hot chocolate sundaes (aka hot chocolate affogato)

Friends I'm gonna keep this short because I'm not wearing any pants, it's cold and have some partying to do. (Don’t worry I'm gonna party with some pants.)

Behold I give you: Hot chocolate sundaes (think affogato, hot chocolate style).

Steaming thick cup of not-too-sweet hot bubbly chocolate, topped with cold creamy ice cream. The way it all melts together is a swirly dream. It’s rich, so a little goes a long way and it's incredible and incredibly EASY to make. Like, it's exactly what you want this holiday season because, everything.

You know how it's tradition to serve pie and coffee after Christmas dinner? Um, please replace that with this. (We don't do coffee in our fam, we do coco, but like, hello, this is an elevated no-brainer for all parties involved here.)

I LOVE YOU LIKE I LOVE THIS COCOA.

Please make, sip and love me for it. xo

This post was created in sponsorship with Eagle Brand, I looooooove Eagle brand's products.Please know I will never partner with a product I don't absolutely LOVE. xo

hot chocolate sundaes (think affogato)

Not too sweet, thick hot chocolate served with scoops of your favorite ice cream. It's basically the best excuse to drink cocoa, and eat ice cream at the same time. Swirl happy. xo

• 4 ounces / 115g unsweetened chocolate (chopped)

• 1 cup / g sweetened condensed milk (caramelized (but not a deal breaker if you don't have time to do this))

• <strong>1 to 1 ½ </strong> cups whole milk (preferably organic and grass fed :) )

• 1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

• <strong>½ to 1</strong> teaspoon espresso powder (optional)

• pinch kosher salt

• 2 pints <strong> of your favorite store bought ice cream</strong> (i love peppermint, coffee and vanilla for this)

to caramelize the sweetened condensed milk (Can be done days ahead of time):

1. Place a can of sweetened condensed milk (SCM) in a large pot with a heavy bottom. Fill a large pot with water until it completely covers the can. Bring the water to a boil, and let it gently boil for about 3-8 hours. Make sure the water is completely covering the top of the can at all times.

2. You can do this with multiple cans in the water at a time. (I’ve done about 3 at once.)

3. Let the cans completely cool before opening. Like completely cool meaning they're not warm at all.

4. The caramelized SCM can stay in the can like this until ready for use. Or if that freaks you out, you can scoop and store the milk in some clean glass jars with a lid - kept in the fridge until use.

<strong>to make the magical cocoa: </strong>

1. In a medium sized saucepan over low-ish heat, melt together the caramelized sweetened condensed milk (SCM) and chocolate until melted together. This mixture will be really thick - almost like fudge. As soon as it’s melted together whisk in salt, vanilla or espresso powder and 1 to 1 ½ cups of milk. Add the milk slowly, but whisk with enthusiasm to blend it all together. 

2. bakers note: I found that I needed 1 ½ cups of milk when making this with caramelized sweetened condensed milk vs. not caramelized. However thick you want to make the cocoa is up to you - but I like it a little on the thick side so it seems more like a sundae treat? The ice cream thins it all quite a bit too, so keep that in mind.

3. Let the mixture get hot, but absolutely not boil. Whisk frequently to prevent the bottom from burning.

4. Once hot, serve in small cups (about ½ cup of cocoa per serving) with a scoop of ice cream and a spoon. My favorite flavors of ice cream with this are peppermint, vanilla and coffee.

5. bakers tip: Make sure your guests are ready and your ice cream is already scooped and ready before you pour. This melts fast. I would scoop, serve, scoop serve. You want your people to be able to tell there were scoops of ice cream in there once when they get their cup you know?

6. Happy sipping and swirling. xo