GFREE FOODIE
So simple, so delicious, and so chocolate-y. Be warned: once you've tried this Dutch hot chocolate, you'll never go back.
Dutch Hot Chocolate is the Cadillac of hot cocoa. You’ll want to keep this simple recipe handy all winter long. Plus, a quick guide to understanding Dutch coca powder vs. natural cocoa.
Let’s start with the basics: you can’t make Dutch Hot Chocolate without Dutch-processed cocoa powder, that’s rather key. The Dutch are serious about their chocolate.
Dutch Cocoa Powder vs. Natural Cocoa Powder: what's the difference?
Cocoa powder is made from fermented, dried, and roasted cacao beans. The beans are first cracked into cocoa nibs, which contain both the cocoa solids and cocoa butter. Then the nibs are ground into paste and the processor removes the cocoa butter, leaving the raw cocoa behind. Finally, the raw cocoa is refined into powder, which holds the concentrated flavor of the bean. That’s natural cocoa powder, which has a pH level of roughly 5-6, giving the cocoa a slightly acidic taste with some bitter flavor notes.
The chemist who developed the process, Coenraad van Houten, was Dutch. He pretty much pioneered the world’s ability to make simple chocolate drinks and all the chocolate we eat. How does he not have a holiday?!?
I top mine with corn-free marshmallows or coconut whipped cream, depending on my mood.