Rich, Dark and Creamy Hot Chocolate

This is a deep dark and rich version of hot chocolate, where separately melted bitter chocolate thickens the beverage to a wonderfully creamy and silky consistency towards the very end of its preparation, and this process works magic.

If you wish to make your hot chocolate sweeter, just add more fine or icing sugar towards the very end of cooking the beverage, tasting the final result first and deciding afterwards.

Makes 3-4 tea cup portions or 2 generous cups for someone greedy like myself:

• 480 ml of milk, full fat
• 10-11 g of bitter cocoa powder
• 16 g of corn or potato starch
• 2 scant tablespoons of sugar (you could use Demerara sugar as well)
• 100-110 g of a dark good quality chocolate 70-72%, broken into smaller pieces

Start with melting the dark chocolate using the bain-marie method. Once it’s turned into a liquid, switch the source of the heat off.

Whilst the chocolate pieces are slowly melting, sieve into a small pot the cocoa powder and the corn starch. Add the sugar and pour in the milk stirring all the while with a whisk (to avoid any lumps).

Set the pot over a low to medium heat and bring to simmer stirring the mixture continuously.

Once the mixture starts to boil, switch the heat off.

Pour in the melted chocolate and stir well.

Taste and add more sugar should that not be enough for you.

If you would like to thicken your hot chocolate even more, place the pot back on the hob and cook for a further 2 minutes, which should be enough to obtain the desired consistency.