At Cafe2U, we're best known for our barista-grade coffee but there are more strings to our bow than just serving excellent espressos and lovely lattes - we do a mean hot chocolate too!
With that in mind and Easter almost upon us again (hurray!!), now is the perfect time to share some of our favourite recipes for you to try at home. You can thank us later!
Hot chocolate royale
What's better than hot chocolate? Hot chocolate piled high with marshmallows, of course!
Ingredients
To make two mugs, you will need:
300ml milk
71ml double cream
50g chopped chocolate
Mini marshmallows
All you need to do is pour the milk, double cream and chopped chocolate into a pan, then bring it gently to the boil, whisking until smooth. Serve immediately and top with mini marshmallows and a little grated chocolate.
Gingerbread hot chocolate
Gingerbread may be most commonly associated with autumn or winter but let's be honest, there's never a bad time to enjoy its sweet, slightly peppery taste!
Ingredients
To make two mugs, you will need:
300ml milk
100ml double cream
1 tsp dark brown soft sugar
1 orange, zested
pinch of ground ginger
pinch of ground cinnamon
2 cloves
4 drops of vanilla extract
100g dark chocolate, chopped
whipped cream
2 mini gingerbread biscuits, crushed
Begin by stirring the milk, cream, sugar, orange zest and spices together in a saucepan, then bring to a simmer over a low heat. Remove from the heat and pour through a sieve into a jug, discarding the clove and orange zest. Pour the milk back into the pan and stir in the vanilla and chocolate until the chocolate has melted and is smooth, returning the pan to a low heat to warm through, if necessary.
Then, simply pour into a heatproof mug, top with whipped cream, add the crushed gingerbread biscuits and serve.
Vegan hot chocolate
Everyone deserves a chocolate-y treat from time to time so this recipe has been designed specifically for those with plant-based diets!
Ingredients
To make two mugs, you will need:
500ml oat milk
100g vegan dark chocolate, finely chopped, plus a grating to serve
1 small cinnamon stick
2 bruised cardamom pods
½ tbsp maple syrup
vegan marshmallows
Heat all the ingredients - apart from the marshmallows - in a small pan over a low heat and stir frequently until the chocolate melts. Remove and discard the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods, then divide the hot chocolate between two mugs and top with the marshmallows and an extra grating of chocolate.
Mocha
If you fall into the 'coffee or nothing' category of hot drink lovers, fear not - there's plenty of choccy in this cheeky mocha recipe!
Ingredients
To make two mugs, you will need:
36g ground espresso or 2 espresso pods
500ml milk
2 tsp drinking chocolate
Begin by making around 70ml espresso using a coffee machine and divide between your two mugs. Add 1 tsp drinking chocolate to each and mix well until smooth.
Next, steam the milk so that it has around 4-6cm of foam on top. Hold the jug so that the spout is about 3-4cm above a mug and pour the milk in steadily. As the volume within the mug increases, bring the jug as close to the surface of the drink as possible whilst aiming into the centre. Once the milk jug is almost touching the surface of the coffee, tilt to speed up the rate of pour. As you accelerate, the milk will hit the back of the cup and start naturally folding in on itself to create a pattern on top!
Happy Easter from Cafe2U!
We hope all our customers have a happy Easter and bank holiday weekend. There's bound to be plenty of chocolate to go around but if you run out of great coffee to enjoy with it, contact your local Cafe2U van here and we'll deliver some direct to your door!