Italian Best Hot Chocolate

Italian Best Hot Chocolate must be on your bucket list to do at home!  The richest, thickest creamy, and silky smooth.  Filled with dark chocolate, milk, and heavy cream, this is the ultimate cold-weather treat! It’s so decadent you can even call it a dessert and serve this as churros dipping sauce too, ready in under 10 minutes. 

Kid’s Imagination Through Chocolate

Have you ever watched a Willy Wonka movie? a fantasy movie in which he created a chocolate factory and swam over the chocolate river, there was even chocolate rain. I always had that imagination since kid, and it makes me so satisfied when I watch this movie over and over again. it kind of screams for the inner child haha. Well, friends, imagine yourselves gliding through that river of chocolate, taking large gulps along the way, with no fear of being sent to the fudge room, and it reminds me of today’s recipe, Italian best hot chocolate.

Hot chocolate Italian-style is one of the most amazing treats in the world! it is a thick, creamy, and of course chocolatey beverage. Since the texture is close to a pudding consistency, the hot chocolate is typically served with a spoon. This is also why Italian hot chocolate is served in a small mug – bigger than an espresso cup and smaller than a cappuccino.

Most times, you can order Italian hot chocolate plain and pure or with a dollop of whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Moreover, With that said, you can even enjoy this luscious hot beverage on a summer day because it is that delicious, and hey…. “when in Rome”

In addition, you can enjoy and order this beloved beverage year-round just as the locals do.

Personally, I love this Italian hot chocolate just the way it is but you could also add marshmallows, cream, caramel sauce, or like what I made in this picture. overall, this should called a decadent dessert.

cioccolata calda – Warm on a cold weather

Cioccolata calda, as it is called in Italy, is a creamy and luxuriously rich chocolate drink with a pudding/ dipping sauce-like consistency.

Italian hot chocolate — sometimes called Italian drinking chocolate, or European drinking chocolate elsewhere in Europe — is a tasty and creamy drink that is thick but still very drinkable, and just as importantly — dunkable. It originates from northern Italy, specifically the cities of Turin and Piedmont, which are world famous for chocolate production.

So if you’re looking for the ultimate cold weather warming treat, or also a Max Brenner hot chocolate fan looking to recreate the magic at home, you’re in the right place.

Get ready to swim luxuriously through this river of Italian hot chocolate!

What’s Inside Italian Best Hot Chocolate

• Dark Chocolate 70%; high-quality chocolate will give you the best result I use 70% for darker color and flavor
• Cocoa Powder; You can use unsweetened Dutch-process or natural cocoa, both work, I like to use Dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder. Because the beans are treated with an alkaline solution, the cocoa is a beautiful rich, deep red color. You can also use raw or natural cacao powder to make hot chocolate.
• Sugar; my go-to is classic granulated sugar for this recipe. A little sugar sweetens the drink just a bit
• Milk; I use UHT milk as liquid for this hot chocolate
• Heavy Cream; well, I see on other recipes there’s people use heavy cream or not. Meanwhile, for me, I Use a little bit of heavy cream for thicker consistency. Feel free to skip these ingredients if you’re on a diet program
• Cornstarch; This thickens the drink. To adjust the thickness of the drink, reduce the amount of cornstarch added.
• Marshmallow garnish; The original Italian Hot chocolate typically doesn’t use marshmallows on topping. I use this topped over freshly whipped cream and sprinkled chocolate chopped for photography aesthetically pleasing purposes lol. However, this adds some texture and more sweetness to the drink.

Let’s make Italian Best Hot Chocolate

Start with Mix dry ingredients

In a saucepan, combine cocoa powder, sugar, and cornstarch.

Then, Pour in milk and whisk until cornstarch is fully dissolved. You can make two steps here; first, dissolve cornstarch and milk and set aside. Or the second one, pour in dry ingredients like my step

Warm the remaining milk  

Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture just begins to bubble but does not boil.

Whisk until thickened

Whisk the drinking chocolate until it reaches a creamy and dense texture. Reduce heat to low then add chopped dark chocolate and keep stirring until melted.

Finally, Pour the hot chocolate into a mug and garnish it with marshmallow. Enjoy!

How to Serve this Best Italian Hot Chocolate

1. Remember, this drink is hot! Use your coffee mugs, or heat-proof mugs when serving up a cup of Cioccolato Caldo. And then top with fresh cream or chocolate shavings (or both). The drink will continue to thicken as it cools, so serve it right away or keep it on very low heat and stir occasionally.
2. Try to add some extra flavor, you can try peppermint extract when making your hot chocolate for a cooling holiday flavor, or a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract or cinnamon. Or go with a drizzle of syrup like caramel or raspberry too!
3. Because of the thickness of this hot chocolate, it also goes very well as churros dipping sauce, or anything such as donuts, plain cake, or bread. So you can make some stocks for later use!

Recipe Notes;

• Italian hot chocolate will continue to thicken as it cools. If you cooked your Italian hot chocolate for too long and it is too thick, whisk in a tablespoon of milk to help thin it out over low heat. Either way works!
• Do not skip the cornstarch, it may sound weird, but remember cornstarch is the secret ingredient that makes this Italian style so thick and creamy. Fortunately, cornstarch goes completely undetectable over your palate, but it will give you that amazing thick texture.
• Add extra fat. If you want a mug of perfect hot chocolate,  add both milk -and- heavy cream to this recipe and yes, you should absolutely include the heavy cream.
• You can control the sweetness of the hot chocolate by adding more or less sugar.
• This drink is rich! When looking for serving cups the smaller the better. No big coffee mugs for this hot chocolate recipe.

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