Winter Warmer #7

By Olivia Wong

After Eight Peppermint hot chocolate

It’s that unusual time of the year, between Christmas and New Year, when our senses desert us and we have no idea what day it is, how we’re supposed to be spending our days and in the case of 2020, whether the entire year is just one bad, crazy dream that we’ll emerge from when we wake up on the 1st of January 2021. This general state of disorientation is crying out to be assuaged by something fancy – something like a classic dinner party treat. Yes, we’re talking about After Eight chocolate mints! Did you know that After Eights were originally made from dairy-free dark chocolate? With the end of the year rapidly approaching, why not treat yourself to a hot chocolate based on the sophisticated after-dinner mint of choice?

How to make

Ingredients (serves 4)

4 cups of milk
1.5 cups of chocolate chips
2 tbsp cocoa powder
3 tbsp white sugar
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
4 After Eight Chocolates (to garnish)
Whipping cream (to serve)
Chocolate sauce (to serve)

Method (Preparation time: 10 minutes; Cooking time: 15 minutes)

Heat the milk in a saucepan until warm.
Add in chocolate chips, extract, cocoa powder, and sugar. Stir continuously until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is hot. Take care to just heat the milk (and not boil it).
Pour the hot chocolate into cups and serve with whipping cream and After Eight chocolates. Drizzle some chocolate sauce on top.

A mug of After Eight Peppermint hot chocolate with whipped cream, chocolate sauce and an After Eight mint on a white kitchen worktop, with a slanted box of After Eight mints to its left, slightly behind. The mug has a picture of grass, with the words 'Whene the going gets tough, the tough get growing' superimposed in white.

N.B. To make this drink feel more authentic, I varied the recipe by adding an After Eight chocolate into the heated mixture (1 chocolate / person) as well as using fewer chocolate chips (30g / person) and omitting the sugar. Luckily, it still tastes delicious (and very sweet)! Do experiment according to your taste – variety is the spice of life!

P.S. Fancy a chance at winning a £10 Costa gift card?

Have a go yourself, take a picture and send us your Winter Warmer creations on Twitter @UoMHive or email me (jason.chu@manchester.ac.uk). We’ll be publishing a different hot drink recipe every day so try your hand at one you fancy!

The winning picture will be randomly selected from all entries received. Closing date for entries is 8th January.

(Feel free to make and submit as many different Winter Warmer drinks!)

Winter Warmer # 1: Minty Hot Chocolate Float

Winter Warmer # 2: Nutmeg and Orange Xmas Coffee

Winter Warmer # 3: Snowman Eggnog

Winter Warmer # 4: Terry’s Chocolate Orange hot chocolate

Winter Warmer # 5: Matcha Latte

Winter Warmer # 6: Ginger Pear tea

Winter Warmer # 7: After Eight Peppermint hot chocolate

Winter Warmer # 8: Mulled Apple Juice

*Bonus Winter Warmer* : Turmeric Milk with Honey and Ginger