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Hot chocolate made with chopped chocolate rather than cocoa powder is a completely different drink — thicker, glossier and far less sweet. It takes five minutes and one pan.
Chocolate, not powder
Powdered drinking chocolate is mostly sugar with a little cocoa. Real chocolate brings cocoa butter, which is what gives you the silky body that powder cannot.
Chop it small so it melts evenly. A 70% dark chocolate makes a grown-up version; milk chocolate is sweeter and usually what children prefer. A mix of the two is a good compromise.
Gentle heat, and never boil it
The one rule. Milk boiled hard catches on the base of the pan and develops a scalded, slightly burnt taste that cannot be rescued. Boiling also makes the chocolate more likely to split into a grainy mess.
Medium-low, stirring, until it steams and small bubbles appear at the edge. That is hot enough.
The paste trick
Pour a splash of the warm milk onto the chopped chocolate first and stir it into a smooth paste, then add the rest gradually. Tipping all the chocolate into a full pan of hot milk is how you end up with lumps that never quite disappear.
Cornflour, if you want it thick
For the thick European style you can stand a spoon in, whisk a teaspoon of cornflour into a little cold milk before you start, and add it with the rest. Simmer gently for a minute and it thickens noticeably.
Salt and vanilla
A pinch of salt makes chocolate taste more of chocolate. Half a teaspoon of vanilla rounds it out. Neither is detectable as itself and both are worth doing.
Serving to children
Check the temperature before handing it over — it comes off the hob far hotter than it looks, and a mug is easy to tip. A shorter mug filled less full is the sensible move for a small child.
