Rum-Spiked Hot Chocolate

I am pretty fascinated with the idea of hot chocolate, not because it’s something that I love with all my might, but because there’s such a limited span in the year when you can actually relish it. Hot chocolates are something that I have religiously and without fail made myself these couple of winter months. Now I am not much of a milk person and would probably take as much as an entire day to finish off a cup of hot chocolate. But I adore the first few sips of it at the wee hours of the morning or at the dead of the night (the latter obviously is way more applicable in my case). I make it differently every single time, playing with the quantities of cocoa, chocolate, vanilla, whipped cream, spices, add ons like Nutella, chocolate chips. butterscotch chips, peanut butter and of course liqueurs. 

I had made this Nigella-inspired Rum-spiked hot chocolate last year and even though I always determinedly refuse to repeat a recipe, ever since I started my blog this February I knew I had to make this again just for you. After I finished clicking, I took a couple of sips of the chocolate milky goodness spiked by the hit of rum and asked my mother to taste it once and let me know whether she wanted a cup of the same. And before I knew the entire cup was empty! So ditch the store-bought hot chocolate this winter and make this warm, comforting, boozy delight for yourself.

After you have adequately warmed yourself up with this hot chocolate, you can actually venture out to your kitchn and whip us this super easy and delightful Brandy Butter Chicken by Manjari (of For the Love of Food)

Recipe adapted from Nigella Lawson
Serves: 2
Ingredients

Milk: 2 cups
Dark chocolate, roughly chopped: 150 gm
Cinnamon stick: 1
Honey: 1-2 tsp
Brown sugar: 1 tsp (optional)
Vanilla extract: 1 tsp
Dark rum: 2-3 tbsp

Method:

1. Put a little bit of the milk into a saucepan on low heat and add the chopped chocolate into it and allow to melt.

2. Once the chocolate has almost melted, gradually add the remaining milk along with cinnamon stick, honey, sugar (if using) and stir gently till the liquid is smooth and luscious.

3. Add the vanilla and mix with a small hand whisk. Turn off the heat and still whisking, add the rum and whisk well.

4. Take out the cinnamon stick and pour into cups. Serve with some whipped cream or a chocolate cigar.

Kickstarting Christmas: Day 2