The post about regular cocoa and Dutch cocoa powders reminded me of this. When I was a kid (60s & 70s), we usually made hot chocolate with milk and Quik. If my grandma or parents made it, they used real cocoa powder. I still remember the taste, so delicious. I have tried to make it numerous times, and for some reason, it never tastes like what I remember, which was a rich, dark, chocolaty taste. It seemed like it was somewhat thick, too. They always used Hershey’s cocoa. When I’ve made it, it seems pale and kind of tasteless. I found my grandma’s Home-Ec notebook, which dates back to the 20s. There was a recipe for hot chocolate in it. I thought that I had struck gold! I used the recipe, and as usual, I was disappointed. Am I just misremembering how good it was, or is cocoa powder not as good as it used to be?
Add 1/4 cup of strong black coffee to your mug. Pour your hot cocoa over.
Just my suggestion.
My Granny took regular Hersheys cocoa, equal amount of (
) sugar. Sifted together. Tiny amount of water. Mixed til smooth. Teensy pinch of salt. Drop of vanilla. 1 cup whole milk.
Heated in a raggedy aluminum sauce pan. S-l-o-wly. Whisk a bit to foam it up. Pour over your 1/4 cup of hot coffee. Marshmallow if you must.
My Daddy always added a thimble of bourbon to his cup.
Good luck.
Did your parents use whole milk? We usually don’t buy whole milk, but once in a while I get some to make pudding or other recipes with. (eggnog!). We regularly drink skim milk, so whole milk feels so rich on the tongue.
When I was young our family took a road trip to see Mount Rushmore. Halfway across South Dakota we stopped for lunch at a small cafe. I asked if they had chocolate milk, and surprisingly my mother said I could get some. Yay! Then I heard the waitress stirring Hershey’s chocolate into a glass of milk. Expecting disappointment, I took a drink. It was so delicious and rich and creamy, obviously made with whole milk. I remember it to this day.
I keep Nido powder(dry whole milk) in the freezer just for the times I need whole milk.
12 oz milk
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 Tb cocoa powder
1/4 cup chocolate chips
2-3 dashes chocolate bitters
Sometimes a shake of red pepper flakes.
Heat and whisk until everything is blended, add bitters to the cup.
that wouldn’t be hot cocoa, that would be chocolate coffee.
Thanks for your responses. I’ll give some of these a try.
I’m guessing the whole milk is one of the secrets. I too only buy it if I’m making cooked chocolate pudding (one of my most favorite things, and I love the skin!).
Yesterday I was making some Christmas treats. One of them called for chocolate ganache which was just heavy cream and semi-sweet chocolate chips heated until the chocolate melted. I of course took a little taste while it was still warm. OMG! It tasted like I want my hot chocolate to taste like. I had some left over so I put it in a mug in the fridge. When I have some down time, I will add some WHOLE milk and warm it up. I think it’s going to be a winner.
They did have a Hot Chocolate recipe on the Hershey Cocoa powder. The dark brown can that started rusting before it was empty.
I went through a phase of making hot chocolate before bed. I used the recipe on the can. It calls for slowly heating milk. Don’t let it boil.
It is a little more bitter than the Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate mix. It uses milk chocolate.
I haven’t made Hot Chocolate recently. I’m cutting back on consuming sugar.
Maybe Christmas Eve I’ll treat myself.
Fat is the key, IMO. Whole milk is good, but half-and-half is better, and heavy cream slaps.
When I make it, it’s like this:
-Mix a spoonful of cocoa with two spoonfuls of sugar (scale up for multiple mugs).
-Add just a bit of cream or half-and-half, and stir it all into a sludge.
-Add enough cream to get a thick syrup.
-Fill the mug/pot with milk
-Season with a pinch of salt and a splash of vanilla.
-Heat, taste, adjust, serve.
If you want it almost custard-rich, you can whisk up an egg really well, pour a bit of the hot cocoa into the egg, then pour the egg-and-coca mix back into the pot of cocoa, whisking all the while. It’s so good, but you gotta be careful not to make chocolate scrambled eggs.
I’m glad your ganache came out delicious TRC4941, but it’s worthwhile to remember that trying to recreate recipes we loved from our childhoods to be as wonderful as our memories is mostly futile. Our taste buds when we are older are just more sparse and duller than they were when we were young. It will never be the same.
I used to think ketchup and mustard sandwiches were delightful. I tried one recently out of nostalgia. Ick.
You think? It seems to me my palate is more refined; stuff I thought lovely as a kid, like ketchup on scrambled eggs, or Panda Express, taste awful now and I chalk it up to having been a dumb kid with no taste.
No, it’s just scientific fact. Kids taste things much more intensely because they have way more taste buds than adults. That’s why you have more problems with kids being picky eaters. That’s why most kids avoid strong peppery flavors. I wouldn’t touch hot sauce as a kid. Now, I love it. Duller taste buds because I’m older.