French HoT Chocolate Recipe ~ YUM

 

Chocolat à l'Ancienne

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients: (4 people)

28 fl. oz. Whole Milk
7 oz. Unsweetened Baking Chocolate
1 cup Crème Fraîche (or heavy cream)
1/3 cup Granulated Sugar
Pinch of Powdered Vanilla (optional)
2 tbsp. Cocoa Powder (for top)
1 1/2 cup Fresh or Canned Whipped Cream (for top)

How to Make It:

1. Heat up milk, cream, and sugar over a low flame. Bring to a simmer, but don't let it boil.
2. Take off heat and add chocolate (chopped into small pieces) and vanilla. Stir until chocolate melts and it becomes smooth.
3. Pour into mugs and serve with whipped cream and powdered cocoa.
Voilà!

NB: If you are making your own whipped cream: Take 1 1/2 cups of chilled heavy cream and whip until firm. Put in refrigerator and then make the recipe for the hot chocolate.

Variations:

1. For a lighter version, just use milk.
2. For a Spanish flavor, add 1 - 2 tsp. of cinnamon.
3. If you like your hot chocolate recipes very sweet, try adding a teaspoon (or two!) of vanilla sugar.
4. If you have a really strong sweet tooth, add caramel!!!

Serving Ideas:

Traditionally, French hot chocolate is served in a couple of different ways:

For breakfast. In which case you would want to serve it in a bowl, so that you can dip your toasted bread into it -- it's delicious and I highly recommend that you try this, either for breakfast or for a special snack.

Or you can serve hot chocolate with different pastries and French chocolates, such as truffles. In fact, hot chocolate recipes are an excellent idea for an afternoon tea…