All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.

-Charles M. Schulz

Disclaimer: This post was supposed to be published on the week before Christmas, in fact, the original name for this recipe was Christmas Morning Minty Hot Chocolate. However, I didn’t have time to actually try this hot chocolate until Christmas morning.  Consequently, the posting of this recipe was delayed until now:

My 2014 New Year’s resolution was to quit coffee. I had had coffee before coming to Korea but only rarely and usually iced. The very day I arrived in Jochiwon (my current town), I started drinking Maxim Coffee and it was love at first taste. I arrived in Korea the last week of May and spent a delightful week visiting my brother in Gangwondo. On the 1st of June I lugged my huge bag to Jochiwon by train. When I arrived, the co-ordinator from the Office of Education picked me up and brought me to my school. I was so nervous that when she asked me if I was hungry (it was around 12.30pm), I said “No” even though I was starving as I was terrified of having to eat with chopsticks straight away in front of everyone. So they offered me coffee, and not wanting to be churlish I accepted it. Seven coffee shots later I was shaking, exhausted and hooked!

For 1.5 years I drank those sugary delicious coffees (as well as cappuccinos, lattes etc) with the regularity I used to drink tea (and yes, I was still drinking 2 cups of tea everyday!).  However, I was noticing lots of problems – stomach cramps, digestions problems etc and while I knew coffee wouldn’t be the only contributor it was the biggest change I’d made in my lifestyle since coming here, diet wise. So, when the opportunity arose to make a tough change I embraced it. I will admit it was quite hard the first 6 months. For January and February I averaged about one cup a week. By the end of April, I’d managed to say “No” to Maxim at school and to only drink the teas that were available instead. However, I was still having the odd cappuccino or latte.

Since August, I’ve been completely coffee free! Yay! Instead I am back to drinking 2-3 cups of tea a day (Barry’s usually) and I generally choose Hot Chocolate when I am out and about. I usually keep a stack of Hot Chocolate packets close by for whenever the need arises.  Recently, though I’ve been branching out and exploring making my own hot chocolate from scratch. I’ve loved this one from Yeah…immaeatthat and I’ve been experimenting (and mostly failing) with white chocolate.

When Christmas was approaching I spent quite a bit of time thinking about how I wanted to spend Christmas morning. My friend stayed overnight Christmas Eve and I was so excited because it was my first Christmas Eve sleepover in 3 years! We had every little detail planned for the Christmas Eve and Christmas morning – right down to what we would drink and when, which included the following Minty Hot Chocolate which we indulged in before our guests arrived. I made it again on my birthday, it was just that good. And, when I go on my date (with myself) tonight to watch the stars at Sejong Lake this rich, and simple, drink will fill my thermos.

Minty Hot Chocolate

Serves 4

Ingredients

Hot Chocolate

• 19 fl oz/ 560 ml coconut cream
• 1 tbsp coconut butter
• 1 cup, mint chocolate squares*
• ¼ cup – 1 cup double/whipping cream**

Toppings

• ¾ cup double/whipping cream
• ¼ tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 Peppermint candy cane, crushed, to decorate (optional)
• 4 Peppermint candy canes, to decorate (optional)

Method

1. Place all the hot chocolate ingredients in a pot on medium heat.
2. Whisk until the chocolate has melted into the cream and everything is hot throughout.
3. Meanwhile, put the first three topping ingredients in a bowl, whisk until peaks form and set aside.
4.  Pour the hot chocolate in mugs and pipe the whipped cream on top of the hot chocolate. Decorate with the crushed peppermint and candy canes.  Serve and enjoy.

*I used Andes mints but a broken Aero Mint bar would work as well.

**Depending on how rich you want it, add the desired amount of cream. When  I made it for my birthday I used 500ml of double cream but it was a little too rich. I’d suggest a cup, maximum.

TIPS

Re-heating: This hot chocolate might harden once cooled, so when re-heating, heat gently over medium-low heat until everything melts again and is hot throughout.