A Cup of Hot Chocolate!

A Cup of Hot Chocolate!

What always cheers me up is the smell of chocolate!

In these tough times, when there is a deadly virus around and there is lockdown happening all over the country (in-fact the world), and we are all stuck at home, things can get a little sad, especially for kids.

We can’t help the lockdown, as its necessary to flatten the curve, but we can definitely do something about the sad look on our kids faces.

Nothing works its magic as good as a mug of delicious Hot Chocolate!

I make it very often and it’s always worth the smile and happy grins I get from my kids.

Serves 1 (normal size Mug)

Ingredients:

1.Milk -1 cup

2.Cooking chocolate (dark or normal depending on the taste)- broken into small pieces-1 table spoon

3.Vanilla essence – 1 drop (optional)

4.Cinnamon powder- 1 pinch (if you have cinnamon stick and not powder, break a small piece and add to the milk, which you must remove before pouring in the mug)

5.Hot chocolate powder/ drinking chocolate powder- 1tsp

6.Powdered sugar- 1 tsp ( add more if you like it sweeter)

7.Marshmallows – 6 to 7 if small ones, 3 to 4 if big (get without any flavour or max vanilla flavour) If the marshmellows are flavoured, do not add the vanilla essence.

8.A clean pan

A small peek into my kitchen cabinet:

***This is the chocolate i use. I simply take a 1″ by 1″ piece (approx.) and break it into rough chunks with anything heavy.***

***I love this chocolate powder from Chokola brand. It comes in quite a few flavours. If i use the vanilla flavour powder, I don’t use vanilla essence.***

Preparation:

Keep all ingredients ready.
put the pan on low heat and add half cup of milk.
Once its warm (not boiling), add the chocolate chunks and stir slowly till the chocolate is dissolved.
This is the time he milk would have started to boil too. Add the rest of the milk, cinnamon, chocolate powder, sugar and vanilla essence and keep stirring till it boils.
All contents should be well dissolved by now and liquid should be smooth. Hot chocolate is not about rocky roads!
If you have added cinnamon stick piece, please take it out now.
Pour the contents in a mug.
Immediately add the marshmallows.

Serve Hot!

The marshmellows would start to melt immediately.