Wannabe French Hot Chocolate DIY Recipe

served in a soup bowl and topped with creamy hopes

Ingredients

2 tablespoons cornstarch, sifted

1/2 cups milk

1/2 cup sugar

2 large egg yolks

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, or 1 teaspoon vanilla

extract

4 1/2 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

1 cup heavy cream, whipped

cocoa powder

Wannabe French hot chocolate

Instructions

1. Sprinkle the cornstarch over 1/2 cup milk in a small bowl and whisk to dissolve. Whisk in the sugar and egg yolks until combined.

2. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan over low heat, bring 2 cups milk and the vanilla bean to a gentle simmer. (If using extract, add it below.) Remove the bean, scrape the vanilla seeds into the milk, and discard the bean. Gradually whisk the warm milk into the egg yolk mixture, then return the mixture to the pan.

3. Cook, whisking often, until the mixture comes to a full boil, about 3 minutes. If using vanilla extract, stir it in now. Strain the custard through a wire sieve into a bowl.

4. Add the chocolate to the custard. Bring the remaining 1 cup milk to a boil and pour over the custard and chocolate mixture. Let sit until chocolate begins to melt, about 1 minute, then stir until smooth.

5. Add any flavoring or additions you desire—raspberry syrup, cinnamon, holiday ginger spice, marshmallows, etc. You can also substitute white, dark, or milk chocolate for the semisweet. Pour the thick chocolate into mugs and enjoy a generous dollop of whipped cream. Sprinkle with cocoa powder.

Quantity: 6 servings