Ingredients

4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, split crosswise
1 1/2 pounds high-quality semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
8 ounces milk chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch process

Place sugar in large bowl. Split half vanilla bean lengthwise, scrape seeds into sugar, and add pod. Work seeds in with your fingers. Cover snugly with plastic wrap and let stand overnight at room temperature.

In food processor fitted with metal blade, process semisweet chocolate and milk chocolate until finely ground, using 4-second pulses. (Process in two batches if necessary.)

Remove pod from sugar. Add ground chocolate and cocoa powder to sugar and whisk to blend.

To gift, carefully transfer mix to decorative jars or bags. Add instruction labels for recipents: “For each serving, heat 8 ounces milk in small saucepan over medium heat until scalded (or microwave 2 1/2 minutes at full power). Whisk in 1/4 to 1/3 cup mix. Serve with unsweetened softly whipped cream or marshmallows. Mix keeps airtight at room temperature for up to six months.”

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Butlers “Hot Chocolate Drink” is presented in a lovely chocolaty brown box, and contains 10 pieces of chocolate in a cup shape that you melt into a cup of hot milk (Net Weight of the box is 230g).

This box will be available soon, and retails in our shop at €4.99 (which works out as €0.50 per serving). You can also buy it online in our shop for €7.00 (which includes postage within Ireland).

The recommended method is to heat milk in a saucepan and then add the piece of chocolate.  We don’t have a hotplate here in in the shop, so I used the coffee machine to steam up some milk instead.  The chocolate piece melted fairly easily after a good stir, and tasted really good! However, the instructions do say a “teacup” of hot milk, and I heated a whole mug, so for a richer chocolate taste, I’d stick to one teacup per piece.

Why not give it a try yourself and let us know what you think!

If you want to try different variations or recipes with the hot chocolate, click here.