the wonders of the perfect hot chocolate

now the nights are drawing in and the urge to snuggle up on the sofa with a good film and a lovely mug of hot chocolate are almost unbearable. Many supermarkets do 'ready packs' of hot chocolate which you simply heat up in the microwave and drop the five mini marshmallows which you are meanly given into the over hot mixture and hope for the best. I have tried a lot of hot chocolates but the majority don't seem to hit the mark with me, often because the powder seem to leave a horrible grainy residue at the bottom of my mug and the little sachets you get boasting of -3 calories tend to taste like your drinking dust off a mouldy carpet!!! However I have found a fantastic way to make hot chocolate that is guaranteed to make your toes curl (provided you find some tasty chocolate biscuits to dunk in the mug at the same time!)

you'll need :

a big spoon

a hob

a pan

one of those whisks that looks like a dollop of cream

your favourite large mug (to get as much hot chocolate in as possible!)

ingredients:

dark chocolate - never use milk chocolate, as dark ironically tastes more chocolatey that milk does!

full fat milk (don't use semi, you're making this for enjoyment and pleasure, not calorie counting!)

cocoa powder

double cream (although it can be tempting to tip the whole tub into a bath and float around in it)

chocolate flakes (not the actual chocolate flake as there will be non left by the time you have started to heat your pan up!)

tip the same amount of milk that will fill your mug about three quarters up into a hob and put on a low heat - DO NOT let the milk boil as that can cause an explosion in the kitchen and it's not the best job having to clean lumps of milk off the ceiling.Wisk in three spoonfuls of cocoa until there are little bubbles appearing on the surface.Carry on with your wisk and also drop in three or four pieces of dark chocolate at the same time (it's like being superman!). As they melt make sure you are still wisking and now go a bit faster until the whole mixture is lump free and smooth. Put one spoonful of the cream and a single chocolate flake (how poetic) into your mug and turn the heat off. Dollop the droolable mixture on top of the cream and add more cream on top, hell, add some more flakes as well (hey, if no one sees you do it, it doesn't go to your hips!) Only other thing to do is grab the biscuits and dunk them in one after the other!

Enjoy!