My daughter Sara loves hot cocoa since she was a little girl, this year I started to make instant hot cocoa it’s quick and easy to make, and tastes so much better than store bought (with less ingredients), quicker to make then heating milk in a pot too!
This amount makes enough to last a while, enough to fill one large mason jar (950 ml), a medium sized one (440 ml) and a small jar (240 ml). You can use different size jars or one large container, what I like to do is make different flavours and use different lids and jars for them. Makes for a great gift too!
When I started to make this I experimented with different measurements, and found that the ones listed in the recipe tasted best, it’s not too sweet, and it’s not bitter, it’s just right. The vanilla sugar helps cut off the bitterness from the dark cocoa, if you cannot find the packets of vanilla sugar you may add some bean paste or homemade vanilla sugar, I wouldn’t add too much, vanilla sugar is very light in flavour and aroma compared to homemade vanilla sugar, it is a white powder not like the vanilla sugar you make at home.
As for the cornstarch it’s added as a thickener, the first time I made it without cornstarch turned out watery, it didn’t have the came consistency as the store bought cocoa powder. At first I added one tablespoon and it wasn’t enough so I added the second spoon and it turned out perfect, since then I have been making it the same way and it works out every time.
For the different flavours I like to make one with peppermint chocolate chips, just take a few tablespoons and blend them in a food processor or coffee grinder. I make another jar with instant coffee, just add a tablespoon of instant coffee and stir in for a mocha flavoured cocoa.
For my peppermint hot cocoa recipe follow this link: peppermint-hot-cocoa
For traditional hot cocoa follow this link: hot-cocoa
What you will need:
- 1 cup cocoa (dark is best)
2 cups sugar (pure cane sugar)
3 and 1/2 cups instant skim milk powder
1 or 2 packets of vanilla sugar (like Dr. Oetker)
2 tbsp corn starch
Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. Transfer into jars or containers. To make hot cocoa you will need a few heaping teaspoons per cup with hot boiling water, stir in some milk or cream and top with whipped cream if desired.
You may need more spoons of cocoa depending on how big your cup or mug is, for a large mug or travel cup I use three heaping tablespoons of cocoa.
Enjoy it with a Dutch chocolate sprinkle sandwich, cause you can never have enough chocolate! My moms favourite, she lived in Holland for 7 years when she was younger and she fell in love with Dutch chocolate sprinkle sandwiches! They taste so good and they are made with real chocolate, just spread some butter and sprinkle the sprinkles over! This one in the photograph is dark chocolate, my favourite is milk chocolate. I love to sprinkle them over the hot cocoa, makes it extra special.
Just curious why do you use corn starch and vanilla? And where do you get the Dutch chocolate sprinkles? I remember once you told me you buy them online right?