Homemade Instant Hot Chocolate

 With Double the Chocolate

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All hail the illustrious ancient gods on the summit of primordial Mount Olympus! Well, OK, only if you feel like it then. Real hot chocolate, prepared from scratch with choice ingredients and near divine patience, is probably the closest we mortal coilers will ever approach to the state of Olympian Immortality on this dreary plane. However, who has the time – or Stoic self discipline – on a Monday morning before the day starts to engage in a round of Approaching the Elysian when all you want is a quiet, reflective moment or two in the uncertain, solitary greyness before sunrise. You know, that little stretch of calm before anyone else is up, to mentally and spiritually girdle your loins for the emerging day’s challenges and demands. Step up Homemade Instant Hot Chocolate, our saviour of second choice!

 

The Art of Smooth Instant Hot Chocolate

As with all remarkably simple and good things, what seems simple at first glance seldom is when you get to close grips with it. Instant Hot Chocolate is of this tribe as well: you need to use a wee spot of insight into what you’re working with and put bit of graft into the final preparation for an excellent and consistent end result. Naturally the same holds true for really good cups of instant coffee, Horlicks, Milo, etc.

 

First, a practical consideration or two for our recipe below and then some informal science behind the ingredients and described technique. This recipe is not intended as a direct substitute for the real thing: Hot Chocolate prepared from excellent, serious chocolate; fresh cream and full cream milk. Genuine Hot Chocolate has no peers on this plane. But you need to be fully awake, have your wits properly about you and have a decent slice of time at hand to prepare full bore Hot Chocolate. It is not an endeavour for just after waking up – particularly not this party who requires a significant lead-in into becoming fully awake. This recipe is an approximation of real hot chocolate, albeit a good one (if I have to say so myself). Instant Hot Chocolate is my beverage of choice after rising in the morning, enjoying a hefty mug full in my recliner, sipping and contemplating my day ahead. Then, and then only does coffee, tea or anything else appear on the agenda. I am what I am.

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The Informal Science

Instant Hot Chocolate is primarily about powdered cacao and the quality thereof. To save time and effort (as opposed to preparing real Hot Chocolate), we suspend cacao powder in a hot, fat enriched liquid – typically a milk and hot water mixture – for ‘instant’ enjoyment. As much as possible of the fine cacao particles need to stay in suspension to achieve an end result that we experience as smooth, tasty, enjoyable and satisfying. Remember, cacao is essentially insoluble in any liquid. To boot, it is hydrophobic as well: the surface of the particles relentlessly repel water. Thus we rely on the stable suspension of fat micro droplets in milk and the cocoa butter from ‘dissolved’ chocolate to keep the fine cacao powder particles successfully in suspension in our cup of what is mainly sugary hot water. Additionally, the suspended fats help to extract the lipophilic (fat soluble) flavour elements from the surface of the cacao particles, making them active and available at significant levels to our taste buds. Therefore, use the best quality cacao you can find for this Instant Hot Chocolate recipe.

The white and milk chocolates add compatible fats that smooth out the mouth feel and introduce silkiness to our Instant Hot Chocolate. For me, the ordinary ‘dark chocolate’ offerings from Cadbury or Beacon, instead of the serious stuff from Lindt and Valrona, are preferable over the 70% – 85% cacao solids of quality chocolates. The reason is that the ordinary pretenders contain significantly higher levels of cacao butter and other vegetable fats than the more exclusive chocolates with their very high levels of cacao solids. And a relatively high level of suspended fats is critical for the mouth feel (sensation of uniform, unctuous smoothness) and good flavour distribution of any hot instant beverage containing cacao and other solids.

 

In reality, I suspect Beacon’s ‘Midnight Velvet’ and Cadbury’s ‘Bournville’ offerings are ordinary milk chocolates with airs. Midnight Velvet is my preferred choice for this recipe. I find it provides a better overall finish than Cadbury’s Bournville version (which has noticeably higher cacao solids content) when dissolved.

 

Coffee creamer / powdered milk adds a supporting dairy foundation and creaminess without the bull in a china shop flavour flattening and domineering effect of fresh cream. The mild taste and flavours of milk chocolate require all the help it can get to remain noticeably prominent, thus the absence of cream. For my American readers: I have no experience with half and half. We don’t have something similar locally. Experiment and see how it goes if you desire a smoother mouth feel than full cream milk can provide.

 

The use of full cream milk in the final cup of Instant Hot Chocolate is not negotiable. The stable suspension of microscopic milk fat droplets in full cream aids in keeping the cacao particles in suspension and the lipids boosts the solubility of hydrophobic flavour compounds in cacao, resulting in a richer, more flavourful cup of instant hot chocolate in the end. In addition, full cream milk masks the worst of cacao’s inherent bitterness but without smoothing out and suppressing the really interesting flavour notes as adding fresh cream will do. Please do not use 2% skimmed or no fat milk? The hot instant chocolate suffers infinitely for it with an anaemic taste and flat, semi astringent mouth feel.

 

Add the white sugar to taste. The more sugar, the smoother the dissolved instant hot chocolate becomes, but also the sweeter the final cup. Technically, relatively high levels of dissolved sugar affect the solution’s viscosity and reduce the water activity slightly, both of which play important roles in the overall sensations of mouth feel and taste.

 

Off course, in proper Hot Chocolate, water is present at significantly reduced levels, cacao powder is absent and the fats from cream and large quantities of chocolate take over from water as the main role players in the taste, aroma and texture of the end product. Removing water and cacao powder as the ‘prime movers’ (and not having to continuously keep cocoa powder in suspension) eliminates many of the above mentioned physical challenges and balances that have to be kept in mind to produce a quality instant product that pleases and uplifts.  In some respects it can probably be said that Instant Hot Chocolate is a subtle study in masochism. Sigh ...

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The Method

A consistently smooth and silky cup of Instant Hot Chocolate requires a few prior practice runs. Consistency in the quantities of ingredients used and the technique is very important. The devil is in the detail. More information on the purpose of consistency is provided in the comments to the Method for Preparing Instant Hot Chocolate at the end of this recipe.

The sequence in which we add our ingredients during the preparation of a cup of Instant Hot Chocolate is very important. The Instant Hot Chocolate mixture, additional sugar to taste and squares of extra chocolate (if used) goes first into our cup or mug. This is followed by full cream milk to temper and moderate the initial effects of the just boiled hot water on the components of the dry ingredients as the water is added. To further moderate the effects of heat, the very hot water is added in a smooth, thin stream while continuously stirring rapidly with a long handled tea or soda spoon. The simultaneous stirring with the spoon and adding hot water requires some physical coordination and practice, but eventually it becomes natural as muscle memory kicks in. The long handled spoon is to prevent scalding of the fingers with the hot water.

 

Adding the hot water slowly gives the dehydrated milk proteins and starch molecules in the Instant Hot Chocolate Mix time to properly unfold and go fully into stable suspension in the liquid instead of denaturing and clumping, thus affecting taste, flavour and mouth feel. Fairly vigorous stirring imparts dispersing energy to the forming solution,  thereby increasing  the degree of protein, carbohydrate  and fat dispersion, leading to smaller particulates in suspension which in turn affects viscosity and rheological properties, all in combination affecting the transient experience of pleasing mouth feel.

In conclusion: If the philosophy and above science passes you by, the deep satisfaction of “rolling you own” makes up for the physical conundrums behind a good cup of Instant Hot Chocolate. We may not have access to the sophisticated and advanced milling and manufacturing technologies of the industrial giants, but you can get quite close with home equipment, a modicum of technical skill, some informed common sense and a wee spot of patience. And once you have the basic technique in hand, the sky becomes the limit in terms of your own custom flavour combinations. 

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HOMEMADE INSTANT HOT CHOCOLATE MIX

– PRINT RECIPE –

Recipe yields: ± 300g Mix, or ± 40 Cups

Preparation time: ± 15 minutes

Difficulty level: Very Easy

Special Equipment Required:

1 x Food processor

Ingredients:

Brown sugar	100g
Dark milk chocolate, Beacon Midnight Velvet brand	50g
White chocolate	25g
Salt	± 1ml
Cremora coffee creamer	100g
Cocoa powder	25g
Hazelnut essence	5.0ml
Almond essence	± 2ml

Method:

1. Chop the chocolate by hand into fine pieces.
2. Mix the sugar, chopped chocolates and salt together in the bowl of the processor.
3. Pulse & process until finely ground and no visible nuggets of chocolate remain. Frequently scrape down the sides of the bowl as the cocoa butter in the white chocolate causes the mixture to clump easily.
4. Add the cocoa next to the chocolate and sugar mixture. Pulse for 2 – 3 seconds.
5. Add the essences in a curved line along the top and middle of the mixture. Pulse and process until homogeneous and fine. After 10 – 15 seconds, check that some of the essences have not smeared onto the shaft of the processor blade, the blade itself or the sides of the processor bowl. Scrape down if necessary and continue to process until the powder mixture is fine and homogeneous, 2 - 2½ minutes.
6. Finally, add the coffee creamer to the mixture. Pulse and process until homogeneous, 2 – 3 minutes (depending on the size and power rating of your machine).
7. Store in a sealed container. Turn the container often to prevent clumping.

 

Method To Prepare The Instant Hot Chocolate:

Instant chocolate mix, generous teaspoons	2½
White sugar, teaspoons	2 - 2½
Optional: Dark milk chocolate squares	1 – 2
Full cream milk	⅓ cup
Boiling water	To fill

Method:

1. Thoroughly mix the sugar and instant chocolate mix in the bottom of a 250ml – 300ml cup or mug. Add the chocolate squares.
2. Add the milk and heat 30 – 40 seconds in a microwave at ± 70% power. Stir thoroughly when the milk is hot.
3. Add the just boiled water in a thin stream down the side of the cup / mug whilst stirring vigorously with a long handled teaspoon to prevent being scalded.
4. Decorate with chopped white marshmallows if you are so inclined. Be aware the marshmallow will swamp the hazelnut flavour.
5. Enjoy immediately.

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Comments:

For The Instant Hot Chocolate Mixture:

• Use 2.5ml vanilla essence if hazelnut essence is difficult to find. Alternatively, exchange the hazelnut essence with mocha essence. You will have to experiment with the quantity of mocha essence required best suited for your palate.
• Use the best quality coffee creamer / milk powder you can find.
• Experiment with different brands of dark chocolate if you want a richer taste in the final product. For the 70% - 85% cacao dark chocolate types you may have to increase the ratio of white to dark chocolate to maintain a sufficiently high level of cocoa butter in solution for a smooth, creamy mouth feel to the Instant Hot Chocolate.
• The sequence in which the ingredients are added is important. Deviating from the sequence may result in excessive clumping of the mixture being processed or requiring extended ‘processing time’ to achieve a fine, homogenous end-product.
• In high summer, prepare the mix very early in the morning or late in the evening, when the day’s heat has subsided, to prevent the chocolate from softening too much and clumping around the processor’s blade, thus smearing instead of being chopped.
• Ideally, the chopped chocolate should be chilled in a freezer for 20 minutes or so prior to grinding it in the food processor along with the sugar. This measure will ensure maximum brittleness of the chocolate pieces prior to grinding. Be wary of refrigerating the sugar along with the chocolate, as on a humid day moisture may condense on the mass of cold, whirling sugar inside the processor, severely interfering with the grinding process.
• Store the instant chocolate mix in a refrigerator during summer to prevent excessive clumping from fine chocolate particles softening.

For The Hot Chocolate Solution:

• This may come across as a wee bit nitpick-itty, but the long term success of good cups of instant hot chocolate lies in the consistency of its preparation once an optimal combination of ingredients have been found. Play around with the quantities suggested in the above method for preparing a cup of this Homemade Instant Hot Chocolate. PAY ATTENTION to what you are doing and once an optimal combination of ingredients, cups and technique is found, make a mental note of what you did and stick to it for future cups of Homemade Instant Hot Chocolate. CONSISTENCY is the secret to continuous quality when it comes to Homemade Instant Hot Chocolate.
• Experiment with fresh cream if you must. I find it pushes the ‘richness level’ over the top and flattens out the overall taste profile to much for my taste, simultaneously introducing an overwhelming dairy quality to the final end product.

© RS Young, 2021

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