Spiced Hot Chocolate

A much loved winter warmer that's been given a boost with the addition of cinnamon and vanilla - who could resist such a delicious combination?



Spiced Hot Chocolate

Spiced Syrup:
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
2 teaspoons ground coffee (not instant coffee)
60g sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (you can substitute 1/2 a vanilla bean)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup water

2 1/2 cups milk (or a combination of milk and cream if you'd like something even more decadent!)
cinnamon sticks, to serve


To make the spiced syrup:
Place the cocoa, ground coffee, sugar, vanilla bean paste, ground cinnamon and water in a pot and stir over a medium heat. Once the sugar has dissolved, simmer for 5 minutes, allowing the syrup to thicken and flavours to amalgamate.
Using a fine sieve, strain the syrup and put to one side.

In another saucepan heat up your milk (or milk and cream mixture), add the strained syrup and mix well. Use a hand blender if you like your milk more frothy.

Pour into cups and serve with a cinnamon stick spoon.