Homemade Hot Chocolate Recipe (Hot Cocoa) (2024)

FAQs

Is hot chocolate and hot cocoa the same thing? ›

Hot Chocolate is made using solid chocolate melted in warm milk or cream. Hot Cocoa, however, is made from a powdered base of cocoa with added sugar and dissolved in hot water or hot milk.

In a saucepan, combine sugar, cocoa and salt. Add water; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Stir in milk; heat to serving temperature (do not boil).

In short, you can use hot chocolate powder as a cocoa powder substitute in a pinch, but you may not experience the depth of flavour you want. Because most brands of hot chocolate powder include sugar or sweetener, you may wish to reduce the amount of sugar you add to your baking recipe.

In terms of ranking, we agreed that the cocoa made with milk provided an ultra-smooth experience and was our favorite. However, we were pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed the water-based cocoa. While it wasn't as creamy as the milk, it had its benefits.

Image of two cups of hot cocoa topped with whipped cream, with a pair of spoons and a ceramic chocolate pot. Hershey's cookbooklet, 1937. In the United States, the terms "hot chocolate" and "hot cocoa" are used pretty interchangeably, but they aren't quite the same thing!

As early as 500 BC, the Mayans were drinking chocolate made from ground-up cocoa seeds mixed with water, cornmeal, and chili peppers (as well as other ingredients)—a much different version from the hot chocolate we know today.

It's essential not to let the milk come to a boil, as this can change its flavour profile and make it taste burnt. Mix with Hot Chocolate: Now, you can either add your chocolate directly into the saucepan or pour the warmed milk over your chocolate in a mug, mixing well until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Unsweetened cocoa powder: a high-quality cocoa powder or cacao powder is essential. I highly recommend using Ghirardelli's 100% cocoa. I think it has the best flavor for hot chocolate (and trust me, I've tried quite a few!)

Yes you could, as long as the cocoa and milk powder have dissolved well in the hot water before you add the milk.

Do you have to use milk for hot cocoa? ›

If you prefer water in your hot chocolate, you may not have much of a sweet tooth since the water dilutes the hot chocolate. If you put milk in your hot chocolate, it sweetens the warm drink right up. Some people are set on what they like and could never see the other way.

Cocoa butter (a key ingredient in chocolate) adds fat and richness to the resulting drink, and the lack of it in cocoa powder is one of the key reasons hot cocoa doesn't have the same level of richness as hot chocolate and has a thinner consistency.

Cocoa Powder: Hot chocolate starts with cocoa powder, which provides a chocolatey flavour. However, hot chocolate mix is distinct from plain cocoa powder, as it often contains added sugar, powdered milk, and sometimes additional flavourings like vanilla or spices.

Terminology. A distinction is sometimes made between "hot cocoa", made from cocoa powder (ground cacao beans from which much of the cocoa butter has been removed), and "hot chocolate", made directly from bar chocolate, which already contains cocoa, sugar, and cocoa butter.

Cocoa and chocolate are both made from the beans of the cocoa pod. They are difference in the step of extracting, and the components inside are not the same. Chocolate is the fermentation of cocoa beans to produce microorganisms and accelerate many nutrients in cocoa beans for maximum efficiency.

If you have a major sweet tooth, hot cocoa might be the better option. But if you're someone who enjoys richer flavors, hot chocolate is the better choice. Although hot cocoa is the sweeter drink, both hot chocolate and hot cocoa are full of sugar, so neither is really healthier than the other.

The two products have a basic ingredient in common — cacao — but are processed and blended differently. Hot cocoa is often flat and sweet, while drinking chocolate is rich and complex in flavor, and can be sweetened or unsweetened.