Frozen Hot Chocolate

Before you start

Frozen hot chocolate is a dessert drink: a rich chocolate base, cooled, then blended with milk and ice until it is thick enough to need a spoon. The key is making that base the way you would make hot chocolate, by melting real chocolate and cocoa into a little warm milk with sugar. Simply blending cocoa powder with cold milk and ice leaves gritty specks, because cocoa needs heat and fat to dissolve.

Because cold dulls flavor, the base is deliberately strong and a little sweeter than you might expect. Let it cool before it meets the ice, or it melts the ice too fast and turns thin. Pile on whipped cream and chocolate shavings and serve it right away.

Ingredients

• Chocolate base60 g (2 oz) semisweet or dark chocolate — 55 to 70% cacao, chopped
• 2 tbsp (about 12 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp (about 25 g) sugar — adjust to taste
• 90 ml (3 oz) whole milk
• 1 pinch fine salt
• Blending240 ml (8 oz) cold whole milk
• 2½ cups (about 375 g) ice cubes
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• Toppingto taste whipped cream and chocolate shavings

Method

1. Warm the 90 ml milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until it steams and small bubbles form at the edge, about 2 minutes. Do not let it boil.
2. Whisk in the cocoa, sugar and salt until no dry lumps remain, then remove from the heat and add the chopped chocolate. Let it sit for 1 minute, then whisk until glossy and completely smooth.
3. Cool the base to room temperature, about 15 minutes, or set the pan in a bowl of ice water and stir for 5 minutes. It should feel cool on your fingertip and look like thick syrup.
4. Pour the cold milk, vanilla and cooled chocolate base into the blender. Add the ice on top.
5. Blend on high for 30 to 45 seconds, until there are no audible ice chunks and the mixture looks thick and matte, like a soft slush.
6. Pour into chilled glasses, top with whipped cream and shave chocolate over it with a vegetable peeler. Serve with a straw and a spoon.

Tips for success

• Make the base up to 3 days ahead and keep it in the fridge; it thickens when cold, so stir it well before blending.
• Freeze some milk in an ice cube tray and use it for half of the ice. The drink stays creamier and does not water down as it melts.
• Chill the glasses in the freezer for 10 minutes so the slush holds its texture longer.

Substitutions

Whole milk

Oat milk gives a creamy dairy-free version; almond milk is thinner and makes a lighter slush. Use dairy-free chocolate if needed.

Semisweet chocolate

Milk chocolate makes it sweeter and milder; reduce the sugar to 1 tbsp. Bittersweet 70% gives a darker, more grown-up drink.

Ice

For a milkshake-style version, swap half the ice for 2 scoops of chocolate or vanilla ice cream.

Variations

Frozen peppermint mocha

Add 1 shot of cooled espresso and ¼ tsp peppermint extract to the blender.

Frozen white hot chocolate

Use white chocolate, omit the cocoa and halve the sugar.

Troubleshooting

There are gritty cocoa specks

The cocoa was not dissolved in hot milk. Always whisk it into warm milk before adding the chocolate, and blend the base fully smooth.

It is thin and runny

The base was still warm or there was too little ice. Cool the base fully and add another handful of ice; blend briefly.

It tastes weak

Cold blunts chocolate and sugar. Add another spoonful of cocoa base or a pinch of salt and blend again.

Hard chocolate bits throughout

The base was poured over very cold milk and seized. Blend longer, or warm the base slightly and let it cool to just room temperature next time.

Storage

Serve immediately; it separates within about 10 minutes. The cooled chocolate base keeps covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Do not leave the milk-based base at room temperature for more than 2 hours.