Review - Ghirardelli Drinking Chocolate

We're pretty lucky here in Los Angeles. As an entertainment city, LA is one of the most popular tourist destinations in America, with Hollywood Boulevard being one of the biggest draws out here. It is, quite literally, Hollywood. It's where the famous Chinese Theater is with all the hand prints in cement. It's where the stars line the sidewalks. So naturally, we've got a lot of places for tourists to spend money.

Almost directly across from the Chinese Theater is Disney's El Capitan Theater. Next to that, there used to be a Disney Store. Much to my great pleasure, a couple years ago, they turned the Disney Store into a Ghirardelli Chocolate Shop!

If you're a chocolate lover, there's no way you can walk by here without taking a peek inside. And once you're in, they hand you a free tasting square of chocolate to really trap you! Works on me every time.

Ghirardelli is, in my opinion, one of the better mass market chocolate makers. Sure, they are a huge company, but take a look at their ingredients list. They use quality stuff (mostly), and you can taste it. They don't overload their products with fake or overly processed ingredients. At least, not in their plain chocolates.


I've used their chocolates many times in making my hot chocolates, and using their squares is one of the easiest ways to have an exceptional dessert drink. I was very excited when this store appeared, because now I'd get to experience what they believe to be the ultimate hot chocolate.

The menu has a couple hot cocoas and a drinking chocolate. Maybe they change this seasonally? That would be great if they did! On this occasion, I went with the decadent drinking chocolate. That's always my favorite, and the best way to just really enjoy the flavor of the chocolate. 

To wait for my chocolate I took a seat at a small table next to a column with this great poster explaining how chocolate is made. I love things like this. I think most people still just think of chocolate as coming from a big factory rather than from a plant in a forest. Chocolate really is just a plant, like a salad or a plate of broccoli. It doesn't become bad for you until you begin adding sugar (and other filler ingredients).

My drinking chocolate was served in a small mug with nothing accompanying it. I could tell instantly that this was a real melted chocolate, just as described on the menu. That's always preferable to any kind of cocoa powder mix, and also explains why they didn't include a little square of chocolate on the side to enjoy with it, like they do with their sea salt hot cocoa.

It was a very nice drink, and it wasn't served too hot, so I was able to start in on it as soon as it arrived. It was sweet and thick, and while overall it was a bit more on the sugary side, it actually had unexpected notes of smokiness. That was very nice, however, overall the experience was more akin to eating a candy bar than having an artisanal hot chocolate. By the time I was close to finishing, it was getting too sweet, but thankfully, the portion size was just right, and it ended perfectly.

Worth a stop if you're in Hollywood and in the mood for a better-than-coffee-shop hot chocolate!

Recipe - Shamrock Peppermint Hot Chocolate

St. Patrick's Day! What do you know about St. Patrick? Did you know he lived in the 5th century and was brought to Ireland as a slave when he was 16 years old? Did you know that it's believed a silver container was crafted to hold St. Patrick's severed arm? Neither did I! History is insane!

When I was growing up, St. Patrick's Day pretty much meant McDonald's would start serving their Shamrock Shake. I haven't had one in years, but since that minty, creamy flavor is a great memory for me around this time of year, I thought I'd try to recreate it in a hot chocolate.

 The ingredients are pretty simple:

¾ cup heavy whipping cream
¾ cup 2% milk
5 tbsp white chocolate, chopped
1 heaping tsp powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp peppermint extract
2 drops green food coloring

I'm using Ghirardelli premium white baking chocolate. Besides the cocoa butter and sugar, it has nonfat dry milk and milk fat in it, which makes it not the best white chocolate available. But it works fine for this recipe.

The peppermint extract I picked up at a local grocer, and the vanilla extract is some I found from Madecasse. Madecasse is an amazing chocolate maker in Madagascar. Top notch products!








The blend of 2% milk and heavy cream gives it a wonderful creaminess, and the powdered sugar adds a little extra sweetness. If you get a really good white chocolate, you could try leaving out the sugar and half the vanilla.

Warm the milk and cream on the stovetop. Once it's pretty hot, add the sugar first and whisk it around a bit, let it start dissolving. As the milk gets close to boiling, add in the chopped white chocolate. Once that's incorporated smoothly, add the vanilla and peppermint extracts, and finish with the food coloring.

It's St Patrick's Day. It's important that it be green. Add 3 drops if you're feeling crazy!

I'm serving mine topped with some homemade vanilla whipped cream, green sugar sprinkles, and a clover. Minty, smooth, and rich!

Recipe - Easy Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate

Ok, buckle up. This one is going to knock you right out of your seat! After that strawberry hot chocolate just didn't turn out to be good, I felt like I should make amends for it. And believe me, this more than makes up for it!

Salted caramel has been growing in popularity for the past few years. Even without the salt, this recipe is mind blowing! It's also one of the easiest. It came from a great recipe book I have, Hot Chocolate by Fred Thompson. The version in the book does not include the salt, however.

The easiest thing about this amazing recipe is that we don't have to make the caramel or figure out what kind of chocolate to use. Ghirardelli has done that for us! They make a huge variety of single portion chocolate squares. They're meant for snacking, but wow, do they make a good hot chocolate!

Ingredients:

6 squares of Ghirardelli Milk & Caramel
1 cup half & half
1/4 tsp salt

Pretty easy list! You should be able to find Ghirardelli squares at almost any grocery store or drugstore.

Unwrap them and cut them all up. As always, the smaller the pieces, the faster and easier it melts. It's a little messier than our usual chocolate chopping, thanks to the gooey caramel inside.

Instead of milk, we're using half and half. Half and half is 50% milk, 50% cream. It's thicker than milk, obviously, and definitely creates a much more textured and creamy hot chocolate.

Heat up the half and half in a saucepan. Don't boil it, and keep stirring so it doesn't scald. Once you think it may be just about to boil, add in the chocolate squares. Again, because of all that caramel, it's going to be a little bit messier while you whisk it together, but eventually it all melts smoothly. 

If you decide you like caramel just fine on its own without the salt, then you are done. Grab a mug and pour!

If you're going all the way, turn off the heat and add in the salt. Once you have stirred the salt in and given it a minute or so to dissolve, taste it. 

Not salty enough? Add a little more. Too strong? Add a little more half and half.

I topped mine with a bit of homemade whipped cream and a drizzle of store-bought caramel sauce, which I found in the ice cream section of my local grocery store.

See?! Incredible, isn't it? I just had one of these, and now, looking at these pictures again as I write this, I want another. Insanely sweet and chocolaty, with the caramel and salt playing off each other just perfectly, it really is one of the best hot chocolates you can make.

I'd love to do another in the future, using homemade caramel and a great artisan dark chocolate.

Recipe - Basic, real hot chocolate

This first recipe is just going to be the basics, so you can experience a true hot chocolate and really taste the difference between this and a packet cocoa. This is an easy, delicious, real hot chocolate.

When making a basic hot chocolate, there are only a couple of things to consider: water or milk, and what kind of chocolate?

A lot of hot chocolates are made with water, not milk. This allows for a very strong chocolate flavor to come through. Milk, while adding creaminess, dilutes the flavor a bit. Both are awesome! We’re going to go with water for this first one.

As for chocolate, there are tons of options. I like to use a semisweet or bittersweet chocolate with around 60%-70% chocolate liquor content. Most good chocolates you see in the grocery store, especially in the baking section, now have a percentage on the label. If you use a chocolate over 70%, you may want to add in some sugar.

For this one, I’m using Ghirardelli 60% bittersweet baking chocolate. Use whatever you can find, but for this first one, try to stay away from milk chocolate. In future recipes, I’ll use many different chocolate brands, and most times, you’ll be able to substitute your favorite brand, or whatever you have on hand.

Ok, here’s what you’ll need (it doesn't get any easier than this!):

1 cup water
4 oz chopped semisweet chocolate

Chopping chocolate is easy. Get a big knife, a cutting board, and have at it. Start from a corner, and keep rotating the chocolate so you can work your way in from the corners. It chops easy this way, and you’ll see what I mean once you get started. The more finely chopped it is, the faster it will melt and incorporate into the water. Watch your fingers, though, especially your thumb! I cut mine. Learn from my fail.

Bring the water to just about a boil, turn the heat off, and pour the chocolate right in. A whisk tends to work a little better than a wooden spoon for mixing it, so whisk it around a bit. While you whisk, you may want to move the pot off the warm burner. Chocolate burns very easily, and while the chances of that here are slim, it could still happen. Burnt chocolate is bad.

At this point, some people will let it steep for 5-10 mins, then reheat it right before drinking it. The idea is that it lets more of the chocolate flavor extract into the liquid, and generally results in a smoother drink. I’m not sure that’s necessary using water instead of milk, so we’ll skip it for now. (And besides, it’s mixed - let’s get to drinking!)

Once it’s completely melted and smooth, pour it carefully into your favorite mug and garnish with homemade whipped cream or homemade marshmallows. (Both of which I’ll post recipes for very soon. The marshmallows are awesome!!!)

Oh man, so good! And so easy! It’s SUPER rich and strong, and at first it may surprise you. But if you love chocolate like I do, it’s like a magical world just opened up to you. So much better than a packet mix! What do you think? Too strong or bitter for you? Try adding a teaspoon (or more) of sugar, or next time, try lowering the amount of chocolate.

Variations on this recipe are endless. What kind of chocolate can you find? Whatever it is, you can melt it in water!