I’m not even kidding when I call this the World’s BEST Hot Chocolate Recipe. It is everything hot cocoa should be; Creamy, rich with a great flavor. This homemade hot chocolate is the essence of coming home from a cold day.

This recipe is the worlds best hot chocolate, I enjoy a cup of this every morning in the winter

How I created this Hot Chocolate Recipe

Today it rained, it was MARVELOUS (As a born and raised Oregonian I LOVE the rain)! The leaves have all changed colors and there was a beautiful mist over the mountains.

I love fall. I don’t like being too hot or too cold, I’m not a huge fan of snow… BUT if it means I get to make this hot chocolate then I’ll take it.

I love chocolate, in pretty much every form. Bars, cookies, cake, ice cream and liquid!

When we were living in Japan I missed my favorite foods that they don’t have over there. That’s how I got into from scratch cooking – learning to make food that I couldn’t get overseas.

So when I was missing hot chocolate I started trying various recipes, mixing and matching until I was happy with the results.

Now I do not like watery hot chocolate. So I knew it needed to be made with milk. And I already had my Hot Fudge recipe that I loved so I used my understanding about blooming Cocoa to my advantage as I created the final recipe.

Now I make a double batch every week and enjoy a cup on cold mornings. I like to add my Homemade Marshmallows of course – they have this great creamy effect as they melt.

I also tweak this same recipe for my Frozen Hot Chocolate recipe. You can also serve it with fresh whipped cream or my homemade marshmallow fluff or my marshmallow frosting! What do you like with your hot chocolate?

Just take me to the Hot Cocoa Recipe already!

If you’d rather skip my tips and tricks for homemade hot chocolate, along with links to other winter recipes and get straight to this delicious drink – simply scroll to the bottom of the page where you can find the printable recipe card.

the best hot chocolate recipe you'll ever try, it's great hot, iced or frozen

Tips to Make the Perfect Hot Chocolate

By boiling the cocoa and water at the beginning your actually Blooming the cocoa. This breaks up clumps, thickens the liquid and most important releases flavor particles in the powder and results in a much richer flavor.

This is the reason most chocolate cakes add boiling water to the mixture and why I dissolve my cocoa in boiling water and let it sit for a few mins in my chocolate cake recipe.

Once the cocoa has bloomed and the full flavor has been released now you want to add the rest of your liquid and bring it up to heat. I use whole milk – for me hot chocolate should always be made with milk, not water.

You don’t need to, and shouldn’t, bring it back to a boil. Now you just heat it to the temperature you like to drink your cocoa at. Once it’s up to tempurature add the vanilla.

The vanilla is essential for enhancing the flavor and I can always tell if I accidentally forgot it when I taste it. You don’t want to add it early as the boiling and heating process would actually make most of the vanilla evaporate so it should be the last thing you add before serving.

I refrigerate any left overs – but the chocolate and milk does separate after a while so make sure to shake it up or stir it really good before reserving!

The World’s BEST Hot Chocolate

If you love this homemade hot chocolate as much as I do, I’d love a 5 star review. Be sure to share on social media and tag me if you make it @ashleemariecakes! If you want to stay updated on new recipes sign up for my newsletter and join my Facebook Group!

It does not get much better than hot chocolate, esp topped with fresh whipped cream or homemade marshmallows

If you love Hot Chocolate you’ll love these other winter drink recipes!

Warm Pumpkin Pie Drink | Hot Butterbeer | Homemade Eggnog

And these other decadent chocolate treats

Chocolate Cake | Chocolate Cheesecake | Chocolate Lava Cake

Connect with Ashlee Marie Online!

To watch me make this Hot Chocolate along with 2 other fall drinks play the video in the recipe card (if you’re on desktop, a short teaser video should be auto playing for you).

You can find all my cooking show style recipe videos on YouTube, or my short recipe videos on Facebook Watch, or my Facebook Page, or right here on our website with their corresponding recipes.