hot chocolate on a stick

Teeeeeehehe. I just spied the best thing ever! Hot chocolate on a STICK. What a wonderful idea. Thank you, Giver's Log, you just made my week.


Hot Chocolate on a Stick from Giver's Log
Yield: 10 cubes of hot chocolate (ice-cube-tray size)
(use 1 oz. hot chocolate on a stick per every 1 cup milk or cream)

Equipment:
Ziplock bags or piping bags
A double boiler or pan with a glass bowl that can sit over the simmering water
Some kind of chocolate mold, ice trays work great
Stir sticks or a bag of wooden craft sticks like I used (like these, available at any craft store)

Ingredients:
8 oz. chocolate (see note above), bittersweet, semisweet, milk, and white chocolate all work
1/4 cup cocoa, Dutch processed if possible, sifted
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar, sifted
pinch of salt
6 cups milk and 2 cups heavy cream if you plan to enjoy these right away

Method
1. If your chocolate is in a block, chop it into even-sized meltable pieces. Simmer a couple inches of water in a pan and place glass bowl over the top to make a double boiler. Be sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water beneath it, and regulate the heat so the water stays at a simmer. Dump chocolate into the clean, dry bowl and stir as the chocolate melts.
2. Once the chocolate is 2/3 melted, with just some pieces of the chocolate unmelted, remove the pan from the heat and continue stirring until chocolate is fully melted.
3. Add cocoa, sugar, and salt and continue to stir until combined. The chocolate will be thicker, almost as thick as frosting, but still glossy and smooth and very fun to stir. If it looks grainy or more like fudge and is difficult to stir, it’s possible you’ve accidentally gotten a drop of water in the mixture.
4. Lift the bowl off the pan and use a towel to dry off any drips of water. Scoop chocolate into a ziplock bag and clip off the corner.
5. Pipe the chocolate into your chocolate mold, tapping the mold on the counter to make sure all the chocolate settles into the mold. Add a stir stick and you’re done. The stir stick should stay upright without any trouble.
6. Let the chocolate cool either at room temperature or in the fridge if you’re in a hurry.
7. If you don’t like the look of the chocolate once it is removed from the mold, you can dip the cubes into a new batch of plain melted chocolate for a shinier finish. This also lets you add sprinkles or crushed candy or just lets you dip in fun patterns. I like dipping at an angle into a different color of chocolate.
8. In order to enjoy these, heat up any combo of milk, water, half and half, or cream. I like 6 cups milk with 2 cups heavy cream. One ounce of chocolate on a stick should be melted into one cup milk or cream. So a standard ice cube-tray block, which is 3/4 an ounce, should be melted into a mug with 3/4 cup milk or cream in it.

How to store it: Chocolate will keep in an airtight container for up to a year. Don’t keep it in the fridge because it is really good at absorbing odors.

More tips, tricks and photos on Giver's Log.

{Photo and recipe from Giver's Log}

Heather