Gingerbread hot chocolate

Having made the awesome discovery of gingerbread Christmas tree perches, I wanted to make the perfect gingerbread hot chocolate to accompany them.  Most of the recipes I found cheated by using gingerbread syrup and I wanted something a bit more homely and a little less like my local Starbuck’s!

I originally tried this with my preferred hot chocolate recipe of real chocolate and double cream, but I found that the spices just got lost.  So I went down the less indulgent route of milk and cocoa and it   was a much more balanced and warming flavour.  I prefer this with coconut milk (the dairy free milk alternative you get in cartons, as opposed to the canned stuff you use for making stir fry!) but you can use any milk of your choosing.

This recipe serves up two mug sized portions or three to four small cups.

Ingredients

• 17½ fluid ounces / 500ml coconut milk
• 3 tablespoons of cocoa
• 1 teaspoon of ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons of dark brown muscovado
• ½ tablespoon of honey
• whipped cream, for serving

Method

Put the milk into a small saucepan and heat until just starting to boil.

Add the remaining ingredients (except the whipped cream), mix well and bring to a simmer.

Continue to simmer for 5 minutes.

Serve with whipped cream (and some gingerbread on the side if you like!)

TRY WINTER SPICED HOT CHOCOLATE FLOAT