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You are here: Home / Recipes / Rich and Thick Hot Chocolate for One

Rich and Thick Hot Chocolate for One

11/13/17 | Beverages, Christmas, Desserts, Holiday Recipes, Recipe for One, Recipes, Small-batch Dessert

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This Rich and Thick Hot Chocolate for One is the creamiest, most decadent hot chocolate imaginable.

Mug of thick hot chocolate with whipped cream and chocolate sauce.

I have a very important question for you on this gray Monday morning. What is your perfect cup of hot chocolate? Is it lightly sweet? Is it sweetly bitter? Is it, as my sister so helpfully put it trying to describe her perfect hot chocolate, “fluffy,” “not hard,” and “Scottish?” (Sidebar: Whaaaaaat???)

My perfect cup goes a little something like this: thick, creamy, and decadent as hell.

If that sounds like your jam, gather round, friend. That’s what I’m sharing today.

This hot chocolate is not an everyday hot chocolate. If you want something light and chocolatey that you can sip as you go about your every day, try my Three-ingredient Hot Chocolate for One. This recipe here is strictly a special occasion drink. A coldest-day-of-the-year or waiting-for-Santa-on-Christmas-Eve sort of treat, because when I say it’s spectacularly decadent, I am not joking. It’s so rich that you’ll want to sip it slowly and luxuriously, and then probably take a nap afterwards.

I love it so much.

Thick hot chocolate being poured into a glass mug.

How to make thick hot chocolate

There are a couple ways to get really thick hot chocolate. One of them is to use a bit of cornstarch as a thickener so you get cocoa like a hot drinkable pudding. It’s very good but not what we’re going for today.

To get the smoothest, richest, creamiest drinking chocolate, we’re using real chocolate, and we’re using heavy cream so each sip is a little like drinking a bar of chocolate and a lot like heaven.

You take the chocolate and cream, heat them with some milk, a little sugar and cocoa powder, and a pinch of espresso powder and in less than five minutes time, you’ll be holding a steaming mug of the creamiest, most decadent hot chocolate of your life.

Close up photo of thick hot chocolate with whipped cream and chocolate sauce.

More Cold Weather Drinks

  • White Hot Chocolate
  • Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate
  • White Chocolate Mocha
  • Homemade Mocha 
  • Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha

Rich and Thick Hot Chocolate Recipe Tips

  • If you don’t have heavy cream, you *can* substitute half and half or any percentage milk. It will still taste great, it just won’t be as rich and thick.
  • If you don’t like your beverages very sweet, you can substitute bittersweet chocolate for the semisweet and cut the sugar in half or remove it completely.
  • The espresso powder helps bring out the chocolate flavor and will not make your hot chocolate taste like coffee. If you don’t have any, you can omit it or buy it on Amazon or in the coffee aisle at your grocery store. It’s usually sold in a small glass jar next to the instant coffee.
  • This recipe makes 1 cup of hot chocolate, enough to fill a standard 8-ounce mug. If you want to fill an over-sized 12 to 16-ounce mug, one and a half or double the recipe.
This Rich and Thick Hot Chocolate for One is the creamiest, most decadent hot chocolate imaginable. | #HotChocolate | #RecipeForOne | #Chocolate | #Christmas |

Thick and Rich Hot Chocolate for One

This Rich and Thick Hot Chocolate for One is the creamiest, most decadent hot chocolate imaginable.
5 from 17 votes
Print Pin
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: American, French
Prep Time: 2 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes minutes
Total Time: 7 minutes minutes
Servings (Hover or Click to Change Yield): 1 cup

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon (12g) granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon (7g) unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon espresso powder
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 2/3 cup milk any percentage
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • 2 ounces semisweet chocolate chopped, high-quality chips are fine*
  • Whipped cream optional for topping

Instructions

  • In a small pot, combine sugar, cocoa powder, espresso powder, salt, and water. Whisk over medium-high heat until smooth. Whisk in milk and cream and heat until steaming.
  • Turn heat down to medium and stir in chocolate until melted and smooth.
  • Transfer to a cup and serve topped with whipped cream if desired and enjoy!

Notes

*2 ounces chocolate chips = 1/3 cup
If you want to do a chocolate drizzle like the one in the photos, combine 1 1/2 teaspoons cream or milk and 1 tablespoon + 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped chocolate in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds and stir until smooth. Drizzle over your drink with a spoon or transfer to a small disposable plastic bag and snip off a corner to pipe on chocolate.
Did you make this recipe?I'd love to see it! Tag @BakingMischief or hashtag it #BakingMischief.

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission if you make a purchase using them. There is absolutely no additional cost to you.

Comments | 29 comments

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Comments

  1. Meredith Mitchell says

    December 2, 2024 at 4:43 am

    5 stars
    This was quite possibly the best drink I have ever had. Maybe even the best dessert. I didn’t have espresso powder and added a dash of cinnamon. So delicious!!! My boyfriend and I were shocked how great it was.

    Reply
    • Tracy says

      December 15, 2024 at 5:10 am

      Meredith, that makes me so happy to hear!! So glad you and the boyfriend enjoyed it!

      Reply
  2. Courtney says

    August 6, 2022 at 12:56 pm

    I’ve made this several times, now, and it’s divine. A lot like European drinking chocolate which I miss having access to now that I’m State-side. It really gets even more decadent the higher quality the chocolate it is that I use. Love it!

    Reply
  3. Courtney says

    January 23, 2022 at 11:11 am

    5 stars
    Okay, so it’s snowing outside in upstate NY. Very cold, maybe in the teens, at most. Definitely feeling low energy. Kids are both asleep. I take my first sip of this, and my reaction is literally “wow!” Takes me back to a day of indulging in drinking chocolate on a snowy Quebec day.

    Such a mood. I love this recipe!!

    Reply
    • Tracy says

      January 24, 2022 at 3:23 pm

      That makes me so happy to hear!!

      Reply
  4. WadiNE says

    November 28, 2021 at 4:49 am

    5 stars
    can’t wait to try this! I think nutmeg, just a scant 1/8 t., would work instead of espresso. (I REALLY don’t like coffee). Thanks for the recipe

    Reply
  5. Julie says

    January 1, 2021 at 1:34 pm

    5 stars
    I just made this for my kids, and it did not disappoint!!! I did not have espresso powder, but definitely can see how it would bring out the flavor. This will be my go-to from now on!!

    Reply
  6. Pat Morales says

    October 31, 2020 at 5:45 am

    5 stars
    Its finally chilly today in FL! Rare for Halloween too. I made it, this morning for my kiddies. Omg this is like sipping chocolate! It was very rich and came together super quick. Will be having this on rotation thru out the Holidays. I used regular instant coffee and that worked out just fine.

    Reply
    • Tracy says

      November 3, 2020 at 2:45 pm

      So glad to hear you enjoyed it, Pat!!

      Reply
  7. Damian says

    November 18, 2019 at 8:17 pm

    So how would i go about making this for a large group say 4 or more ? Also is there away to make it adult and a liquor

    Reply
    • Tracy says

      November 19, 2019 at 8:38 pm

      You can just multiply the recipe to serve as many as you need. The cooking method won’t change at all. One thing to note, the recipe as written makes a serving of about one cup (8 ounces), which is plenty for a drink this rich, but if you’re serving it to guests in oversized 12 or 16-ounce cups, you might want to plan on 1.5 to 2 servings per person to fill the cups.

      As for adding liquor, you definitely can. Bourbon, peppermint schnapps, and Kahlua are all good options, though you may need to add more warm milk to adjust for the added sweetness.

      Reply
      • Ron says

        October 27, 2020 at 11:34 am

        5 stars
        My favorite was always to add banana liqueur. So delicious!

      • Tracy says

        November 4, 2020 at 9:25 am

        This is such a brilliant idea!!

  8. HestyD says

    August 17, 2019 at 8:51 pm

    5 stars
    I just made this now and it was great! Thank you for the recipe!

    Reply
  9. C says

    July 22, 2019 at 9:35 pm

    5 stars
    It’s like Spanish Hot Chocolate!

    I did the no sugar nor espresso and used bittersweet chips…it tasted like Spain! I’ve had a hard time finding good recipes for churros y chocolate, but this is my new go to. It’s great for dipping cookies, fruit, and churros, or pouring on ice cream.

    I chilled the leftovers and ate it with a spoon…just as good, like pudding or chocolate mousse.

    Reply
    • Tracy says

      July 23, 2019 at 9:01 pm

      Loooove the idea of using this for churros y chocolate. Now I’m totally craving it myself. LOL!

      Reply
  10. Chloe says

    December 27, 2018 at 11:48 am

    5 stars
    Oh! My! God! I have been craving a hot chocolate for MONTHS, but every time I’ve had one I’ve been severely disappointed. I decided to give this a go, and I am SO glad I did! It’s utterly delicious!! I had to make a few changes (being in the UK, we don’t really have ‘semisweet’ chocolate, so I used 35% chocolate and ommited the sugar) but the recipe overall was so simple to make, but so delicious to drink!

    Now I did have to split the serving between two because it really is utterly decadent and I couldn’t possibly drink the whole thing myself, but that just meant I got to sip it slowly and savour it!

    Reply
    • Tracy says

      January 1, 2019 at 12:06 pm

      Thanks, Chloe! So happy to hear this recipe didn’t disappoint! 😉

      Reply
  11. Izzy says

    March 17, 2018 at 9:57 pm

    Do I have to use espresso powder?

    Reply
    • Tracy says

      March 17, 2018 at 11:02 pm

      Nope. If you don’t have it, you can omit it. It helps bring out the chocolate flavor but is optional.

      Reply
  12. Beth StGermain says

    November 19, 2017 at 6:48 pm

    I have espresso instant coffee. Is this the same as espresso powder?

    Reply
    • Tracy says

      November 21, 2017 at 7:39 pm

      Hi, Beth. Yes, they’re the same thing.

      Reply
      • Beth says

        November 22, 2017 at 5:03 am

        Thank you!!!! Can’t wait to try it!

  13. Bethany says

    November 15, 2017 at 9:18 am

    This looks so, so good!

    Reply
    • Tracy says

      December 11, 2017 at 6:47 am

      Thank you, Bethany!!

      Reply
  14. CakePants says

    November 14, 2017 at 9:11 pm

    I think I just found my new weekend morning indulgence! This looks heavenly…not to mention, it’s a great way to use up the small amounts of extra cream I often have in the fridge this time of year.

    Reply
    • Tracy says

      December 11, 2017 at 6:47 am

      Yes! I hate having to figure out what to do with that last little bit of cream. This is definitely a good (indulgent 😉 ) solution!

      Reply
  15. Heather Lousie says

    November 14, 2017 at 10:50 am

    5 stars
    Well this looks bloody amazing! If I had any cream I would be making this right now! xx

    Reply
    • Tracy says

      November 14, 2017 at 4:36 pm

      Hehe, thanks so much, Heather!

      Reply
5 from 17 votes (7 ratings without comment)

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Welcome!


Hi, I'm Tracy! Welcome to Baking Mischief, where we realize that not everyone is cooking every night for a family of four. We have delicious sweet and savory recipes, mostly scaled for one or two, and we love our pop culture around here, so keep an eye out for film, book, and TV-inspired treats as well! Read more»
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