Warming Up With Cioccolata Calda (Italian Hot Chocolate)

We are currently in Utah enjoying spending time with family.  It has been snowy and cold the whole time we’ve been here, which I guess is to be expected, since it is winter.

But I must say that living in Southern California for the past year and a half has turned me into a total wuss.  My fingers and toes are permanent ice cubes!  Squirrel, on the other hand, is in absolute heaven.  It has been snowing on and off for the past 24 hours, and so Mr. Fuji decided to go out and shovel the snow off the driveway before his mom got home.  He bundled up Squirrel to take her out to play while he worked, and she could hardly stand still, she was so excited.

She was in total bliss out in the snow as Mr. Fuji did his thing.

Bug had the good sense to stay inside where it was warm and cozy.

As we sat inside and I tried to thaw out my frozen appendages, and imagined Mr. Fuji and Squirrel’s appendages becoming increasingly  more cold, I decided that some hot chocolate was in order.  There is one thing to be said for this snowy weather, and that is that hot chocolate is such a treat on a day like today!  Not only is it delicious and chocolaty, but holding onto the mug warms the fingers, and each sip helps to slowly bring your internal body temperature back up to normal.  I love the feeling of the warmth slowly spreading through my body.  My friend Paula, who writes one of my favorites blogs, bell ‘alimento (Italian for “beautiful food”), recently posted a recipe for Cioccolata Calda (Italian hot chocolate) that had me salivating.  I rummaged through my MIL’s cupboards and quickly found the necessary ingredients and few minutes later had mugs of steaming thick and creamy Cioccolata Calda to warm everyone up.

What a treat!  I’m not a fan of American hot chocolate because it is too sweet for me, and so this suited my tastes perfectly because it was dark and not sickeningly sweet.  The recipe calls for chocolate that is 70% cacao or above.  All I had on hand was semisweet chocolate, so I omitted the sugar in the recipe and added a tablespoon of cocoa powder.  The hot chocolate disappeared quickly into satisfied tummies.  I have added the recipe to my recipe box where all of my favorite recipes go so that I can always have them at my fingertips.  I highly suggest you do the same!

I hope you are all staying warm and enjoying the holiday season!

Tagged as: Chocolate, cornstarch, milk