Decadently Thick Italian Hot Chocolate is rich, thick, and full of real chocolate. It is not for the faint of heart, but is the kind of hot chocolate you make when you want to truly indulge!
Did anyone else grow up watching Willy Wonka, coveting a swim in his chocolate river? Fret over Augustus getting stuck in the pipe and being turned into fudge? Well friends, imagine yourselves gliding through that river of chocolate, taking large gulps along the way, with no fear of being sent to the fudge room. This here is your personal chocolate river. This hot chocolate is the most decadent you could possibly imagine. It is thick, but not overly so, making it glide down and coat your throat with chocolate. Amazingly enough, this is also great cold. It might even be better, if that is possible. Be prepared to feel torn on whether to drink your whole glass while it is hot, or to save some to have cold the next morning. Get ready to swim luxuriously through this river of hot or cold chocolate!
Milk Options for Decadently Thick Italian Hot Chocolate:
If you do not drink milk, you can use your favorite lactose-free or plant-based milk substitute. While you might be tempted to try using heavy cream to make it even thicker, we do not recommend it as it becomes more of a pudding-like consistency.
Tips for Heating Milk:
When it comes to heating milk, gentle and slow is the way to go. If milk gets too much heat, or heats to quickly it can scorch. Yes, you can burn milk and it is pretty gross. Stirring constantly helps prevent scorching because it keeps the liquid flowing so that none of it should be touching the sides of the pan long enough for scorching to occur.
Butter:
You can use either salted or unsalted butter in your hot chocolate.
Chocolate Options:
Feel free to adjust the darkness of the chocolate by the type of chocolate you use. Some prefer all milk chocolate, while others prefer it to be quite dark. Personally, we like to use a mixture of semi-sweet and milk chocolate. You can go lighter, darker, or mix and match for your perfect taste. You can even use white chocolate chips for a fun twist!
Make Ahead Instructions:
If you want to make your hot chocolate ahead of time, simply transfer the finished hot chocolate into a slow cooker set to warm. It will last for approximately 2 hours this way.
Storage and Reheating Instructions:
Refrigerate leftovers for up to 4 days. Serve cold or hot. If desired, reheat on the stove in a saucepan over medium-low heat until warmed through.
If you like this recipe, you may be interested in these other delicious beverage recipes:
- Easy Mexican Horchata
- Caramelized Cinnamon Hot Chocolate
- Slow Cooker Apple Cider
- Old Fashioned Homemade Eggnog
Watch the video below where Rachel will walk you through every step of this recipe. Sometimes it helps to have a visual, and we’ve always got you covered with our cooking show. You can find the complete collection of recipes on YouTube, Facebook Watch, or our Facebook Page, or right here on our website with their corresponding recipes.
I was craving something that was easy and had chocolate in it when I woke up at 5 this morning. This hit the spot. The butter makes this drink so decadent and rich, absolutely beautiful taste. I also only used 2 tbsp of sugar and I still found it sweet but, to each his own. Would highly recommend. Thank you, stay at home chef.
finally! this hot chocolate is just as amazing as it was in rome! thanks for sharing ?
A dream come true! It’s going to be really hard not to make this too often. I LOVE it!! Thank you, Rachel, for this and all of your recipes. I collect cookbooks and have over 120 of them. They now include notebooks, labeled “Rachel Farnsworth Recipes.” They are my go-to recipe sources!
Omg. This is some good stuff. This is exactly how I would imagine Willy Wonka’s Chocolate River would taste.
My six-year-old also went crazy and my younger sister… and my other sister, and her partner lol.
This might sound crazy but If you add one or two shots of vodka it’s fantastic! I had a chocolate vodka martini somewhere and it was wonderful and I’ve been trying to recreate it since. Your recipe works perfectly
This is really good, and easy. However if using chocolate chips, which already have sugar in them, in my opinion 4 T sugar is too much. I used 3 T and still thought it was too sweet.
Helpful, thank you Deb.
thank you for that
This is the most wonderful liquid chocolate EVER! I’ll make it a thousand times!
Warm, rich, decadent. I even added a little espresso when boiling.
Thank you for sharing this amazingly delicious recipe!
This espresso idea sounds lovely, thanks Cyndra.?
All I can say is Amazingly Awesome!! Super thick and rich!
To make it Mexican hot chocolate ad cinnamon. Yummy!Y
Can’t wait to make this. I love chocolate!!
Would it be ok to use a crock pot on low or warm?
Yes, I’ve made it and kept it warm in a crockpot.