Creamy Dark Hot Chocolate With Homemade Whipped Cream
This Creamy Dark Hot Chocolate With Homemade Whipped Cream is reminiscent of your favorite boutique coffee shop hot cocoa. Made with dark chocolate, Homemade Organic Whipped Cream and milk chocolate shavings on top this hot cocoa is a cozy drink you'll love!
If you love hot chocolate as much as I do, be sure to check out some of my other favorite recipes like Boozy Pumpkin Spice Hot Chocolate, Bone Broth Hot Cocoa, Caramel Hot Cocoa, Hot Chocolate Bombs Without a Mold, Chai Tea Hot Chocolate or How to Make Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix for Gifts.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Creamy Dark Hot Chocolate With Homemade Whipped Cream
- Ready In: 15 minutes
- Makes: 4 servings
- Main Ingredients: milk, Dutch cocoa, cane sugar, heavy whipping cream
- Flavor Profile: rich, creamy with a malty finish
- Dietary Info: gluten free, eggless, no seed oils, vegan swap available
- Difficulty: Easy!
- Why You’ll Love It: café-style cocoa at home
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Creamy Dark Hot Chocolate: This homemade hot cocoa recipe is made with dark chocolate, whole milk, cane sugar, and cocoa powder making it super creamy!
- Nostalgic: I top this creamy Dark Hot Chocolate with Homemade Organic Whipped Cream and milk chocolate shavings. The milk chocolate shavings create a sort of malty, creamy, chocolate flavor that you can't get with anything else. You must try it!
- 4 Ingredient Hot Chocolate: This 4 ingredient hot chocolate is an easy recipe that's full of flavor! It doesn't take much time at all to whip up this creamy Dark Hot Chocolate!
- Perfect Dessert Pairing: This cozy drink goes well with any dessert!
Jump to:
- A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Ingredients
- Hot Chocolate Tips
- How to Make Creamy Dark Hot Chocolate With Homemade Whipped Cream
- What to Serve With Creamy Dark Hot Chocolate With Homemade Whipped Cream
- Recipe FAQ’s
- More Hot Chocolate Recipes
- Creamy Dark Hot Chocolate With Homemade Whipped Cream
- The Bake Shop
Ingredients
- Milk: I use Organic Valley Whole Milk. Be sure to use whole milk for creamy hot cocoa. And, check out Hot Chocolate Versus Hot Chocolate Milk if you are curious about using chocolate milk.
- Dark Chocolate: I use organic dark chocolate in addition to cocoa for a really dark and creamy hot chocolate! I just use a chopped up chocolate bar, be sure to chop it into small pieces so it melts and combines easily.
- Dutch Cocoa Powder: I use organic Dutch cocoa powder, this will result in a rich and smooth cocoa.
- Milk Chocolate: This part is optional, but I use an organic milk chocolate bar to create chocolate shavings.
- Heavy Cream: You'll need heavy whipping cream as we're making whipped cream from scratch here and it's so easy and so much better than anything from a can!
*For a full list of ingredients and measurements, visit the recipe card below.
Hot Chocolate Tips
- Use whole milk if you want a rich and creamy hot chocolate.
- Use chocolate and cocoa that is high quality. Sometimes people think one single ingredient doesn't matter because you're mixing a bunch of them together. However, that is completely not the case as all the ingredients make up end flavor of the recipe. So, make sure to use high quality chocolate and cocoa that you like the flavor of. There's so many different kinds out there!
- Take the extra time to make homemade whipped cream. This is a huge difference maker in enjoying a delicious hot chocolate!
- To make the chocolate shavings: Use a chocolate shaver (or you can use a carrot peeler) and shave off pieces from a bar of milk chocolate. The chocolate shavings make this drink extra special. They are such as easy topping, but something that completely elevates your hot chocolate. They are totally worth it!
- Vegan: Make Homemade Organic Vegan Whipped Cream and use a nondairy milk. I recommend coconut milk for the creamiest vegan hot chocolate.
How to Make Creamy Dark Hot Chocolate With Homemade Whipped Cream
- To make the whipped cream: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or in a bowl using a hand mixer, add the heavy whipping cream, 1 1/2 teaspoons cane sugar, and vanilla extract.
- Slowly start to mix, so it doesn’t splatter, and gradually increase the speed while the mixture thickens until you are at full speed. Whisk until stiff peaks form and the whipped cream doesn’t fall off the whisk.
- To make the cocoa: Add the milk, dark chocolate, cane sugar, and cocoa into a 2-quart saucepan. Put over high heat.
- Whisk until all ingredients dissolve and the temperature reaches 140°F to 160°F on a drink thermometer. Remove from heat.
- To serve: Pour into mugs.
- Top with whipped cream, and chocolate shavings (optional).
What to Serve With Creamy Dark Hot Chocolate With Homemade Whipped Cream
- Try favorites like Vanilla Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies, Espresso Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies, Chocolate Espresso Cookies, or Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies.
- I also love dipping biscotti into hot chocolate! Try favorites like Eggless Coconut Chocolate Chip Biscotti, Simple Chocolate Espresso Biscotti, or Kamut Flour Biscotti.
- This also makes a great cozy drink to cakes, cupcakes and other holiday desserts! Try serving this with Eggnog Sheet Cake, Chocolate Peppermint Christmas Tree Cupcakes, Maple Caramel Dark Chocolate Gingerbread Cookie Bars or Frosted Gingerbread Banana Bread for cozy holiday treats.
- Top with homemade marshmallows like Homemade Marshmallows Without Eggs, Homemade Chocolate Marshmallows Without Eggs, Marshmallows Without Eggs or even Homemade Cherry Marshmallows.
- Serve with candy canes as a little hot cocoa stir stick for a peppermint infused drink!
Recipe FAQ's
Most classic hot chocolate will use cocoa powder. This dark hot chocolate uses cocoa powder and the addition of dark chocolate. This makes it rich, creamy and with a more dark chocolate flavor.
No, this is not bitter, it's just rich and chocolatey! But, if you use a dark chocolate that is a really high cocoa percentage (such as 80% or 90%) then your cocoa can be bitter. These are sometimes called super black or blackout chocolate bars, so I'd stay away from those. Stick to 70% which gives you a really nice balance of dark chocolate and a sweetness.
I like to use 70% as this is a nice balance of dark chocolate and still a little bit sweet. If you go up higher to a higher percentage, then it can make your hot chocolate more bitter.
You can use chocolate chips if you prefer.
You can use maple syrup in place of cane sugar if you prefer.
Yes, love this idea! Try adding in 1 teaspoon of espresso powder. Or you can add in a shot of espresso into each poured mug.
Using whole milk and adding in melted chocolate are my top two tricks for making the most creamy hot chocolate. Whole milk is key because the fat makes it extra creamy, not watery. And, adding in melted dark chocolate along with cocoa powder will give you a rich and even creamier hot cocoa!
While this recipe calls for milk and cream, you can make a creamy vegan hot chocolate using this recipe. Swap out the whole milk for organic coconut milk, don't use almond, oat or another nut as these milks can be more watery. Coconut milk is my top pick for a creamy vegan milk. Then, just make my Homemade Organic Vegan Whipped Cream recipe.
I don't recommend this as you'll need to store the hot chocolate in the refrigerator and then reheat it when ready to serve. This is basically the same thing as just making it, so there's really no advantage to doing this, in my opinion. If you need to prep in advance, I recommend making the whipped cream a day in advance and store in in an airtight container in the fridge. This will save you time so you can just heat the hot chocolate and have the whipped cream ready to serve.
I recommend reheating in a pot over the stovetop.
More Hot Chocolate Recipes
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Creamy Dark Hot Chocolate With Homemade Whipped Cream
Equipment
- Stand Mixer (or hand mixer if making whipped cream)
- Digital Food Scale
- Small Pot
- Whisk
- Drink Thermometer
Ingredients
Whipped Cream
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 ½ teaspoons cane sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Hot Chocolate
- 4 cups milk
- 35 grams dark chocolate
- 28 grams cane sugar
- 10 grams Dutch Cocoa powder
Chocolate Shavings
- milk chocolate
Instructions
- To make the whipped cream: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or in a bowl using a hand mixer, add the heavy whipping cream, 1 1/2 teaspoons cane sugar, and vanilla extract.
- Slowly start to mix, so it doesn’t splatter, and gradually increase the speed while the mixture thickens until you are at full speed. Whisk until stiff peaks form and the whipped cream doesn’t fall off the whisk.
- To make the cocoa: Add the milk, dark chocolate, cane sugar, and cocoa into a 2-quart saucepan. Put over high heat.
- Whisk until all ingredients dissolve and the temperature reaches 140°F to 160°F on a drink thermometer. Remove from heat.
- To serve: Pour into mugs.
- Top with whipped cream, and chocolate shavings (optional).
Notes
- Use whole milk if you want a rich and creamy hot chocolate.
- Use chocolate and cocoa that is high quality. Sometimes people think one single ingredient doesn't matter because you're mixing a bunch of them together. However, that is completely not the case as all the ingredients make up end flavor of the recipe. So, make sure to use high quality chocolate and cocoa that you like the flavor of. There's so many different kinds out there!
- Take the extra time to make homemade whipped cream. This is a huge difference maker in enjoying a delicious hot chocolate!
- To make the chocolate shavings: Use a chocolate shaver (or you can use a carrot peeler) and shave off pieces from a bar of milk chocolate. The chocolate shavings make this drink extra special. They are such as easy topping, but something that completely elevates your hot chocolate. They are totally worth it!
- Vegan: Make Homemade Organic Vegan Whipped Cream and use a nondairy milk. I recommend coconut milk for the creamiest vegan hot chocolate.
- High Altitude: Follow the recipe as noted.
Nutrition
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Rich and creamy, this is so good!