Wednesday 9 December 2015

DIY | Black Forest Hot Chocolate | prettylittlewriter

When the winter months arrive, there is nothing I like more than having a delicious hot chocolate to warm me up. 


Every year, Costa reveal their winter menu, and they have some absolutely delightful flavours! This year they brought out their classic Black Forest Hot Chocolate, along with White Hot Chocolate and a new addition of Caramel Fudge Hot Chocolate.

I was sad to see they were not doing the Chocolate Orange flavour they did last year, however, their Black Forest is also a firm favourite of mine.
It can be very costly buying one of Costa's drinks every day before work, and sometimes impossible if there is no Costa in the vicinity, therefore I decided to find the ingredients to make my very own!

 I noticed on one of my many visits to Costa, that the syrups they use are by a brand called Monin. I looked the brand up online and found a UK website called syrupsandstuff.co.uk

They have every flavour you could possibly need, ranging from mint, tiramisu and white chocolate, through to some alcoholic flavourings for extra jazz in an evening.

 I had previously looked up a Black Forest recipe online, and they recommended the Blackberry syrup, as the exact syrup they use in Costa (Blackberry & Cherry) is not available to purchase separately at the moment. I did however, manage to find the blackberry and cherry flavour in a Festive set which I purchased from Costa, available in all stores currently. This however, was only a small bottle, so I save that for garnish rather than flavour.







The recipe online specified that you use Cocoa Powder instead of hot chocolate already prepared, as it doesn't take away the flavour of the syrup like the ready made hot chocolate would.

You will need:
Cocoa Powder (1 heaped tsp)
Milk (A mug 3/4 full)
Monin Blackberry syrup (1tbsp)
Squirty cream
Marshmallows
A drizzle of blackberry & cherry syrup

Method

Begin by pouring your milk into your mug of choice about 3/4 of the way full, and then pouring the milk into a pan to heat on the hob. This is the best way to measure the amount of milk you need for the size of your mug. 

I chose to use this gorgeous Christmas mug from Tesco; only £1.50!


Then pour 1tbsp of the Blackberry Syrup into the mug; add more if you want a stronger flavour.



As the milk heats, make sure to stir so it does not curdle, and add your heaped tsp of cocoa powder into the milk once you can see it is warm. 



Once the cocoa powder is fully dissolved and well heated, pour the mixture into your mug, giving it a little stir to mix in the syrup with the milk and cocoa.


Once you have poured the hot cocoa into your mug, squirt some cream around the top of the cocoa and then sprinkle some marshmallows on the top. The final element is adding a little dribble of Blackberry and Cherry syrup over the marshmallows and cream. 




I find this tastes almost exactly the same as the one Costa produces, however they do not use marshmallows for this drink and they also use an actually Cherry Sauce rather than another syrup on top.

I really enjoy this drink, it tastes absolutely delicious and I love that I can now make my own Black Forest Hot Chocolate without breaking the bank every day!

I would love to see if any of you have also made your own Jazzy hot chocolates this year! Leave a comment below and I will check them out! 



Monday 7 December 2015

A Festive Apology | prettylittlewriter


To all my lovely followers (if you haven't forgotten me) I am so incredibly sorry for being MIA for so long. I have had an incredibly busy month or so since I last posted, and I am here to explain myself.


It is now the festive season, my second favourite time of year! And during these past few weeks I have begun working at Lloyds Bank as a Customer Service Assistant. That is why I have been absent for such a long time, it has been super busy due to it being so close to Christmas, but it has been a wonderful new experience, with lots of learning and meeting fellow colleagues. I really enjoy my new workplace and the company of those I work with. 

However, I am determined to not let my new job get in the way of my love for blogging! Therefore, I am going to try my hardest to upload every week, to begin it may only be twice, maybe three times a week, but for now that is all I can hope for!

I hope you can all forgive me, and I hope you are all enjoying the run up to Christmas so far! I have completely finished my shopping; I'd actually finished before December even started! 

Look forward to hearing from you all, and see you in a couple of days with another post!