Incredibly Thick and Creamy Italian Hot Chocolate
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This recipe makes thick, rich Italian-style hot chocolate, a luscious cold-weather treat (it’s almost like a dessert). It’s so easy to make and absolutely one of my all-time favorite treats when it’s cold outside! Serve it in small cups with softly whipped cream for a decadent treat.
Do you want to up your hot chocolate game? This Italian-style hot chocolate recipe makes an insanely thick and rich drink. It’s an indulgent pleasure to drink this stuff out of a mug (or eat straight with a spoon).
The mix for Italian hot chocolate has just the right amount of sweetness, along with a little cocoa and a lot more chocolate. The consistency is plush and velvety, like a creamy, drinkable thick chocolate ganache or a pourable chocolate pudding.
Although there will always be a place for everyday mini marshmallow-strewn powdered hot cocoa mix, this decadently smooth confection is a thousand times more luxe. It’s perfect to make as a special treat!
Italian hot chocolate (cioccolata calda) originates from northern Italy, specifically the cities of Turin and Piedmont, which are world famous for chocolate production. I learned how to make this amazing hot chocolate when I worked in an Italian cafe while I was learning to cook professionally.
About the ingredients
- Chocolate: Amazing hot chocolate is ALL about this ingredient. I love a bittersweet flavor, and if you do too, I recommend using a very high-quality chocolate with at least 65% cacao — it’s worth the splurge! Buying the chocolate in chunks or chocolate wafers/discs will save time, because there’s no need to chop it. You can use semisweet or even milk chocolate if you prefer a sweeter taste.
- Cocoa powder: Unsweetened cocoa powder is the co-star of the hot chocolate mix. I love a good Dutch-processed cocoa powder to make hot chocolate. Because the beans are treated with an alkaline solution, the cocoa is a beautiful rich, deep red color. You can also use raw or natural cacao powder to make hot chocolate.
- Milk: Dairy or plant-based milk will work (I recommend oat milk) Be sure to use full-fat milk for the best creamy texture.
- Confectioners’ sugar: Also known as 10x, icing sugar or powdered sugar. This finely ground version of granulated sugar includes cornstarch, which helps to thicken and stabilize the hot chocolate.
- Vanilla: Use a good quality pure vanilla extract. You can use a split whole vanilla bean too — add it to the milk before bringing to a boil.
- Flaky sea salt: A pinch of sparkling flaky salt (like Maldon) adds a delicious counterpoint to sweets, especially the flavor of chocolate. Use half the amount of kosher salt instead.
Recipe overview:
Step 1. Sift cocoa and confectioners’ sugar over a bowl to remove any clumps. Step 2. Add salt and whisk to combine. At this point, you can add finely chopped chocolate and package it as a gift, or to serve later.
Step 3. Bring milk just to a simmer, then stir in the cocoa mixture. Step 4. Whisk well and continue heating over low heat until the chocolate is completely melted.
Step 5. Keep hot chocolate warm over very low heat for up to 30 minutes. 
Step 6. Serve hot chocolate in small cups (it’s very rich), topped with soft whipped cream.
Serving Italian hot chocolate
- The hot chocolate can be kept warm on the stovetop for 30 minutes on very low heat. To keep it hot up to 2 hours, transfer the hot chocolate to a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of with 2 inches of simmering water, stirring every once in a while to the the chocolate from settling on the bottom of the bowl. A slow cooker set on warm is another option.
- Serve the hot chocolate all by itself, or with a garnish if you like it a bit over the top!
- Add a shot of rum, brandy, Irish cream or your favorite liqueur (for the grown ups); add whipped cream and a sprinkle of shaved milk chocolate, small soft marshmallows or cinnamon sticks.
- The recipe can be doubled or tripled. All the dry ingredients, along with the chopped chocolate, can be mixed together and put in a glass jar with instructions on how to heat with milk.
- Serve this hot chocolate with my recipe for simple sugar cookies or simply to treat yourself.
Incredibly Creamy Italian Hot Chocolate
Equipment
Ingredients
Yield: 2-6 servings, depending on cup size
- 2 cups (475 ml) full fat milk, dairy or non-dairy
- ⅓ cup (35 g) confectioners’ sugar
- ¼ cup (20 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon flaky sea salt, such as Maldon; or ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 6 ounces (170 g) chocolate, (dark, semisweet or milk chocolate, as you prefer), broken into small pieces or chopped
- ½ cup soft unsweetened whipped cream, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Put the milk in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
- While the milk is heating, sift the sugar and cocoa powder over a small bowl — a mesh strainer works well. Add the salt and whisk to blend.
- Add the cocoa mixture, vanilla and chocolate to the milk over low heat. Whisk until the chocolate is melted, about 1 minute, until the mixture thickens.
- Divide the hot chocolate into small cups (it's very rich!). Serve with a spoonful of whipped cream on top, if you like.
Karen’s Notes and Tips
- To keep warm: The hot chocolate can be kept warm for 30 minutes in the pan set over very low heat — stir it frequently to make sure it doesn’t burn on the bottom of the pan. To keep it hot up to 2 hours: Place in a slow cooker on the “warm” setting. Or, transfer the hot chocolate to a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of with 2 inches of hot water, stirring every once in a while to keep the chocolate from settling on the bottom of the bowl. (check the water level occasionally, adding more as needed so it doesn’t boil dry). A large thermos will also work!
- Hot chocolate can be refrigerated up to 1 week. Reheat gently (don’t bring to a boil) over low heat before serving.
- The recipe doubles or triples well. To make a batch of hot chocolate mix for gifting or just to have on hand in the pantry, combine the cocoa, sugar, salt and finely chopped chocolate. Store in a jar in a cool, dry place. Mix with the hot milk when ready to serve (use about 1/2 cup of the mix for each cup of milk).
- If you prefer a sweeter chocolate, you can use semisweet or milk chocolate.
Nutrition
Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.
Hey, I’m Karen
Creator of Familystyle Food
I’m a food obsessed super-taster and professionally trained cook ALL about creating elevated dinners with everyday ingredients. Find simplified recipes made from scratch and enjoy incredibly tasty food! Read more about me here.
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I loved it but my family said that it was to strong but I like strong hot coco. IT IS SOOOOO GOOD!!!
So delicious! Just made a few minor changes (reduced chocolate and powdered sugar slightly) and was still super yum and the perfect thickness
I’ve made this before for my very picky son and he LOVES it! I am wondering if I can make this in a crockpot for a cocoa bar at my job’s luncheon?
Awww I’m happy your boy loves this! I don’t suggest actually making the hot chocolate in a Crockpot, but you can certainly transfer it to one and keep it warm over the lowest setting. Stir it occasionally to prevent a skin from forming on the surface. You can also put it in a thermos or thermal jug (like ones used for coffee) to keep it warm. Let me know how it works for you!
ge
I hope that means you like it!
This was the right texture for sure, but it was extremely bitter and disappointing. The texture for sure was nice! But the taste was far from it. I just grabbed a Ghirardelli cocoa mix off the shelf and it was much better. Don’t go into this one expecting a sweet treat.
Oh, I’m so sorry you felt it was too bitter! This is a European-style hot chocolate, so it’s based on dark chocolate which has more cacao and far less sugar than say, semisweet or milk chocolate. It’s not meant to taste like a hot cocoa mix. I hope you try this again, using a sweeter chocolate that you like best!
Made this for my kids in the last days of winter holiday. Spectacular.
Amazing Kristy! What a wonderful treat.
This is so good! Rich and chocolatey (if that’s not a word it should be!).
I agree!
mmmmmmm! XO
YUM! It looks soooo good and the perfect treat on cold winter days ♥
Hi! If I’m making this for gift giving – where do I add in the vanilla? It’s not added until you add the milk but I want to package this like you recommend and don’t see where to add the liquid vanilla extract if so. Thank you!
Jilian! I love the idea of packaging the hot chocolate mix for gift-giving. You have a few options for the vanilla. One would be to add a tag to the gift with instructions to add vanilla extract when heating the milk. The other would be to use ground vanilla bean in the dry mix. You can grind up a whole vanilla bean in a blender or spice grinder until very fine, or buy it – here’s one from Amazon: https://amzn.to/4hK17QE. Use 1 teaspoon for every 6 ounces of chocolate.