Do you enjoy hot chocolate? A more appropriate question would be: who doesn’t, right?

Nothing beats a heart-warming cup of hot chocolate as people get ready to welcome autumn with arms wide open. You’d be surprised how easy it is to make a rich and creamy cup of hot chocolate at home. You can top it with cream or marshmallows or whatever your favourite treat is.

As long as you have your favourite chocolate bar and some cocoa powder in the house, you can make hot chocolate with a chocolate bar like a pro. Even if you’re out of cocoa powder, all you need is a hot chocolate bar.

How to make Hot Chocolate with a Chocolate Bar – Step by step guide

Making hot chocolate with a chocolate bar can be a really fun experience and the best part is, it’s really easy!

If you’re already familiar with how to make hot cocoa with a chocolate bar, then the steps outlined here will be even simpler to follow. But first, it’s good to remember these general tips:

General preparation tips

When it comes to making hot chocolate with a chocolate bar, you wouldn’t want to settle with just any old chocolate bar or average brand with shady ingredients. Choose a good brand that contains a high amount of cocoa without the usual vegetable fat added. This is important for a number of reasons.

For instance, the flavour of your hot chocolate depends on the quality of the chocolate bar used. Therefore, chocolate bars containing a high amount of cocoa will always have a rich and satisfying cocoa flavour. As an example, consider 40% milk chocolate compared with 10% milk chocolate. While the latter is the industry minimum in terms of cocoa in a chocolate bar, you can bet the one with the 40% cocoa will have a lot more depth and ‘fuller’ flavour. This is absolutely essential to making a satisfying cup of hot chocolate bar!

Another reason is that high cocoa chocolate typically has a high amount of cocoa butter percentage as well. This may not affect the taste of your hot chocolate bar a lot but it will give you that lovely velvety and smooth texture.

Finally, the choice of milk is important. Whole milk is perfect for attaining that thick and luxurious lather, but it’s okay to use dairy-free milk too. Oat milk also offers a really creamy finish. The best hot chocolate boasts a rich, thick and velvety finish on top. So go ahead and pour a bit of double cream into your cocoa.

Steps on how to make hot chocolate with a chocolate bar

Since we’re learning how to make hot chocolate with a chocolate bar, we’re going to take an extra step here apart from the regular powder: cut up our chocolate bar into little pieces for a more even melt. Try to cut up each piece to the same size, as the more uniform they are, the easier your chocolate bar will melt. This results in a nice, glossy finish.

Now, get 200ml of whole or dairy-free milk ready, whichever one you prefer. Gently heat half of that in a saucepan. When you see steam evaporating at the surface, add the chocolate and whisk until all the pieces have melted and you’re left with a glossy and velvety mixture. Add the remaining milk and preferably 20ml of double cream. Stir until the mixture is hot, but don’t let it boil.

Pour in a mug and savour every sip!

Which bar to use when making hot chocolate with a chocolate bar?

A good quality chocolate bar is absolutely essential for making a great cup of hot chocolate. Therefore, when learning how to make hot cocoa with a chocolate bar, it’s important to choose the right bar. For instance, white chocolate and cinnamon works great, making it a lighter alternative to hot chocolate made with cocoa powder.

Salted caramel chocolate is a great option too, where the salt gently balances the sweetness of caramel. Just ensure that your bar doesn’t contain too much sugar.

A chocolate and chilli bar also works to a good effect – you’d be surprised how famously the two flavours work in a cup of hot chocolate.