Spiced Hot Chocolate

A mug of spiced hot chocolate topped with fresh whipped cream, a star anise pod and a cinnamon stick.

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4.70 from 10 votes

Make your own coffee-shop-worthy drink at home with this easy spiced hot chocolate recipe!

Cinnamon and nutmeg add festive flavour, but it's the star anise that makes this warm drink extra special.

Prep Time15

Cook Time10

Total Time25

Servings: people

Author: Shareba Abdul

Ingredients

2 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 pinch salt
2 cups whole milk or your preferred milk, cold
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise pods
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg or freshly grated

Instructions

Place a small saucepan on the counter. Add cocoa powder, sugar and salt. Stir to combine.
Add 2 tablespoon of cold milk and whisk until the cocoa powder is dissolved.
Add the remaining milk to the pot. Place the saucepan over medium heat and whisk the mixture.
Add the remaining ingredients, stir, and simmer gently over medium heat. Stir often, for about 10 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat.
For a mild flavour, immediately remove and discard whole spices and serve.
For a stronger flavour, allow mixture to cool before placing in the fridge for 1-2 hours. Then, take the mixture out of the fridge, remove and discard the whole spices, and reheat the hot chocolate before serving.
Garnish cups of hot chocolate as desired and refrigerate unused portions promptly.

Video

Notes

For mildly spiced hot cocoa: don't let the mixture sit with the spices in it for more than 15-20 minutes. You can remove the spices and leave the mixture on the stove if you will be serving it immediately.

For strongly spiced hot cocoa: after simmering for 10 minutes, remove the pot from the stove and allow it cool down. Then pour the liquid into a bottle or pitcher, leaving the spices in the mixture, and set it in the fridge for an hour or two. Remove from fridge, remove and discard the whole spices, and reheat before serving.

Substitutions:

- Dutch-processed Cocoa Powder has a nice chocolatey flavour and no bitterness. Learn more about this ingredient below. Substitute with instant hot chocolate mix, and don't add any additional sugar to the recipe.

- Light Brown Sugar can be substituted with white sugar. If you want to use a sugar substitute, like monk fruit, you may need to use less.

- Salt brings out the flavour of this drink - don't omit it.

- Whole Milk refers to cows' milk, but you can use your favourite dairy-free milk instead.

- Vanilla Extract adds subtle flavour, but almond extract can be a fun substitution to experiment with! Otherwise, you can't omit this.

- Cinnamon Sticks impart a sweet earthy flavour without adding grittiness to your drink. You can substitute with ground cinnamon, but don't add more than half a teaspoon.

- Star Anise Pods are a beautiful anise-flavoured spice that adds depth to this recipe. If you don't like licorice or anise flavours, omit it.

- Nutmeg adds a comforting warm nutty flavour, but a little goes a long way.

Note: Cinnamon sticks and star anise pods are not edible. These should be removed before serving the drink.

Variations:

- Ginger and Cardamom also work well in this recipe. Add a small amount to the recipe and adjust the flavour to your preference.

- Chile Powder adds even more warmth to this recipe, but be sure to only use a tiny pinch! You can try ground chipotle, ancho or cayenne pepper. A little goes a long way!

Tip: If you're buying chile powder at the grocery, be sure to read the ingredients. There are seasoning blends (chilli powder) that contain oregano and other seasonings, which is not what you want for hot chocolate!

Nutrition