Chili Hot Chocolate
Real chocolate melted into hot milk, with chili flakes doing the warming from the inside.
- calories
- 430
- weight
- 3.2 oz
- cal / oz
- 134
- protein
- 9 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 6 min
- total time
- 8 min
- water
- 250 ml boiled
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Drink
- Dessert
- Canister stove
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Liquid fuel
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Winter / snow
- Basecamp
- Vegetarian
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Whole milk powder | 5 tbsp | reconstitutes to about 250 ml; full-fat, not skim |
|---|---|---|
| Dark baking chocolate | 50 g | chopped at home into small pieces so it melts fast |
| Dried chili flakes | 1/4 tsp | start smaller than you think |
| Sugar | 1 tsp | optional, depends on the chocolate |
| Salt | a pinch |
Method
- Pour 250 ml of water into the pot and whisk in the milk powder with your spoon until no lumps float.
- Add the chili flakes and heat on low. Do not walk away; milk scorches on a stove that only has one setting.
- When it steams and just starts to move, pull it off the flame and dump in the chopped chocolate.
- Stir until the pot goes smooth and dark. Add sugar and salt to taste.
- Let it sit a minute if you want more heat from the chili, less if you don't.
The original is made with fresh milk and topped with whipped cream, which is a fridge problem. Whole milk powder solves it: the fat is still there, so the chocolate has something to melt into and the drink comes out thick rather than watery. Instant cocoa mix would not work the same way — it is mostly sugar and starch, and it cannot carry 50 grams of chocolate.
Heat control is the whole game. Milk on a canister stove goes from steaming to scorched in seconds, and burnt milk solids ruin the pot and the drink. Take it off the flame before it boils and let residual heat do the melting. Chili flakes steep as it sits, so the longer it waits, the hotter it gets.
Packing
Milk powder, sugar, and salt premixed in one small bag. Chocolate chopped and bagged separately, chili flakes in a tiny vial. Chocolate in a jacket pocket in cold weather, deep in the pack in warm.
Variations
- Cayenne or a pinch of ground chipotle in place of flakes gives even heat instead of a slow build.
- A little cinnamon alongside the chili leans it toward Mexican-style cocoa.
- Powdered coconut milk instead of dairy makes it vegan and adds fat.
https://www.friluftsmat.no/post/varm-sjokolade-med-chili-p%C3%A5-primus