Winter temptations

Warning - if you are easily lead into temptation, you might want to stop reading about ... now! I'm sure I'm not the only one whose favourite drink at this time of year is hot chocolate, and after doing the Manic.Monday post on Sally Hansen's Haute Chocolate I was really in the mood for the real thing. There's nothing so cozy and comforting as coming home from a long walk in the cold, lighting some candles and then heat up from the inside with a nice cup of cocoa. Some people are really creative and make their own tasty hot chocolate from scratch in all kinds of yummy varieties and flavors, and I take my winter beanie off to them. But since I frankly can't be bothered with that and am more busy with deciding which nail polish to wear next, I turn to one of the great ready made powder versions that you can get from your local super market, or in specialist shops like Whittard or Hotel Chocolat. A while back I bought quite a few weird and wonderful hot chocolate flavors at a sale in Whittard which now are my occasional winter treat.

There are some flavors that work better in combination with chocolate than others and for me ginger, cinnamon and chilli are definitely at the top of the list. As you may have gathered from other posts I love spicy food and to experiment with different flavors, and that also extends to drinks. Adding ginger to hot chocolate adds a warm, piquant sweet zing to it, but it's by no means spicy hot as such or overpowering. It's perfect to decorate with a couple of thin slices of crystallized ginger to bring out the sweetness of the chocolate, it might sound strange, but well it's well worth trying. Cinnamon is another spice that adds a subtle, soft warm depth and since it's bitter and sweet at the same time, it works perfectly with chocolate without being too distinct. I love to combine cinnamon hot chocolate with something nutty and crunchy, e.g. crocante or toasted nuts to add a little extra to it and toasted nuts in the winter time are just lovely.

Last in the line up is the most interesting flavor - lime and chilli hot chocolate, but perhaps not one for those with less adventurous taste buds. Using hot chocolate and chilli together is not as novel a combination as you might think, in fact it dates back to the aztec civilisation where strong beer-like chilli hot chocolate was used as we use champagne today - to celebrate special occasions and it was also part of important ceremonies. The chilli definitely adds a kick, but it's not a burning hot sensation and it's more of a heat that develops, and the lime cools and refreshes at the same time - this is a quintessentially Mexican flavor which very addictive. Since the chilli brings out the bitterness of chocolate more than anything, it works really well to add some sweetness, e.g. marshmallows or M&Ms as decorations to tone down that bitterness.

 Guess what is in each mug?

Lime & Chilli hot chocolate, whipped cream and mini marshmallows

Cinnamon hot chocolate, whipped cream, sprinkle of cinnamon and toasted chopped hazelnuts

I'm not that big a hot chocolate lover that I will ever replace champagne with it, but I do enjoy the occasional decadent and naughty excess of chocolate with lashes of cream and scrumptious toppings. Feel free to blame me for any accidental intake of hot chocolate that might happen today - just enjoy every sip of it and I assume FULL responsibility!