Chocolate Drinks and Cocktails

Chocolate is delicious not only in its solid form, but also in drinks. There are almost an infinite number of drinks that can be made with chocolate; here we list some of them.

Hot Chocolates

Hot chocolate is a classic drink, very popular all over the world. In South America hot chocolate is mainly made with water, while in England it is made with milk. Hot chocolate can be more or less thick, with added aromas such as mint, orange, pepper and other additional items such as liquor, chilli peppers, marshmallows or cream.

• Foamy hot chocolate:
  ingredients – two cups of milk, 45 grams of chopped semisweet chocolate; whipped cream to garnish
  Place the milk and the chocolate in a saucepan, over medium heat, and whisk periodically, until the mixture is foamy. Remove from heat and use a wire whisk to make the chocolate drink foamier. Pour the chocolate into cups and garnish with whipped cream on top.
• Thick hot chocolate:
  ingredients – milk, bitter cocoa powder, a little bit of sugar and a teaspoon of potato starch. The amount of the ingredients varies according to how sweet or thick you would like the chocolate drink to be. If you prefer a thicker hot chocolate add more potato starch.
  Place some cocoa powder in a saucepan with a bit of sugar and a teaspoon of potato starch; add the milk slowly. Then place the saucepan on the stove and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture starts boiling. Keep stirring and turn off the heat when the mixture starts condensing.

Cold chocolate drinks

Chocolate drinks are lovely also when they are cold; you can try for example a classic chocolate milk shake or a chocolate frappe.

• Chocolate milk shake:
  ingredients – ¾ cup of milk, ½ tablespoon vanilla extract, 3 tablespoons chocolate syrup, ½ a cup vanilla ice cream, sugar if you like it sweeter.
  Place the ingredients in a blender and blend until it is smooth.
• Chocolate frappe:
  ingredients – 4 tablespoons of chocolate ice cream, 4 tablespoons of another ice cream flavour (you can choose whichever you prefer, as long as it goes well with chocolate), ½ litre of milk, cocoa powder.
  Mix the milk and the ice cream together in a blender; serve in a tall glass with cocoa powder on top and a straw.

Alcoholic chocolate drinks

Chocolate gives an amazing flavour to a lot of cocktails and alcoholic drinks. Try for example:

• Chocolate Martini:
  ingredients – one part white crème de cacao, one part vodka.
  Pour the ingredients into a shaker and shake well; serve the drink cold in a Martini glass.
• Chocolate full moon:
  ingredients – two shots tequila, one shot crème de cacao, one shot cream.
  Pour the ingredients into a shaker with ice and shake well; strain the drink into a cocktail glass and serve. You can garnish this drink with chocolate shaving if you like.

Liquore al cioccolato – or liquor made with chocolate

Liquore al cioccolato is an amazing liquor, made with chocolate and alcohol, very thick and creamy, made in Southern Italy. It is worth trying if you happen to be in Sicily, in Campania or in other southern Italian regions.

add to Favorite