Smoked Hot Chocolate Recipe
A smoky homemade hot chocolate that is rich and indulgent. Add your favorite toppings, like whipped cream or marshmallows.
Servings: 4 servings
Cost: $10.00
Ingredients
- 4 cups whole milk
- ¼ cup cane sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate squares, roughly chopped (You can sub chocolate chips, but the volume is better if you use the pre-weighted squares. 3 ounces for hot chocolate, and 1 ounce for the shavings.)
Optional Hot Chocolate Toppings
- whipped cream (can sub smoked whipped cream)
- grated nutmeg
- marshmallows
- peppermint bark, crushed
Instructions
- Smoke Milk: Start by smoking the milk. Target a temperature of 200 degrees Fahrenheit in the smoker to avoid boiling the milk. If your smoker doesn’t go that low, keep the temperature no more than 225 degrees. Fruit wood provides a mild smoke flavor. Mesquite, Oak, and Hickory will have a more pronounced smoke flavor.
- Strain Milk: After 90 minutes, remove the smoked milk and strain out any particles using a fine strainer or cheese cloth.
- Make Hot Chocolate: Place the milk in a pan over medium heat and add sugar and vanilla extract (do not bring to a boil). Stir for 2 minutes to combine to allow the sugar to dissolve.
- Make Hot Chocolate: Place the milk in a pan over medium heat and add sugar and vanilla extract (do not bring to a boil). Stir for 2 minutes to combine to allow the sugar to dissolve.
Notes
Smoking Milk: The trick is to keep the cooking chamber heat low enough to prevent boiling of the milk. In baking terms we want to “scald” the milk, which keeps the temperature of the milk at 170 degrees F. So target 200 degrees F in the cooking chamber, not to exceed 225 or you will boil the milk, resulting in a more burnt flavor and the fats will separate. This is why we recommend whole milk as it has the right fat balance we like.
Topping Ideas:
- Whipped Cream – you can even smoke it.
- Marshmallows – Fancy large squares or the small ones, or both
- Chocolate – Shave chocolate over the drink
- Chocolate Sauce – A chocolate sauce drizzled is delicious
- Caramel – Like chocolate sauce, it adds a nice level of sugar
- Peppermint Bark – Add some peppermint bark chunks for a holiday touch
- Cinnamon Stick – You can shave some with a mesh grater and add the stick for presentation
Nutrition
Calories: 385kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 26mg | Sodium: 109mg | Potassium: 571mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 36g | Vitamin A: 410IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 302mg | Iron: 3mg