20 Jul The Ultimate Guide to making Hot Chocolate Gifts

Everyone loves a mug of rich, steaming hot chocolate on a chilly day. I know I do. In my case, hot chocolate consumption is not really dependant on the weather. I’m happy to drink it all year round.
The more decadent, the better.

Hot chocolate is so much more fun when it comes in one of these cute forms. Not only do these make a great homemade gift but they are also perfect for setting up a DIY hot chocolate station at a winter party/bridal shower/baby shower/book club (along with a flask of hot milk, marshmallows and some chocolate chip cookies on the side).

Each hot chocolate truffle/spoon/test tube is designed to make exactly 1 perfect mug of hot chocolate so making a delicious warming beverage is as simple as adding one of these to 250ml of hot milk. All the hot chocolate gifts keep for several months (the test tubes at room temperature and the truffles and spoons in the fridge).

HOT CHOCOLATE TEST TUBES
(Makes 8 test tubes)

Ingredients:

50g cocoa
100g icing sugar
5g cornflour
1g salt
5g cinnamon (optional)
20g mini marshmallows*
8  x 25ml test tubes with corks**

Directions:

• Sift all the ingredients, except the marshmallows, into a bowl. Mix well with a spoon and then sift again to ensure there are absolutely no lumps and the mixture is completely uniform.
• Carefully decant the hot chocolate mixture into your test tubes, leaving a little space at the top.
• Add the marshmallows and seal tightly.

* Buy the smallest marshmallows you can find (try baking stores) and if necessary use scissors to cut them up into smaller pieces.
** The test tubes need to fit around 25ml of powder (approx dimensions 18mm x 150mm). Try find them at large florists and party shops.

HOT CHILLI CHOCOLATE SPOONS
(Makes about 8 spoons)

Ingredients:

100g Lindt Excellence Chilli (Not a chilli fan? Try Lindt Excellence Mint/Caramel/Orange/Strawberry Intense)
1 x chocolate spoon mould*

Directions:

• Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water.
• Fill the spoon mould with the melted chocolate and refrigerate until set (a squeeze bottle makes this process a little less messy if you have one!).

* Chocolate spoon moulds are available at Clicks, baking stores or buy them online here.

NUTELLA HOT CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES
(Makes about 16 truffles)

Ingredients:

200g dark chocolate*
60ml cream
120g Nutella
20g mini marshmallows**
10 crushed peppermints for rolling
Cocoa for rolling

Directions:

• Melt the chocolate, cream and Nutella together in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir gently to combine.
• Refrigerate the mixture for about 1 hour until firm enough to roll into balls.
• Roll the mixture into 20g balls (about a heaped tablespoon of mixture).
• To decorate, roll the truffles in cocoa or crushed peppermints, or use a little bit of melted chocolate to ‘glue’ the mini marshmallows onto the truffles (this is quite time consuming but so worth it!).

* If you like your hot chocolate a little sweeter you can use half milk chocolate and half dark chocolate.

** Buy the smallest marshmallows you can find (try baking stores) and if necessary use scissors to cut them up into smaller pieces.