If you think you know real hot chocolate…
Think again.
And if you think Swiss Miss is real hot chocolate, drop whatever it is you are doing right now and immediately get to a kitchen so that you can try a thick and luxurious mug of hot chocolate that will rock your world, challenging everything you thought you knew about hot chocolate.
True Italian hot chocolate is thick, rich, and so smooth it’s almost like drinking a liquid chocolate bar.
My first encounter with Italian hot chocolate, or cioccolata calda, was nine years ago during a Christmas vacation spent in Italy. I wrote more about the trip in my post with the Healthy Tiramisu Recipe.
You couldn’t pick a better time to visit Italy than in December—it lets you avoid the summer heat and sweltering crowds; and you’re offered a fantastic excuse to warm up every afternoon by popping into a café for some real Italian hot chocolate.
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Italian Hot Chocolate (Cioccolata Calda)
Adapted from Healthy Hot Chocolate
- 5 oz of your favorite dark chocolate, shaved
- 1 cup milk of choice
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp sweetener of choice, or to taste
- additional 1/2 cup milk of choice
- 2 1/2 tsp cornstarch, such as non-gmo Rapunzel
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
(Note: If possible, use a milk with some fat for a richer result.) In a small saucepan, slowly heat the chocolate with 3 tbsp of the milk on low. As soon as the chocolate begins to melt, turn off the heat and stir until completely melted. Add salt, sweetener, and the remaining portion of the 1 cup of milk, and turn heat to low-medium, stirring. In a small dish, whisk together the 1/2 cup cold milk of choice with the cornstarch until dissolved. Slowly add this to the hot chocolate and whisk until smooth. Whisk for about another minute. Then turn off the heat, stir in the vanilla, and serve. This gets even thicker as it sits, and it is very rich, so you don’t need a giant cup. True Italian hot chocolate should be bittersweet; add more sweetener if a sweeter chocolate is desired.
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This looks amazing!!! I’m actually not a fan of the swiss hot chocolate (too sugary for me) but I LOVED the frozen hot chocolate from your cookbook and can’t wait to try this one! oh btw, could I use arrowroot instead of cornstarch?
Looks awesome! I have the same Q as Anna! Can I use arrowroot? Something else in place of the cornstarch?
Arrowroot and cornstarch are pretty much interchangeable in most recipes, so you could probably use it in this recipe. I would use maybe a teensy bit less than the recipe calls for, like 2 1/4 tsp. to 2 1/2 tsp.
This looks delicious and is exactly what I needed in my life! I bet it would be so good with a bit of coconut whipped cream to top it off.
x Kathryn
Through the Thicket
I love real italian hot chocolate! It really is like you said – drinking liquid chocolate! I will definitely be doing this – I’ve made a similar version with coconut milk (full fat all the way!) but havent tried adding cornstarch… I also want to try a variation using potato starch – will report back!
Oh my goodness! This looks amazing!!!!!!!!!! I love sipping chocolate but I can’t get it at restaurants anymore because I’m vegan and I have yet to try a recipe at home that’s really good. But this looks like it could be the one!!!!!!!! Sorry for all the exclamation points but I’m a big of a hot chocolate connoisseur so I’m really excited! Unfortunately I can’t follow your orders and make this right now because I’m at school, but I will probably make it for dessert tonight!
Also, I was wondering, what milk do recommend using? I have both almond and soy milk at home and I might have canned coconut milk but coconut milk sometimes makes my stomach hurt so I’d rather not use it. So which do you think would be better, almond or soy?
She used cashew milk in hers (according to nutrition facts), so that would be closest to almond milk I think.
Katie uses Silk unsweetened almond milk in most of her recipes, so I would go with the almond milk.
I did end up using the almond milk. And it was pretty good. However, my parents and I found we could taste the almond milk flavor a little too much and that it was somewhat overpowering the chocolate flavor. I think I will try soy milk next time as I think that flavor would better compliment rather than overpower the chocolate. If that doesn’t work, I will try homemade cashew milk as that is probably the closest to the whole milk used in real Italian hot chocolate.
I used Whole Foods brand almondmilk and it was amazing!
I adore Italian hot chocolate and have actually blogged about it myself after having fallen in love with it a couple of year ago in Italy. Yum, yum, and YUM. You’re totally right about ppl who are convinced about Swiss Miss needing an immediate fix of the Italian type.
I haven’t had hot chocolate since becoming vegan, and I’m ashamed to admit that I was once a Swiss Miss only girl. This Italian hot chocolate sounds like it might be my first foray into vegan hot cocoa! Yum! Plus I’m Italian and it’s freezing out here so sounds perfect!
Thanks Katie for the great recipes, I’m going to try this soon
Katie – God bless you for finding non-GMO cornstarch! I have been wondering when that would become available… Now that you have given us a brand-name, I will pester my health food store for it! Thank you!
The chocolate looks extremely YUMMY, too.
So perfect for this wintry weather! đŸ™‚
Right now I’m sitting in Florence with my Italian family after a thick and creamy cioccolata calda. This is the best beverage I had in a long time! Thanks for the recipe, now I can make it at home as well đŸ™‚
grazie mille đŸ˜‰