Chocolate Recipe: Frozen Hot Chocolate

At Expedition Chocolate, we know there are hundreds of different ways to experience the wonders of chocolate besides just solid bars. So we want to start sharing some recipes that lend themselves well to using a premium chocolate. Chocolate is the main focus and there aren't too many ingredients that distract from the flavor.

What Is Frozen Hot Chocolate?

If you've ever had a Frappuccino®, then you know the concept: take an ingredient that is a base for a hot beverage, blend it with milk and ice and there you have it.

In fact, you could add a shot of cooled espresso to this recipe to turn it into a frozen mocha.

To make this recipe you will need an entire 2-ounce Origin Chocolate bar. A little indulgent, but you can see we've filled a tall glass here. This could make two servings if you were to use a rocks glass instead.

Frozen Hot Chocolate Ingredients

Ingredients You Will Need

• 2 ounces of dark chocolate

• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

• 3/4 cup milk

• 1-2 cups of ice

• dash cinnamon (optional)

• 1/2 ounce Bailey's (optional)

• whipped cream to garnish (optional but recommended)

We haven't added any sugar here. If you are using a chocolate that has stronger bitter notes to it, you might want to add a little sweetener. Gently warm the cream before adding to the chocolate and dissolve the sugar in it first.

For equipment you will of course need a blender. Also, you will need to create a double-boiler. All you need to do this is a heat safe bowl and a small sauce pan with about an inch of simmering water underneath. The bowl should fit snugly over the pan so steam doesn't easily vent out. A heat-safe rubber spatula or spoon rounds things out.

Step 1: Chop and Melt Chocolate

Chop chocolate into fairly small pieces. They don't need to be too small, but the smaller the pieces the faster it will melt. Add into the glass bowl of your double-boiler. Stir occasionally into fully melted. Be very careful not to allow steam from the simmering water get into the bowl or your chocolate might seize up (the cocoa butter fats will separate from the rest of the mass and you will have a lumpy mess).

Step 2: Stir in Cream

The cream should be near room temperature or even better to be a bit warmed. Slowly stir this into the melted chocolate and continue to stir until it is full incorporated and you have a nice glossy mixture. This is called a chocolate ganache. If the cream and chocolate seem to be separating, just keep stirring or use a whisk. It will come together, I promise.

Once you have the finished ganache, you can remove the bowl from the pan and set aside to cool 15 minutes or so.

Pro Tip: Once you've gotten to this point, you have

a wonderful concoction that can be used for much more than this recipe. This could be an ice cream topper (way better than chocolate syrup). Or you could slightly deviate from this recipe and use ice cream to make a killer shake. But this also could be served in bowl with strawberries and sliced bananas for a bit of chocolate fondue action. There are a lot of possibilities.

Step 3: Add Everything To Blender

Ensure the ganache is still liquid enough to blend (if it cools too long it could set into a fudge-like consistency; just heat it up a little if it does). Add your milk, ganache, Bailey's or cinnamon (if using) and about 1-cup ice and whizz away. Add more ice mid-way through if you want a thicker consistency, just be mindful that you will dilute the flavor the more ice you blend in. I ended up using about 1 1/2 cups total. As mentioned earlier, you can always substitute ice cream for ice if you want something a bit more decadent.

Step 4: Serve

To keep your frozen delight frosty, place the glass in the freezer for a few minutes. Pour your drink in, top with whipped cream. Garnish with some chocolate shavings, cinnamon, syrup or whatever floats your boat.

Enjoy!