idea* what proportions to use. I'm a bit of a recipe follower, so I'm just not "good" at guessing ingredient proportions in my head! I really appreciate specific recipes.

pinochiette how much of the chocolate bar do you melt in the milk?
posted by VirginiaPlain at 2:16 PM on January 7, 2021

Enough to fill 3 tablespoons (with little tiny pieces).
posted by pinochiette at 2:20 PM on January 7, 2021 [1 favorite]

My recipe for hot chocolate is butt-simple.

Take some bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate baking disks (chocolate chips work. any chocolate that's like the sweetness you want works). Put it in a mug, barely cover it with heavy cream. Microwave it until you can stir it smooth. Fill the mug the rest of the way with whatever combination of milk, cream, and irish cream you like, and mix in the ganache from the previous step as well as you can. Microwave it until it's the right temperature to drink, mixing again before drinking it. If you overshoot at this step and boil the milk it will form a skin which doesn't really make it taste worse.

Add whatever spices you want probably at any step along the way.
posted by aubilenon at 2:23 PM on January 7, 2021 [1 favorite]

Oh I didn't see your request for numbers until now, but it's all to taste, and it's going to be good pretty much no matter what. If you fill the mug a quarter of the way with chocolate disks that will be a pretty rich hot chocolate. I'd say start with just cream for the last step, unless you want it heavier and/or boozier.
posted by aubilenon at 2:26 PM on January 7, 2021

P.S. I heat milk on the stove (I just pour it into my mug first to measure it out) just until it's steaming or there are some tiny bubbles, turn off the heat, and then put in the chocolate and whisk it in.
posted by pinochiette at 2:27 PM on January 7, 2021

My suggestion is to not use cocoa and instead use ground chocolate. And yeah, that particular one is kinda expensive, but it is really, really good. A lot of other ground chocolate products are either blended with cocoa or just plain old mislabeled (and are just cocoa).
posted by GuyZero at 2:32 PM on January 7, 2021 [2 favorites]

As your current version has spices, I think you might like some of the recipes approximating 18th century hot chocolate.

This one is good: Sam’s historical recipe corner: Spiced hot chocolate.

There's another one I haven't tried but keep meaning to: Hot Chocolate the 18th Century Way.

This one was a bit too hot for me but you might like it: The 18th-century chocolate champions.

I can also recommend this recipe book: Hot Chocolate, by Michael Turback.

Best wishes with your trials, I don't know about the weather where you are but here it is definitely spiced hot chocolate weather.
posted by paduasoy at 2:43 PM on January 7, 2021 [4 favorites]

This recipe uses cocoa plus white chocolate (which the recipe notes she should have grated - I recommend getting a good Lindt bar, maybe even their amazing white chocolate bar with shredded coconut in it, if you can get it).

Note that in most mix recipes you find will have lowfat or nofat milk powder, but you can mail order whole milk, half and half, or heavy cream powder.

If you don't have a little battery/usb milk frother, they are amazing as in-cup blenders for powdered mixes.

When I make hot chocolate mixes for myself, I often add a proportionally small amount - one or two teaspoons per batch maybe - instant coffee, usually decaf, for extra depth. (I do very often add my hot chocolate mix to actual coffee to make a quickie mocha too.)
posted by Lyn Never at 2:43 PM on January 7, 2021

Oops

> I'd say start with just cream for the last step, unless you want it heavier and/or boozier.

Should have said "just milk".
posted by aubilenon at 3:03 PM on January 7, 2021

• 1 Heaping Tablespoon Coco Powder (Ghirardelli is pretty good, but really whatever brand)
• 1 Heaping Tablespoon Granulated Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Butter
• 1 Mug Whole Milk

Melt the butter in a sauce pan on medium-high. Add the sugar and coco to the melted butter and mix until all the coco is wetted by the butter. Add milk and mix. Heat to desired temperature, but don't boil.
posted by gregr at 3:25 PM on January 7, 2021 [3 favorites]

Have you tried the...
David Lebovitz recipe
Smitten Kitchen recipe

I keep the Smitten Kitchen mix on hand at all times for hot chocolate emergencies.
posted by papergirl at 4:08 PM on January 7, 2021 [2 favorites]

I'm a bit hesitant to just try to re-create the hot chocolate mix myself because I have *no idea* what proportions to use.

The ingredients on labels in Canada are listed in descending order by weight, so that gives you a starting point. There will be more dark chocolate (by weight) than milk chocolate, more cocoa than sugar, etc. Spices you can juggle the quantities. Start small, experiment and live dangerously! If you blow ten bucks* and get it wrong it's not the end of the world, and it might easily be salvageable.

*Get your spices at a good natural foods store or some such place, where you can buy small quantities of quality spices in bulk, instead of buying full jars of something you might only need a teaspoon or a half of. And use whole nutmeg! Enjoy.

Now I want some really good hot chocolate.
posted by kate4914 at 4:53 PM on January 7, 2021

1 cup whole milk
2 tbsp cocoa
1/4c sugar
Whisk in pot on med-low

F* me it’s like a gourmet chocolate bar melted into a cup
posted by St. Peepsburg at 5:49 PM on January 7, 2021

My partner is a big fan of 'cocoa milk'.

His usual way is 3-4 blocks from the giant 500g chocolate bars from Trader Joe's heated up with a little bit of milk, stirred until melted with a chopstick because knife on ceramic drives me bonkers, and then topped up with maybe 15oz more milk. This kind of works, but you get a lot of undissolved chocolate particles at the bottom of the mug.

However, after a ganache surplus due to a bad Yule Log recipe, he's now discovered that ganache is the solution. Chop 150g of good (>30% cocoa solids) chocolate finely, pour over an equal amount of cream microwaved so that it's hot but you can still stick your finger in it. Stir -- it will appear broken initially but then will miraculously turn into a glossy chocolate sauce. If you store this in a container in the fridge and let cool, you can have sediment-free cocoa milk anytime (just dilute a spoonful with milk).
posted by batter_my_heart at 8:05 PM on January 7, 2021 [6 favorites]

I just use cocoa and sugar and mixed these into hot milk in proportions that result in a flavour profile similar to mid range cocoa content chocolate - something like 45%.

In my opinion you only need milk powder etc if you want to make something you can mix with just water. If you plan to add this to milk and perhaps cream you don’t.

I normally just mix the cocoa and sugar dry in the mug, add a bit of hot milk to make a lump free paste and then add the remaining milk and whipped cream.

I dislike commercial hot chocolate mixes with a vengeance- too sweet and lacking in chocolate.
posted by koahiatamadl at 12:46 AM on January 8, 2021 [1 favorite]

200ml (or 3/4 cup) of cream or non-dairy cream substitute (I've had great results lately with Oatly Creamy Oat as my body slowly loses the ability to digest lactose effectively) + 6 tablespoons of high-quality chocolate chips (I've been using Callebaut 823) makes either one big mug or two decent-sized half mugs of extremely good hot chocolate. Heat the liquid up in the pan and then drop the chocolate chips in when the liquid is warm, stirring until it's all melted and well-combined.

Honestly, I would not bother with any kind of powder mix, no matter how fancy the powders. I've never had a powder hot chocolate even half as good as the kind where you're melting real chocolate into cream/cream substitute.
posted by terretu at 3:10 AM on January 8, 2021 [1 favorite]

This is the recipe I've been using this winter:

2 TB cocoa powder (I've done natural cocoa and dutch processed, both tasted good)
2 TB sugar
1/4 cup chocolate chips
2c milk of any kind
splash of vanilla

put everything except the vanilla in a pot, heat gently until it it all melted and combined. Add vanilla and serve.
posted by brilliantine at 7:33 AM on January 8, 2021 [1 favorite]

A suggestion for less mess / easier assembly: instead of melting the solids into milk (which can scald), just put the kettle on and melt the solids into as little boiling water as needed to make a frothy syrup in the bottom of your mug. Then add the milk and stir / heat. Avoids scalding the milk, and you can accomplish the whole thing with just the one mug getting dirty.
posted by cfraenkel at 10:43 AM on January 8, 2021 [1 favorite]

The recipe on the back of the Hershey’s unsweetened cocoa box is pretty great in my book, and the preparation is not arduous.
posted by TEA at 10:16 PM on January 8, 2021