Brazilian Hot Cocoa is thick, silky and unbelievably creamy! A decadent treat to warm you up and sooth your soul. You’ll want to sip this all winter long!
Love cozy drinks? We also have Mexican Hot Chocolate, Low Carb Hot Chocolate, Pumpkin Spice Hot Chocolate, Frozen Hot Chocolateand Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix.
The creamiest hot cocoa!
If you haven’t cozied up with a mug of hot cocoa on a cold day, you are not living your best life! And, for me, nothing beats the richness of our Brazilian version.
What makes it Brazilian, you might be asking yourself. I’ll give you one shot!
If you’re familiar with Brazilian cuisine, I bet you got it right. Sweetened condensed milk, of course. Our favorite ingredient for all things sweet!
The condensed milk brings this hot cocoa to a whole new level. Thick, velvety, sweet and oh so luscious!
If you’re a fan of drinking chocolate, you’ll want to give our Chocolate Quente a try. It’s especially delicious by the fire, after a day out in the snow.
What’s the difference between hot cocoa and hot chocolate?
Both terms are often used interchangeably, so you might think they are the same thing.
And while they’re both delicious, there is a main difference.
Hot cocoa is made with cocoa powder and hot chocolate is made with melted hot chocolate. That sometimes means that hot cocoa is lighter in body than hot chocolate, but not in this case!
Brazilian Chocolate Quente is made with cocoa powder but is rich and thick like hot chocolate.
Chocolate Quente Ingredients
The basic ingredients to make this hot cocoa recipe are:
I also like to add a pinch of cinnamon (or a cinnamon stick) and a splash of vanilla extract. And if I’m feeling naughty, a little dose of bourbon or cachaça!
How to make Brazilian Hot Cocoa recipe
Making this recipe is easy and straight-forward. The only important thing to remember is that you must whisk the cornstarch in the milk before you bring your pot to the stove, or it might clump up.
This recipe is also easily halved or doubled, and very customizable!
Combine all the ingredients: Add milk and cornstarch to a saucepan, and whisk until the cornstarch has dissolved. Then, add the sweet condensed milk and cocoa powder, and whisk until combined. The cocoa powder won’t quite blend in, but that’s okay! It will dissolve later.
Cook until thick: Add the sweet condensed milk and bring the pan to the stove, over medium heat. Cook – stirring every now and then – until hot but not boiling. Add vanilla extract, if using, and serve!
If the drink is too thick, you can add more milk to thin it out.
How long will hot cocoa last in the fridge?
This drink will last in the fridge for 3 to 5 days.
It will get quite thick, almost like pudding or mousse, so when ready to reheat, you should bring it back to the stove and reheat on medium-low heat, adding some more milk as needed!
Serving suggestions
You have your hot cocoa, now what?
Well, you could just… drink it! But why not spice things up a bit?
A splash of booze – for grown-ups only, obviously.
A sprinkle of cinnamon
Chocolate shavings
Toasted coconut
Marshmallows – regular, mini or those big fun ones that are everywhere during the Christmas season.
Crushed peppermint sticks
Candy cane
Caramel or hot fudge sauce.
And as I said earlier, you can customize the recipe by adding fun ingredients, like vanilla extract, chili powder, coconut extract, nutmeg and even coffee!
Yield: 4
Prep Time: 2 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 7 minutes
Brazilian Hot Cocoa is thick, silky and unbelievably creamy! A decadent treat to warm you up and sooth your soul. You'll want to sip this all winter long!
Ingredients
4 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons cornstarch
5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 (14 ounce) can sweet condensed milk
Optional: 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
Combine the milk and cornstarch in a saucepan and whisk until the cornstarch dissolves. Add the cocoa powder, cinnamon (if using) and sweet condensed milk, whisking to combine.
Bring to the stove, over medium heat, and cook until the cocoa powder has dissolved and the mixture is hot, creamy and thick. Do not boil! If the hot cocoa is too thick, add milk to bring it to the desired consistency.
Add the vanilla extract, if using.
Pour into mugs and serve, topped with whipped cream!
Notes
Consistency: Brazilian Hot Cocoa is best enjoyed right after you make it. It will get thicker as it cools, so drink up! :)
Leftovers: You can refrigerate the hot cocoa after it cools down. It will get very thick in the fridge, so reheat on the stove, over medium-low heat, and be prepared to add some more milk if needed.
Booze: If you want to spike it, bourbon and cachaça are my favorites!
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The ancient chocolate drink tasted much different than what most of us know as chocolate today. It was a bitter drink, served hot and frothy made from ground caco (the dried beans of caco pods from the Theobroma caco tree), cinnamon, vanilla, dried roasted chili peppers, and sometimes with honey as a sweetener.
Ingredients. The source of the chocolate flavour is different. Hot Chocolate is made using solid chocolate melted in warm milk or cream.Hot Cocoa, however, is made from a powdered base of cocoa with added sugar and dissolved in hot water or hot milk.
Hot cocoa is made from cocoa powder, sugar, and milk. Also, hot cocoa tends to be sweet and light in body. Also, it often contains flavoring like vanilla or even spices like ground cinnamon. So those packets of Swiss Miss you grew up on are most definitely hot cocoa, and not hot chocolate.
Unlike the standard hot chocolate we top with marshmallows or whipped cream, Spanish hot chocolate is much richer and has a pudding-like consistency. As such, it's served in smaller portions and a shallower cup, making it easier to coat each bite of sugar-cinnamon-dusted churro.
They believed cacao was given to them by their gods. Like the Mayans, they enjoyed the caffeinated kick of hot or cold, spiced chocolate beverages in ornate containers, but they also used cacao beans as currency to buy food and other goods.
Mexican hot chocolate contains spices like cinnamon and chili and chopped bittersweet chocolate to create a very rich but less sweet flavor. Whereas traditional American hot chocolate is usually made with a combination of cocoa powder and/or chocolate and tends to be more on the sweet side.
Unsweetened cocoa powder: a high-quality cocoa powder or cacao powder is essential. I highly recommend using Ghirardelli's 100% cocoa. I think it has the best flavor for hot chocolate (and trust me, I've tried quite a few!)
Overall, while both chocolate and coffee can be enjoyed in moderation, hot chocolate may offer more satisfying and potentially heart-healthy benefits. However, if you need a quick caffeine fix, coffee may be the better option.
Hot chocolate can be a comforting and delicious treat, but it is important to remember that, like other sugary foods, it is also high in calories, sugar, and fat. If consumed in moderation, hot chocolate can be part of a healthy diet as it provides some essential nutrients such as calcium, iron, and magnesium.
Rum: Dark or spiced rum can give your hot chocolate an exciting Caribbean twist. Rum's natural sweetness and spicy undertones complement the rich cocoa beautifully, creating a blend that is smooth, warming and deeply comforting. Brandy: A shot of brandy can lend an enticing depth of flavour to your hot chocolate.
Although hot chocolate doesn't necessarily need an even more creamy, decadent taste, using milk certainly enriches the experience. We suspect that milk adds a creamier taste than water alone, and when combined with the notes of chocolate, the smooth undertones of the milk simply add a delicious backdrop.
Both Switzerland and France are renowned for their hot chocolate, and each country offers a distinct experience. Switzerland is famous for its rich and indulgent hot chocolate. Swiss hot chocolate tends to be thick, creamy, and often made with high-quality chocolate.
In mainland Europe (particularly Spain and Italy), hot chocolate is sometimes served very thick due to the use of a thickening agent such as cornstarch. One of the thick forms of hot chocolate served in Europe is the Italian cioccolata calda.
Mayan chocolate was very different than the chocolate we know today. It was a liquid made from crushed cocoa beans, chili peppers, and water. (There was no sugar in Central America.) They poured the liquid from one cup to another until a frothy foam appeared on top.
Mesoamerican chocolate was very different from the sweet and creamy treat of today! During the Mayan period, people usually consumed chocolate as a bitter and spicy drink. This is because rather than adding sugar, they added cornmeal and chillies to the cacao to get the spicy flavor.
The main difference between Mexican chocolate and chocolate from the rest of the world is its texture. Many chocolates from Europe and the rest of the world use more cocoa butter and more sugar, which makes them sweeter in taste, and gives them a smoother, creamier texture.
Traditionally, drinking chocolate requires melting chocolate pieces or nibs directly into hot water or milk, while hot chocolate can be crafted by whisking cacao powder with hot milk or water. The latter often allows for a faster preparation, while the former is a ritual, a pause, a moment to cherish.
Introduction: My name is Francesca Jacobs Ret, I am a innocent, super, beautiful, charming, lucky, gentle, clever person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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