The best hot chocolate is a chocolat chaud. In other words, the French do it best and there is nothing like it. Why? It’s all about the high-quality chocolate. And it is quite simple to make.

Once you have sipped a chocolat chaud while resting your feet at a café in Paris, you slow down, sip gradually so as to make the cup of chocolate goodness last as long as possible. It is a luxury and a pleasure, and you can make your very own at home.

Over the years here on TSLL I have shared a couple of recipes for chocolat chaud, and with each recipe, they resemble more and more the taste equivalent to memories traveling in Paris – either experiencing a breakfast moment at Angelina’s on Rue Rivoli or just recently at a café on Rue Cler while sitting on the terrasse watching the many people and pets pass by on an unusually sunny and warm day in early April.

In Season 3 of The Simply Luxurious Kitchen cooking show, episode #9, the holiday episode, I shared the recipe of chocolat chaud shared here in this post and made the decadent version (as the recipe below denotes), which is to say, it has heavy whipping cream in it and it is AhMaZing (see image just below).

However, for everyday enjoyment, there is no need for the cream as whole milk will make your chocolat chaud taste just as decadent and transport you to Paris tout de suite.

Whether made and enjoyed on a snowy day here in Bend when I have just returned home from skiing or snow shoeing on the mountain with my pups, or as it was most recently, a day following returning for a trip to France and England, finding myself exhausted and gray and rainy weather outside, a cup of chocolat chaud suits creating a cozy mood perfectly.

Here is the recipe. In fewer than seven minutes, you will be sipping a cup of this simple, yet decadent French treat, warming your hands and calming your being.

Chocolat Chaud

Simply Luxurious

Inspired by the ubiquitous drink enjoyed at cafés and brasseries in Paris. Simple, comforting and parfait for a cozy moment to slow you down and bring calm and much pleasure.

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Prep Time 1 minute min

Cook Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 6 minutes mins

Servings 3 servings

Ingredients

  

• 2 cups whole fat milk
• 3 ounces high quality dark chocolate my go-to from San Fransisco – Scharffen Berger
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, top quality

Optional (something I add occasionally, but not for the classic chocolate chaud I enjoy in Paris)

• 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream optional (for a more decadent and slightly thicker hot chocolate)

Instructions

 

• In a small sauce pan, pour the milk and while warming up over medium heat, chop up the chocolate roughly, adding to the milk. Then add the cocoa powder and sugar. Stir with a whisk occasionally. As the chocolate melts, whisk from time to time to combine all of the ingredients.
• Once combined, using a ladle, distribute into small espresso-size cups or cafe cups. Enjoy sipping and forgetting to look at your watch. Savor.

~Shop the teacup and saucer, a French company, Apilco.

This Petit Plaisir appeared in episode #328, 15 ideas to Savor Paris

~Explore more of TSLL’s Petit Plaisirs here in the Archives.