Earl Grey Hot Chocolate

Although it’s still warm in my area, I always feel the need to start making Fall and Winter recipes this time of year. It’s just ingrained in me. When I came across this Earl Grey Hot Chocolate I knew I had to give it a try. I love Earl Grey tea, and we always have some in the house. But mixing it into hot chocolate? Now that sounded interesting!

Thick, rich, and decadent, you’ll love each delicious sip of this Earl Grey hot chocolate.

Recipe Author: Jee Choe at Oh How Civilized
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The Ingredients

As I mentioned, I had the Earl Grey teabags or sachets as this recipe calls them. I also had sugar and salt and some leftover heavy cream. That meant all I had to buy was some milk and dark chocolate. Easy!

Unfortunately, I didn’t pay attention to the chocolate’s packaging. It was only 3.5 ounces, and this recipe calls for 5 ounces. I didn’t realize this until I was standing at the counter with a saucepan of milk and cream warming on the stove. Doh!

Earl Grey Hot Chocolate Ingredients
Dark chocolate, Earl Grey tea sachets, milk, salt, sugar, and cream

The Process

Making this Earl Grey Hot Chocolate recipe was simple, but I managed to mess it up. And it was not the recipe’s fault. Lack of sleep and lots of stress might have had something to do with it. I considered re-making it, but I decided not to. I didn’t have time, and I hoped someone could learn from my mistakes.

Mistake 1: Not Enough Dark Chocolate

So I have the milk and heavy cream warming over relatively low heat on the stove. It’s only then that I realize I need more dark chocolate, and I panic a little. Then I do what I always do in these situations and search for a dark chocolate substitute.

I didn’t have time to properly research this (tick tock), so I took the first suggestion of using 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder per ounce of chocolate. I missed the part about adding extra sugar and butter. Not that I would have added butter, but the sugar would have been a good idea.

Still, I soldiered on, steeping the tea bags in the warmed milk, grating a little chocolate for the garnish, and finishing up the rest of the prep work. The tea was still steeping, so I moved on to the cream topping. And my second mistake.

Chopped dark chocolate
Chopped dark chocolate

Mistake 2: Over-Whipping the Cream

I don’t have a milk frother, but the recipe notes said an immersion blender could be used instead. Great–I have one!

All I had to do was mix the remaining cream with some sugar for a few seconds, and I would have the topping. Sounds easy enough, but I overdid it. Maybe the immersion blender was too powerful? I honestly don’t know since I have never used a milk frother. It’s impossible for me to compare the two.

I ended up with something more like whipped cream than a foam topping. I hoped it would lose some cohesion while I finished the hot chocolate, but it didn’t. It still worked when I spooned it onto the finished hot chocolate, though.

Finishing Up

The tea finished steeping a few minutes later, and I removed the bags and put the pan back on the heat. Then I added the chocolate, sugar, and salt along with about 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder.

The chocolate melted in nicely, but the cocoa powder created tiny little clumps. I decided to remove the bits of powder by straining it through a fine mesh strainer as I poured it into the mugs. It worked pretty well.

Then I spooned in the whipped cream topping and sprinkled on some of the grated chocolate. The whole process took me 24 minutes versus the 18 listed.

So how was it?

Clear & Accurate Directions
Accurate Time(s)
Appearance
Taste
Despite the mistakes I made, this Earl Grey Hot Chocolate was delicious! There's something unexpectedly good about the bergamot flavor of Earl Grey tea mixed with dark chocolate. This recipe is one I want to make again, and correctly this time. First, I didn't buy enough dark chocolate and substituted cocoa powder. It was a little bitter, but some extra sugar mixed into the mugs fixed it right up. I also over-blended the cream and it ended up more like whipped cream instead of the foam topping I was expecting. I'm sure this was because I used an immersion blender instead of a milk frother. None of these issues was the recipe's fault--strictly me not paying attention. It's a testament to how good the recipe it is that I could mess it up and still end up with a tasty mug of hot chocolate!
The Hungry Pinner
The Hungry Pinnerhttps://www.hungrypinner.com
I'm Candice, and I'm The Hungry Pinner. I created this blog to share my love for cooking and my experiences with the MANY recipes I've found on Pinterest over the years. Join me as I blog my way through those recipes to find out if they are worth trying yourself.

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Despite the mistakes I made, this Earl Grey Hot Chocolate was delicious! There's something unexpectedly good about the bergamot flavor of Earl Grey tea mixed with dark chocolate. This recipe is one I want to make again, and correctly this time. First, I didn't buy enough dark chocolate and substituted cocoa powder. It was a little bitter, but some extra sugar mixed into the mugs fixed it right up. I also over-blended the cream and it ended up more like whipped cream instead of the foam topping I was expecting. I'm sure this was because I used an immersion blender instead of a milk frother. None of these issues was the recipe's fault--strictly me not paying attention. It's a testament to how good the recipe it is that I could mess it up and still end up with a tasty mug of hot chocolate!Earl Grey Hot Chocolate