Cozy up this winter with a Hot Chocolate Bar at home. Invite your friends over to customize and enjoy mugs full of hot cocoa for a wholesome night. To host a hot chocolate bar gathering, make homemade hot chocolate and set out multiple toppings for a sweet treat.
In this guide, we’ll go over everything you need to add a hot chocolate bar to your holiday festivities or winter get-together. You can also set out a hot chocolate bar as a sweet nightcap at the end of a winter dinner party.
Making the hot chocolate
Homemade hot chocolate beats store-bought Swiss Miss any day. It’s more cost-effective and more delicious to make at home. All you need for basic hot chocolate is a few chocolate bars, cocoa powder, and milk. You can also add a splash of vanilla for a hint of sweetness and depth of flavor.
In this recipe, I prefer to use 72% dark chocolate. Dark chocolate works better for a hot chocolate bar because it won’t make your hot cocoa overly sweet, allowing your guests to pile on the sweet toppings. If you do want your hot cocoa to be sweeter, opt for milk chocolate instead.
One cup of milk yields one serving of hot chocolate. A gallon of milk will yield 16 servings but this recipe calls for a little under a gallon of milk for a precise chocolate-to-milk ratio.
Hot Chocolate
Ingredients
- 400 g 72% cacao dark chocolate about 4 chocolate bars or 1 pound
- 12 cups milk a little less than one gallon
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract optional
Instructions
- Roughly chop 400 g 72% cacao dark chocolate. Set aside some shavings for toppings.
- Add 12 cups milk, chopped chocolate, and 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powderto a large pot over medium heat. Whisk the ingredients in for a few minutes until the dark chocolate pieces have melted. Keep warm but do not allow the milk to boil.
- Once the chocolate has melted, taste it. If you would like it a bit sweeter add 1 tsp vanilla extract.
- Serve with a ladle into mugs, add toppings like marshmallows, and enjoy.
The toppings bar
The essential toppings for any hot chocolate bar include marshmallows and cinnamon. Kick your hot chocolate bar up a notch by adding unexpected toppings like cayenne and cardamom. Trader Joe’s is a great place to find fun toppings, especially during the holidays when the festive seasonal goodies are on the shelf.
Toppings
- Marshmallows (preferably mini)
- Candy canes
- Cinnamon
- Cardamom
- Cayenne (for a Mexican hot chocolate kick)
- Chopped chocolate
- Peppermint extract
- Pirouline (cookie sticks/rolled wafers)
What you’ll need
Big pot: You’ll need a big pot that can hold a gallon of milk.
A ladle: You’ll need a ladle or deep spoon to scoop hot chocolate into mugs.
Extra mugs: Depending on the size of your party, you may want to ask your guests to bring their own mugs from home. Hot chocolate (or any hot liquids for that matter) should not be served in plastic solo cups. Glass water cups will be too hot for your guests to handle.
Serving the hot chocolate
Can you set up your chocolate bar on a perfectly aesthetic tablescape? Sure. And, if you do, don’t forget to put a trivet under your pot of hot chocolate. But, the best and most mess-free way to serve the chocolate is on the stove with the toppings on the counter nearby.
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