S’mores Hot Chocolate
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If you didn’t know I live in Canada, and in Canada it feels like winter will never end!
Ask any Canadian and they’ll tell you the same! At the time of writing this, we just had a fresh batch of soft snow coating the ground. It’s not too cold today but there is some wind, so I’m going to stay in and make myself the perfect hot chocolate!
I can’t remember the first hot chocolate I’ve had in Canada but they’ve been special ever since I first experienced winter! I’ve tried a handful of hot chocolates, and I’ve learned what I look for in a good hot chocolate!
I like to have my hot chocolate be creamy with the emphasis on the chocolate! I like it fairly thick and not too sweet, but I do like a certain amount of sweetness! For me, hot chocolate is a special time to enjoy marshmallows! They just add even more creaminess and a little extra sweetness to our hot chocolate, and they add those awesome comforting vibes to a good cup of hot chocolate! When I’m feeling like a more caffeinated beverage, I opt for my Cafe Mocha recipe, as you may see me prepare so often in my Instagram stories! By the way, make sure to follow me there if you’re not already! I share lots of recipe sneak peaks and my daily kitchen experiments!
Recently, I’ve seen that some cities in Canada have had hot chocolate festivals! They seem like a ton of fun, and I’d love to attend! Unfortunately, there’s no hot chocolate festival here, which is a bummer, but that’s okay! Browsing pictures of these really cool hot chocolates, including fluffer nutter hot chocolate, tiramisu hot chocolate, and maple fudge hot chocolate, I wanted to try my hand at my own gourmet hot chocolate! Hopefully one day there’ll be a hot chocolate festival here so I can try some delicious fancy hot chocolates, but that’s the beauty of cooking at home right - when you’ve got a craving, you can make whatever you want!
What will make this hot chocolate special? Well, quite a few things! Firstly, if you’ve followed the blog for awhile, you know I just love my chocolate! This is gonna be a double chocolate hot chocolate, with chocolate chips and a chocolate bar! Secondly, and as the name suggests, we’ll be topping our hot chocolate with roasted marshmallows, making this a S’mores Hot Chocolate! This simple topping will really elevate your classic hot chocolate!
Be sure to watch the video at the bottom of this post! If you’re not already, make sure you subscribe to me on YouTube! I also recommend ! I love to record the recipes to give you a full picture of what’s going on! Check out the video to see exactly how the hot chocolate itself is made, and how to complete our hot chocolate with those amazing roasted marshmallows! Let’s get cooking!
Hot chocolate versus hot cocoa
You know I didn’t know the difference till right now! I always thought the terms were used interchangeably, though to be fair in my daily speech I do normally say “hot chocolate” anyway! I find “hot cocoa” is a fancier term, but that’s just me!
A hot chocolate refers to a mixture of actual chocolate mixed in with milk. On the other hand, a hot cocoa is made with cocoa powder, sugar and milk. The hot cocoa is on the thinner and sweeter side, while a hot chocolate is thicker, creamier and may be more bitter, depending on how much sweetener you add. For this S’mores Hot Chocolate recipe, I’ll be using two kinds of chocolate, as I’ll be discussing in the next section!
What kind of Chocolate Should I Use?
The chocolate chips I’ll be using here are semi-sweet, and the chocolate bar I’ll be using is 70% dark cocoa. You want to use semi-sweet chocolate. Using unsweetened chocolate will be too bitter, and using milk chocolate chips will be too sweet. Of course based on your preference you can use another kind of chocolate, but keep in mind that the amount of sugar you’ll use will differ than what I’ll be sharing in this recipe.
What size of marshmallows should I use?
I’m using mini marshmallows, and I believe these are traditionally used for a classic hot chocolate! I’ve seen pictures and recipe videos using the large marshmallows. While they’re fun to roast and they do make your hot chocolate look quite fancy and inviting, how will you be able to sip on your hot chocolate with a giant marshmallows floating there? The mini marshmallows will add the creaminess to the hot chocolate and you can easily sip your drink and enjoy the marshmallows! If you’ve made hot chocolate with large marshmallows, let me know how you actually drank your drink! I’m very curious!
is there caffeine in s’mores hot chocolate?
Yes, there is a little bit. Dark and semi-sweet chocolate contain a bit of caffeine. To be precise, a 100 gram serving of 70-80 percent cocoa contains 80 mg of caffeine. Furthermore, there will be some caffeine from the espresso powder used. To reduce the caffeine, you can use a decaf espresso powder if you’d like. Furthermore, if you used milk chocolate, you’d also be cutting down the caffeine content.
Equipment for s’mores hot chocolate
To make the perfect S’mores Hot Chocolate, you’ll need a couple of key items in your kitchen! Here’s what you’ll need:
Saucepan: To boil the milk and make our hot chocolate.
Whisk: A whisk is essential to get a smooth texture in your hot chocolate without any clumping!
Baker’s torch: We’ll be using this torch to roast our marshmallows when they’re on top! Make sure you also have the butane fuel for your torch! Fun fact: I bought the torch that didn’t come without fuel, and I almost left the store without buying some fuel! Yikes!
Finally, you want some nice mugs to serve your hot chocolate in! I love these clear mugs because you can see the hot chocolate in all its glory, and the outside stays cool so you don’t burn your hand serving and drinking!
tips for creamy homemade hot chocolate
Be careful not to overheat the chocolate or milk, the chocolate may turn split if too hot.
The type and flavour of chocolate you use will change this drink - experiment!
While not required to be delicious, roasting the marshmallows with a torch is truly recommended.
Don’t add sweeteners until the very end, in most cases, the sweetness from the chocolate will be more than enough.
Ingredients for Chocolatey Hot Chocolate
Let’s go over the ingredients we’ll need for this awesome S’mores Hot Chocolate! You’ll be surprised to see that the ingredient list is quite small, and I’m sure you’ve already got everything on hand! Remember, the FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD with all ingredient quantities is at the bottom of this post! You can easily scale all of the ingredients based on how much hot chocolate you want to make!
Milk: I’m using whole milk here. The reason for this is so that we can get our hot chocolate ultra creamy without using heavy cream. You can use a lighter milk if you choose or even a non-dairy milk, but keep in mind the texture and creaminess won’t be the same. You could even replace whole milk for half and half cream if you want a super creamy and rich hot chocolate.
Chocolate: I’m using a combination of chocolate chips and a chocolate bar. You can use your favourite chocolate chips and your favourite chocolate bar to truly give you an incredible hot chocolate experience!
Sugar: Simple granulated white sugar will be used to sweeten our hot chocolate! Add as desired based on your sweetness preference.
Espresso powder: The espresso powder will further enhance the cocoa that comes from our chocolate chips and the chocolate bar. If you don’t want to use espresso powder, you could also use salt to bring that extra bold and rich cocoa flavour.
Vanilla extract: A little goes a long way here! I love to add a small amount to add a nice aroma to our hot chocolate, and this will nicely complement the chocolate.
Marshmallows: I’m using mini marshmallows here. You could make your hot chocolate with large marshmallows or even colourful ones if you’d like!
How to make s’mores hot chocolate
Add milk to a non-stick saucepan and turn the heat to medium. Break and add the chocolate bar to the milk, along with the chocolate chips.
Stir/whisk occasionally to melt the chocolate and ensure the milk doesn't burn at the bottom. Be careful not to overheat the chocolate or milk, the chocolate may split if too hot.
Once the chocolate has completely melted, add vanilla, espresso and mix again.
Pour to your serving cups and top with marshmallows and serve hot.
To roast the marshmallows (optional)
Use a bakers torch to roast the marshmallows to your liking and enjoy!
Can I reheat s’mores hot chocolate?
Well, let’s be honest here and admit that hot chocolate is the best served immediately when it’s nice and piping hot! After all, it is called a HOT chocolate! However, I will admit that I’m a slow drinker, and sometimes I get so busy doing something I forget about my hot beverage and it’s been sitting next to me for… awhile! Hehe…
If this sounds like you, then you can totally reheat your hot chocolate! You can reheat it in the microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval to ensure the hot chocolate is entirely warmed through. Or you can add it back to your pot and reheat it that way. If you’ve left your hot chocolate with the marshmallows, chances are they’ve melted, so you can top with more marshmallows if desired!
can i make s’mores hot chocolate for a crowd?
You sure can! Just ensure that you have a large enough pot to boil the amount of milk that you need! I made this hot chocolate for one, and my saucepan has enough space to make hot chocolate for two. I would recommend a Dutch oven to make a big batch of hot chocolate, or you could even use a wok if you don’t have a Dutch oven! The wok I use is excellent at retaining heat, and you can really make a huge batch of hot chocolate in it since it’s so huge!
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Watch How to Make s’mores hot chocolate here:
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