Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate a la Starbucks

This is heaven sent on a cold wintry day. Make yourself a generous cup of Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate and curl up in your favorite armchair and you will cheerily sing 'let it snow, let it snow, let it snow '.

On a recent trip to Starbucks, we had their Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate. It was really delicious. I loved the caramel, salt flecks, whipped cream and hot chocolate combination. The next day I set about re-creating this drink. So after a lot of trial and error, I found a recipe that duplicates it exactly as I remember it.

This hot chocolate use cocoa powder instead of chocolate bars, great for the times when your stash of chocolate bars are finished. Use a good brand chocolate powder, I love Pernigotti cocoa. Remember to fill your glass only 3/4  full  so as to leave some space for the whipped cream and caramel.

I adapted the hot chocolate recipe from a recipe by Jeanie Bean at allrecipes.com. And the caramel recipe that I like best was from Simply Recipes ( link provided below ). Please do not be put off by the photo below, this is one of the best hot chocolates I have ever had.

Mango Lassi

A very tasty and refreshing drink, Mango lassi is a very popular drink in India and a lot of Indian restaurants serve this.

This recipe makes a thick and delicious lassi. If you want it a little more thinner in consistency add 1 cup of milk instead of 1/2 cup. I used the can of mango pulp found in Indian grocery stores.


Serves 2

Ingredients

1 cup mango pulp ( available in tins in Indian grocery stores )
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 - 1 cup milk ( use 1/2 cup if you want a thick shake, use 1 cup for a slightly thinner consistency ) ( I used 2% milk )
1 tbsp sugar ( optional )
1/8 tsp cardamom powder / elaichi powder


Method

• Place all the above mentioned ingredients in a mixer / blender and mix for 1 minute.
• Pour it in some tall glasses and enjoy. If you like it chilled you can make this ahead of time and chill it in the fridge. I usually refrain from using ice cubes as it dilutes the taste of the lassi.

Belgium Hot Chocolate

Nothing compares to a delicious heart-warming cup of hot chocolate on a cold day. This is a staple in our home come cold wintry days. I make a batch of this and store it in the fridge. Early in the morning when I come down to start my day I warm a cup of this heavenly concoction for myself. In fact getting out of bed seems easier on the days I know I have this waiting down in the fridge for me.

I adapted this recipe from David Lebovitz's site. He has some really good recipes and this hot chocolate is one of my favorite ones. He got this recipe from Wittamer, said to be one of the best chocolate shops in Brussels. They serve this in their posh tea salon. Thank you David for sharing this with us.

I used 2 bars of Valrhona's Le Noir Amer ( 71 % cacao, each 3.5 oz / 100 gm ) and 1 bar of Lindt's Classic Milk Chocolate ( 4.4 oz / 125gm ). Serve this with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream and some choclate shavings.