Ok, so this is not in any shape or form a recipe utilising wild edibles, nor does it showcase any part of the seasonal wild larder. It does however, get you (and your wildlings) outside into the great outdoors and provides you with the ultimate comfort in winter beverages – cooked over an open fire. This is our super easy, family friendly deluxe fire hot chocolate made over the crackling embers and with a nifty little twist to give you that decadent feel.
Using real chocolate is the only way to make real hot chocolate – it makes everything super rich and creamy. This isn’t an everyday treat – so go all out, do it properly and enjoy it as a family. We highly recommend that you make your hot chocolate outdoors. If you can’t light a fire where you are, then try a portable gas stove to warm your ingredients.
Our nifty little trick for turning a hot chocolate into a deluxe fire hot chocolate is to froth the milk. To do that in the great outdoors, we are going to use an old cafetiere. By filling the cafetiere by a third with our warmed ingredients and pumping it up and down with the press, we create a thick foam to pour into the warm chocolatey milk to give us a super airy luxurious hot chocolate. Topped off with plenty of marshmallows toasted to utter perfection!
What could possibly be better?
700ml whole milk, or (Oatly Barista Edition for a non-dairy version)
250g dark chocolate (ideally in small chunks/buttons)
Large handful marshmallows, optional
Place the your chosen milk into an enamel saucepan, preferably with a pouring spout. Rake out the embers from the fire and place the milk onto a trivet to warm gently in the radiant heat.
Once the milk has heated through, add in the dark chocolate and allow it to melt for a minute or two. Whisk the melting chocolate into the milk. Whisk until completely combined.
Take your cafetiere and fill with the hot chocolate mix until it’s a third full. Place the plunger in and pump it up and down until it has at least doubled in volume – you will need to be quite vigorous to generate plenty of little bubbles.
Remove the plunger and gently tap the cafetiere base on a hard surface. This will pop the larger excess bubbles and make the frothed milk even smoother.
Fill your mugs up three quarters full and top up with the frothed milk, almost to the top of the mug. Remember to leave room for plenty of marshmallows!
Top each mug with marshmallows.
If you have one, use a blow torch and toast the marshmallows almost to the point of burning. You want the marshmallows to be crunchy and caramelised on the outside yet super gooey on the inside. Toast the marshmallows from the centre out and try to avoid the flame touching the mug as the intense heat might cause it to shatter.
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Warm the milk gently, to avoid burning the bottom of the pan – especially when you’ve added the chocolate.
If you use a blow torch to toast your marshmallows, do not allow the flame to touch the edge of the mugs otherwise it may crack.
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