February always seemed like the ultimate hot chocolate month. Maybe it was decades of Murray’s Bakery’s annual hot chocolate month where they had a different flavor every day. Maybe it’s the endless snow and cold days. Maybe it’s just any excuse, but now we’re in March and I’d better get this posted before we’re talking about ramps.
I was lucky enough to have 3 different hot chocolate mixes on hand. One was my homemade, one a Ghirardelli Double Chocolate my husband brought home as a surprise, and one was sent to me by my BFF from Angelina’s who had just opened up in NYC (might as well be Paris, both pretty unreachable).
Looking at them, they were all about the same color and consistency. Mine might have been a little muddier looking. Tasting them all “raw,” they were all about the same. The Ghirardelli was a little sugary, which it what I thought when I first tasted it on its own.
I heated up 18 ounces of milk (6 ounces seems to be the standard measurement, not the big mug full we all think) and measured out the recommended amounts of mix. For the Ghirardelli, it was 2 tablespoons, for mine 3, and for the Angelina, a whopping 75 grams which was about 8, although on the American translation, it says 5. They all mixed up easily and were all pretty good.
While there was a clear cut “loser”—the Ghirardelli — it was deemed to be acceptable if that was all there was kicking around the house. Tastes like your classic cocoa. But our taste buds have evolved and now we want killer chocolate.
Both my mix and the Angelina were really good. The Angelina one was delicious, killer, rich and dark, but it also had more than twice the mix of mine. If you want to recreate the Angelina Paris experience—over-the-top chocolate, go for it. Otherwise, depending on the amount and type of chocolate you use to make your own mix (I use good dark chocolate and a little less sugar), the DIY mix is really good. That’s why I’ve been making it for years.
I think Frank did it best, when after tasting all three, he mixed them together and added about another ¼ cup of milk. Perfect!
