With the cold weather finally settling in, something hot and sweet is what is need to keep warm. While the adults sip their tea and coffee, youngsters too can have their own special drink more suited for their growing needs.

Hot chocolate is the ideal drink to have at any time of the day or night in winter. It is made in many ways, with as few and as many ingredients as people fancy. The main and consistent ones are milk and chocolate in some form, the rest of the things — such as cream, Marshmallows, cinnamon powder, vanilla extract, cookies, nuts, etc — are up to individual taste.

Here is a simple, yet very different, recipe of red velvet hot chocolate, that is very easy to make, though children are advised to seek help from adults as it needs heating the mixture on stove.

Traditionally, people add cream to this, either when heated or in the form of whipped cream on top, but I find it very heavy and dense so I skipped it. Chocolate itself is calorie-laden and the cream becomes a bit over the top for me. But you can try it if you like.

So let’s get to making it.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups milk (any kind you like)

• 1/3 cup white chocolate (or to taste)

• 1 tablespoon sugar (optional)

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/2 teaspoon red food colour

• Marshmallows for topping

Method

On medium flame, heat milk in a pan, add sugar and white chocolate. I melted the chocolate a bit in the microwave by heating it for 40 seconds.

Stir a bit and add vanilla essence and about half a teaspoon of red food colour. You can adjust the amount according to the intensity of the colour you need.

Now bring it to a boil and let it simmer for about a minute or so on low heat. Pour it onto a cup and top with some Marshmallows and cake sprinkles to give a cakey effect.

Note: Whipped cream can be added on top and to give it a more cakey taste, you can add about a tablespoon or two of red velvet cake mix when cooking.

You can refrigerate this and only heat and whisk it well to serve later on.

Published in Dawn, Young World, December 21st, 2019