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| Hot cocoa station with cocoa in the slow cooker. |
Homemade cocoa beats the mix hands down!
And, it is really quite simple to prepare. The most difficult thing seems to be
. . . acquiring the ingredients! Out of cocoa, Barry agreed to go to the store.
I thought I made it very clear that I prefer the special dark cocoa and I’m
sure I said baking cocoa. It was the only thing on the list.
He was gone awhile and arrived home with a
rather large sack. Unsure about which cocoa I wanted, he purchased one of
each available dark cocoa brands — all were hot cocoa mixes containing added sugar,
dry milk, etc.
That experience reminded me that others
are also confused when a recipe calls for cocoa. The general rule — if a recipe
calls for cocoa, it is the referring to the unsweetened type used for baking
(also known as baker’s cocoa).
 |
| This is what I wanted! |
Alas, I got to looking and discovered
another container of the baker’s variety in our pantry. And, now there’s space on
the shelf for our newly acquired collection of hot cocoa mixes.
Hot Cocoa
½ cup baking cocoa – I prefer dark cocoa (be sure to purchase plain baking cocoa not cocoa mix which has sugar, dry milk, etc. added)
1 cup lightly packed brown sugar
Pinch of salt
1 cup cold water
5 cups milk – I prefer whole milk and a local, natural brand (Hildrebrand Farms Dairy) makes really good cocoa. Sometimes I even use 4 cups whole milk and 1 cup of half-and-half for a really rich drink.
1 teaspoon vanilla
1. Add cocoa and brown sugar to a saucepan. Use a whisk to completely combine so that the sugar will break down the starch in the cocoa. (If you try to add water or liquid directly to a starch, such as cocoa, the outer molecules of the cocoa will swell, leaving pockets of undissolved cocoa that are almost impossible to break up. This leads to a quite unappetizing cup of hot chocolate!)
2. Gradually stir in the water.
3. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Boil and stir 2 minutes. This step develops the flavor of the cocoa mixture and avoids a starchy taste.
4. At this point, you have several options . . .
a. Milk can be stirred into the sweetened cocoa mixture; heat until very hot, but do not boil! Remove from heat and add vanilla.
b. Set the cocoa mixture aside until ready to use. Follow directions above (a.) when ready to make cocoa on the stove top.
c. Add the reserved cocoa mixture to a slow cooker, add milk and heat on high for 2 hours. At this point, turn down the temperature, add vanilla and serve. (Plan so hot cocoa is ready to serve after about 2 hours as dairy products can break down if the heat on high in the slow cooker for too long.)
5. Ladle hot cocoa into cups or mugs. Top with marshmallows (homemade are the best). If offering a Hot Cocoa bar, set out condiments such as chopped peppermints, chopped chocolate, whipped cream, cinnamon, etc. Enjoy!
Recipe without photos . . .
Hot Cocoa
½ cup baking cocoa – I prefer dark cocoa (be sure to purchase plain baking cocoa not cocoa mix which has sugar, dry milk, etc. added)
1 cup lightly packed brown sugar
Pinch of salt
1 cup cold water
5 cups milk – I prefer whole milk and a local, natural brand (Hildrebrand Farms Dairy) makes really good cocoa. Sometimes I even use 4 cups whole milk and 1 cup of half-and-half for a really rich drink.
1 teaspoon vanilla
1. Add cocoa and brown sugar to a saucepan. Use a whisk to completely combine so that the sugar will break down the starch in the cocoa. (If you try to add water or liquid directly to a starch, such as cocoa, the outer molecules of the cocoa will swell, leaving pockets of undissolved cocoa that are almost impossible to break up. This leads to a quite unappetizing cup of hot chocolate!)
2. Gradually stir in the water.
3. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Boil and stir 2 minutes. This step develops the flavor of the cocoa mixture and avoids a starchy taste.
4. At this point, you have several options . . .
a. Milk can be stirred into the sweetened cocoa mixture; heat until very hot, but do not boil! Remove from heat and add vanilla.
b. Set the cocoa mixture aside until ready to use. Follow directions above (a.) when ready to make cocoa on the stove top.
c. Add the reserved cocoa mixture to a slow cooker, add milk and heat on high for 2 hours. At this point, turn down the temperature, add vanilla and serve. (Plan so hot cocoa is ready to serve after about 2 hours as dairy products can break down if the heat on high in the slow cooker for too long.)
5. Ladle hot cocoa into cups or mugs. Top with marshmallows (homemade are the best). If offering a Hot Cocoa bar, set out condiments such as chopped peppermints, chopped chocolate, whipped cream, cinnamon, etc. Enjoy!
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