Luxe Spiked Frozen Hot Chocolate Recipe

Hot chocolate may feel like it belongs in the purview of children's treats, but there's nothing about this luxe spiked frozen hot chocolate recipe that feels childish. This frosty, rich, and creamy drink feels as sophisticated as it is spirited. 

According to Ksenia Prints of My Mocktail Forest, this drink takes inspiration from the milkshakes of our childhood, but goes many steps further. With a base of rich, dark chocolate, extra dark Dutch-processed cocoa powder, whole milk, and a healthy glug of bourbon, it is truly layered and complex in flavor. And the luxurious touch that takes this drink over the top is whipped cream, just like we used to love, but crowned not with an overly sweet cherry but with a rich smattering of more dark chocolate, which forms a nice contrast to the sweetness of the cream. 

The resulting drink is the perfect balance between bitter and sweet, a wonderful cross between a cocktail and dessert. If you love malted chocolate milk, you're going to love this boozy take on the frozen hot chocolate.

To make this boozy cold hot chocolate, you'll need a good, high-cacao dark chocolate of at least 72% cacao, some Dutch-processed cocoa powder, sugar, whole milk, ice, bourbon, a coffee liqueur like Kahula or otherwise, and salt. For the topping, we love going with some prepared whipped cream and chocolate shavings, likely from the same bar that you melted for the drink itself.

Bring a saucepan of water to a boil.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over the simmering water.

Whisk in the cocoa powder and sugar until incorporated.

Gradually add the milk, stirring until smooth, and then let the chocolate mixture cool completely.

Combine the chocolate mixture, ice, bourbon, coffee liqueur, and salt in a high-powered blender.

Blend until smooth and frothy, approximately 30 seconds.

Pour into chilled glasses.

Garnish with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

Serve immediately with a straw.

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If your frozen spiked chocolate becomes a warm mess, then the point of the entire drink is moot. To keep this boozy drink feeling truly luxe, you'll need to take a few precautions to keep the drink perfectly frosty. The good news is, we promise you it's not that difficult.

First, the most important thing to keep in mind is that you want to maintain a 2:1 ice-to-liquid ratio. Going rogue on this will result in either a too-watery or too-solid consistency. For the best results, use ice directly from the freezer when blending, as partially melted ice will dilute the mixture. The type of ice you use also matters.

Next, you'll want to pre-chill your glasses for at least 30 minutes in the freezer prior to pouring in your cocktail. This will help stop the drink from starting to melt as soon as it's added to the glass. Plus, you can even prepare the chocolate base in advance and refrigerate it, then blend with ice and alcohol just before serving. If you don't finish the whole drink, transfer any unused portion to an insulated container and keep it in the freezer rather than leaving it at room temperature.

You can definitely make this frozen hot chocolate non-boozy, and most likely, no one will even notice the difference. Simply substitute strong cold brew coffee in place of the bourbon to get the same bitter bite, and use 1 ounce of chocolate syrup in place of the coffee liqueur. 

If you can't find Dutch-processed cocoa powder, you can also use natural cocoa powder, though you'll need to increase the sugar slightly to balance it out. If you need to make this dairy-free, sub the whole milk with oat milk or macadamia milk for the best texture. You can also use vegan chocolate chips in place of the dark chocolate to make it vegan. 

Finally, another thing we love to do is to add ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon and a pinch of cayenne when melting the chocolate. This gives it a spiced edge that feels even more adult. 

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