I have been craving Italian hot chocolate since my last trip there. I believe that they put corn starch in the powdered mix so that it thickens. There is nothing like a cold day with a nice, thick cup of hot chocolate. I had this many times in the cafes over there.
I haven't been able to find any locally, or online. Has anyone else been able to locate this?
How ironic!! I was asking about the hot chocolate this past week. We had wonderful cups of it in Alba and Turin and am not able to replicate the rich flavor here in the States. I tried the tinyurl web site without much success - any other ideas?
You could try making it yourself! I had it in Spain and came home and knew i needed to replicate it. I take about half and half really good dark chocolate (I use about 70%) and unsweetened cocoa powder melted/dissolved in about 1 cup of milk (for 2 servings or so). I add a pinch of either corn starch or rice flour and sweetener of your choice to your taste, and whisk constantly in a heavy pot over low heat until it just comes to the boil, turn off the heat, and keep whisking until it thickens. Then I pour it into the mugs and use my stick milk frother to give it a bit of lightness. It's not exactly like I had in Europe, but it's better than any commercial product I've found and for me it is good enough. And since you are making it yourself you can play around with the amounts of chocolate and/or cocoa powder (or just use one or the other!) to make it taste how you like it. (also, if you live near a Trader Joe's they have something called "European Drinking Chocolate" in a square brown can, which is really delicious)
Thanks, Debra. I did try the TJ's drinking chocolate and it was a little too sweet. I am going to try your idea and make my own.
I had bought a couple of small boxes from the Coop before we left Italy, but those are long gone. The ingredients on the package are powdered milk, sugar, cocoa and corn starch. Like everything else Italian, the simpler the better.
Thank you!
You can find all kinds of powdered Cocoa mix at TJ Max.
I'm so glad you brought this up. We loved the Italian hot chocolate! It was nothing like anything we've had in the states, Canada, UK, Austria, or Ireland. One fun thing was to let it sit for a bit. The top gels, keeping the liquid underneath hot. Then, it was like warm, rich pudding. Yum!!
You should be able to find Hershey's cocoa powder in any grocery baking section. We've been making our own hot chocolate forever. It's easy and cheaper than buying mixes. As said above making your own allows you to find the right mix of cocoa, sweetener and milk or cream for you.
Debra...pleas SAY that the milk stick is wooden!! not just another electric accessory...Here i use VanHouten's 100 % cocao for hot chocolate and never skim milk..This afternoon when i go to the supermarket i plan to read labels looking for cornstarch in the ready made mixes
