Hot Cocoa | Easy Single Cup Hot Cocoa

Hot Cocoa, a delicious and cozy drink made from milk & cocoa powder. Couple of years back only, I tasted my first hot cocoa from the coffee shop on a snowy day and instantly loved it and it gave such a cozy feeling when I had sipped it. I'm the person who doesn't like chocolate and never ever craved chocolate in my life so far. But somehow I started liking this drink and have been making it at home more often on winter days. You know what , certain foods are delectable only in some circumstances like this hot cocoa and i can't even think of having this on hot summer days. Do you ever feel like that ? 

Hot Cocoa and Hot Chocolate are the same ?

Both words are used interchangeably in many places. Compared to hot cocoa, hot chocolate has richer flavor and thick consistency because of chocolate in it. I personally like hot cocoa more for milder flavor.

What milk tastes best for hot cocoa?

Full fat milk is great for making hot cocoa. But you can use low fat, non-fat or dairy free milk also. Even you can use 1/2 milk and 1/2 water for a milder version.

Which sweetener is best for hot cocoa?

I have preferred to use  sugar and maple syrup for my hot cocoa. But come on, it's your drink, add whatever you like.

Tips for yummy & lip smacking hot cocoa?

1. Use good quality cocoa powder.
2. Add a pinch of salt bring out the flavors well.
3. Add couple of tbsp of cream.

   

Hot Cocoa

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 5 mins | Serves : 1 
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: American
Hot cocoa, Easy Cocoa, Single Cup Hot Cocoa Hot Cocoa, a delicious and cozy drink made from milk & cocoa powder..

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

Cocoa Powder - 1 tbsp

Maple Syrup - 1 & 1/2 tbsp

Milk - 1 cup

Salt -  a pinch

Vanilla Extract - 1/4 tsp

Procedure

In a saucepan, add the cocoa powder, maple syrup and 2 tbsp of milk. 

Whisk it together until there are no lumps. Next add the salt. And the remaining  cup of milk, mix it together and put it on heat.Bring into boil on medium flame. Switch off the flame and add the vanilla extract, give a quick stir and serve. Tasty homemade Hot Cocoa is ready. If you want, sprinkle some cocoa powder on top.

Notes:

• You can top it with marshmallows and serve.
• I have used full fat milk here.
• Little salt brings out the flavor well.
• Adjust the sweet as per your liking.

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Homemade Chocolate Sauce | Chocolate syrup

Chocolate sauce/Syrup , a creamy chocolate sauce that goes well with ice cream, fruits or with any milkshake/smoothies. I'm 0.0001% of women who doesn't go crazy about chocolate, so you might wonder why the chocolate sauce recipe?Hmm, will tell you the reason.

Whenever i had seen photos of ice creams/smoothies drizzled with chocolate syrup,i was so tempted and wanted to make it that way, so i bought chocolate syrup from the store and i hardly used it twice or thrice before it expired and the whole(almost) bottle ended up in trash.A A few weeks before, when one of our friends visited us, i had thought of serving ice cream with chocolate sauce for desserts, again i didn't want to buy and waste the whole bottle, so tried the chocolate sauce recipe from here and it turned out delicious.

Just like me, those who don't want to buy the whole bottle of chocolate syrup for occasional use or those who prefer homemade recipe than the store bought, this recipe might help. 

Home made Chocolate Sauce/Syrup

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 10 mins | Serves : 2 to 4  
Recipe Category: Sauce | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Homemade Chocolate Sauce, Homemade Chocolate Syrup Chocolate sauce/Syrup , a creamy chocolate sauce that goes well with ice cream, fruits or with any milkshake/smoothies.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients
Cocoa powder - 1 tbsp
Butter - 1 tbsp
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Water - 1/4 cup
Salt - a pinch
Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp (optional)

Procedure

In a sauce pan, add the cocoa powder, sugar & salt.

Then add the butter and water and heat it, let the butter melts and bring the sauce to boil.

Keep the heat in low and cook the sauce for 5 min or until it becomes glossy and coats the pack of the spoon.

Remove from heat and transfer to serving dish. It stays well for upto 2 weeks in refrigerator.

Tasty homemade chocolate sauce/syrup is ready.

Related: How to make Chocolate Bread

Notes:

• This sauce thickens when it's cooled, so switch off the heat when it coats the back of the spoon.
• I didn't add vanilla essence in the sauce as i want chocolate flavor as dominant.
• If the cocoa powder has more lumps,shift it before use.
  

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Dates Truffles | Dates Nuts Truffles | Truffles Recipe

Dates Truffles, an easy to make truffle recipe(no cooking) with natural sweetened.This recipe was inspired from pailinskitchen,as i liked the idea of making truffles with dates & nuts,I have made few changes as per my liking and the available ingredients in my pantry on last weekend and it turned out so chocolatey and tasty,even you couldn't identify that these are made with dates.So bookmark this to try on coming Valentine day for your loved ones.

Dates Truffles

Preparation Time : 20 mins | Cooking Time : 0 mins | Makes : 12 
Recipe Category: Dessert | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients
Dates(chopped & pitted) - 2/3 cup
Nuts & dried fruits - 1 cup(i used walnut,cashew & raisins)
Cocoa Powder - 11/2 to 2 tbsp
Cinnamon powder - 1/4 tsp
Unsweetened Coconut flakes - 1/4 cup

Procedure

Chop the dates into small pieces and put it in the mixie jar and pulse it twice or thrice in mixie/blender until it becomes fine paste.Transfer the dates paste into a bowl and then add the nuts & dried fruits and then shift the cocoa powder into it.Then add the cinnamon powder and mix it well with your fingers until it becomes single mass.Then divide the mixture into 12 equal parts and roll into balls.Finally roll the balls in the coconut flakes. Do the same for the remaining balls.Tasty Dates Nuts Truffles is ready to serve.

Notes:

• Chop the nuts into small pieces.
• You can use any nuts and dry fruits like almonds, apricot, cherries,pistachio.
• I used 11/2 tbsp of cocoa powder, but you can add up to 2 tbsp of cocoa powder for strong flavor.
• If the dates is very hard to process in blender/mixie, soak it in a tbsp of hot water for 15 mins.
• Instead of coconut flakes, you can use the cocoa powder also for rolling the balls to make it more chocolaty.
  
  

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