To make homemade hot chocolate from scratch, melt pure cacao into hot milk and sweeten it lightly: no mix and no cocoa powder. This easy recipe uses whole cacao paste, with its cacao butter still in it, and makes one rich, gently sweet mug in about 5 minutes with a small pan and a whisk. Made this way, it is called cacao hot chocolate, or hot cacao.
Many hot chocolate recipes with cacao start from cacao powder. We make ours with Alma Cacao pieces, 100% cacao paste shaved small: we melt them in a splash of milk, then whisk in the rest of the milk and a spoonful of maple syrup or honey. It is our sweeter, milkier everyday mug. For the plain ceremonial cup, see our ceremonial cacao drink recipe.
Homemade hot chocolate recipe (1 mug, 5 minutes)
| Makes | 1 mug (about 9 oz) |
| Time | About 5 minutes |
| Cacao | 20 g (about 2 tablespoons of pieces) |
| Heat | About 180°F (82°C) |
| Tools | A small saucepan and a whisk or handheld milk frother |
Ingredients
- 20 g cacao pieces (about 2 tablespoons): Alma Cacao or another 100% cacao paste in small pieces
- 1 cup (8 oz, 240 ml) milk, dairy or plant
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup, honey or sugar
- Optional: ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract, a pinch of ground cinnamon and a tiny pinch of fine salt
Steps
- Melt the cacao in a splash of milk. Put the cacao pieces and 3 tablespoons of the milk in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir for about a minute, until the pieces melt into a smooth, glossy paste.
- Whisk in the rest. Pour in the rest of the milk while you whisk, then add the sweetener, plus the cinnamon and salt if you are using them.
- Heat until steaming. Turn the heat to medium-low and keep whisking until it steams, about 180°F (82°C). Do not let it boil.
- Froth and serve. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the vanilla. Whisk hard or use a handheld frother for 15 to 20 seconds, until a soft foam forms. Taste, add a little more sweetener if you like, and pour into a mug.
No stove? Use a large microwave-safe mug. Heat the pieces with 3 tablespoons of the milk for 20 to 30 seconds and stir to a smooth paste. Stir in the rest of the milk and the sweetener, then heat in 30-second bursts, stirring each time, until it steams. Froth it right in the mug.
Why whole cacao makes a richer hot chocolate than cocoa powder
The difference is fat. Whole cacao paste is the cacao bean, shelled and ground, with its cacao butter left in. Cocoa powder and cacao powder are what remain after most of that butter has been pressed out.
You can see it in the numbers. USDA FoodData Central lists unsweetened baking chocolate, the closest USDA match for 100% cacao like our paste, at 52.3 g of fat per 100 g, and unsweetened cocoa powder at 13.7 g. So a 20 g mug of cacao pieces carries about 10 g of cacao butter, while 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder (about 11 g) carry about 1.5 g. US food standards draw the same line: finely ground cacao nibs, which the rules call chocolate liquor, must be 50 to 60 percent cacao fat, while regular cocoa has 10 to 22 percent (21 CFR Part 163).
In the mug, that fat melts into the milk and gives the cup body and a glossy finish, so you do not need cream to make it feel rich. And because our cacao is 100% cacao with nothing added, the only added sugar is the sweetener you choose.
Choosing cacao for hot chocolate
Look for 100% cacao paste with one ingredient on the label: cacao. Small pieces melt quickly in a splash of warm milk, while a solid block has to be chopped or grated first. It also pays to buy from a brand that names where its cacao comes from and tests it for heavy metals. Our guide to choosing a good ceremonial cacao covers what else to check.
Hot cacao variations
Each starts from the hot cacao recipe above.
- Spiced. Add ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg or cardamom with the rest of the milk, plus a tiny pinch of cayenne if you like a little heat. For the full spiced cup, see our Mexican hot chocolate.
- Dairy-free. Oat milk gives a creamy mug, and almond or cashew milk a lighter one. Sweeten with maple syrup to keep it vegan. Coconut, soy and a water version are in our plant milk guide for hot chocolate.
- Thick, European style. Melt the same 20 g into half the liquid, with a splash of cream, for a small, rich cup. See our French and Italian hot chocolate recipes.
- Sugar-free. Skip the sweetener, or use a sugar substitute: see our sugar-free and keto-style mugs.
- Peppermint. For the holidays, see our peppermint and Christmas hot chocolate.
Tips for a silky, frothy mug
- Froth for foam. A handheld milk frother gives the most foam. No frother? Pour the hot chocolate back and forth between two mugs a few times.
- Keep it below a boil. Boiling can scorch the milk on the bottom of the pan, and too much heat can split the cacao butter out into an oily film.
- Add a pinch of salt. A tiny pinch softens the bitterness, so taste before you add more sweetener.
- Scale it up. Use 20 g of cacao, 1 cup of milk and 1 tablespoon of sweetener per mug, and melt all the cacao in a little of the milk first. Hosting a crowd? Here is how to set up a hot chocolate bar.
- Keep it away from dogs. Cacao and chocolate are toxic to dogs, so keep your cup out of reach.
Common questions about cacao hot chocolate
Can I make hot chocolate with cacao powder instead?
You can, but it makes a thinner drink, because most of the cacao butter has been pressed out of powder. Whisk 1 to 2 tablespoons of cacao powder and your sweetener into a splash of warm milk until smooth, then whisk in the rest of 1 cup (240 ml) of hot milk, and use whole milk if you want more body. For a thick, glossy mug, use whole cacao paste instead.
Does cacao hot chocolate have caffeine?
A little. A mug made with 20 g of 100% cacao has about 16 to 32 mg of caffeine, a sixth to a third of the caffeine in a typical 8 oz cup of brewed coffee (about 95 mg). The low figure is USDA's; published lab data for baking chocolate run about twice as high, because cacao varies from bean to bean. Cacao's main stimulant is theobromine, a milder relative of caffeine: about 260 mg per mug, by USDA figures. Theobromine is a mild stimulant, so people sensitive to caffeine or other stimulants may feel it. If you are pregnant or nursing, take medication or manage a health condition, check with your healthcare provider first. More in our guide to caffeine in cacao.
Is cacao hot chocolate the same as hot cocoa?
Not quite, though the names overlap: in everyday use, hot cocoa and hot chocolate often mean the same drink. Hot cocoa is usually made by heating cocoa powder with milk or water, and cocoa powder, like cacao powder, has had most of its cacao butter pressed out. US standards put regular cocoa at 10 to 22 percent cacao fat, against 50 to 60 percent for finely ground cacao nibs, which is what whole cacao paste is. So a hot chocolate made with cacao powder is close to hot cocoa, while one made from whole cacao paste comes out thicker and richer. Our guide to cacao vs cocoa explains how the two words are used.
How much cacao goes into one mug of hot chocolate?
We use 20 g (about 2 tablespoons of pieces) per cup (8 oz, 240 ml) of milk, which makes a rich, chocolatey mug. For a lighter mug, use 10 g (about 1 tablespoon). A full ceremonial cup is a different, much stronger drink, made with about 40 g (40 to 42 g) of cacao.
How do I store leftover cacao hot chocolate?
It is best fresh, but leftovers keep. Cover it and put it in the fridge within 2 hours (it can go in while still warm), then use it within 3 to 4 days, in line with USDA guidance on leftovers. The cacao butter firms up and can separate as it chills, which is normal. Rewarm it gently to about 180°F, the heat of the recipe and above the 165°F USDA gives for reheating leftovers, whisking until smooth.
Why is my hot chocolate gritty or oily?
Gritty usually means the cacao did not fully melt, either because it went into too much milk at once or because the milk was not warm enough. Melt the pieces in a splash of milk first, and if a mug is already gritty, warm it a little more and whisk or froth again. An oily film usually means it got too hot and some of the cacao butter separated. Take it off the heat, froth it hard to bring it back together, and keep the heat gentler next time.
How Alma Cacao fits in
This recipe is written for Alma Cacao, our ceremonial cacao: 100% whole cacao paste, shaved into small pieces, with the cacao butter left in and nothing added. The pieces melt into warm milk in about a minute, with nothing to chop or grate. Our cacao is single-origin, from native communities of the Peruvian Amazon. It is tested for heavy metals (lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury) by an ISO 17025 accredited lab and made in a GMP certified facility.
The co-op we source from gives 2% back to the producer communities, and we donate another 2% of every sale to For the Love of Mateo. If you are new to it, the ½ lb Starter holds about 20 daily cups, or about 11 mugs of this 20 g recipe, and the 1 lb bag is our most popular size. US orders over $99 ship free.
