Marzipan and cinnamon hot chocolate

December is definitely my favourite month. I love what it brings: the chill outside, the snow, the traditional German Christmas markets, family gatherings…My love of December is so great I chose to get married on this month two years ago. Call me crazy but to me there’s nothing more romantic than a winter wedding.

And December would not be December without a hot drink to warm our cold bones and help us relax after a long day, right? I will be openly frank here and say that I am being bad. I’ll tell you why: I was planning on posting a recipe of traditional mulled wine to share with all of you but I decided to be a little selfish. Selfish because mulled wine contains alcohol and, dear readers, I am teetotal at the moment as I am breastfeeding.

I guess I could have made a litre of mulled wine and just photograph it for the blog. Or let my husband loose with it. But it is Christmas time, a time for sharing. Plus it would be so sad to make mulled wine and not have a drop to drink. So I have adapted a delicious recipe of marzipan hot chocolate from the book Silke Kobr and I loved the result. If you do miss an alcoholic component Rum or Amaretto give great results when added as they compliment chocolate very well. For those who might find it hard to source marzipan don’t fret as the home made version is super easy.

I promise you your winter nights will be so much better with this hot chocolate.

Marzipan and cinnamon hot chocolate (makes 2-3 cups)

500ml milk

30g marzipan, chopped

75g dark chocolate (60% cocoa solids), chopped

1 tbsp cocoa powder 

1 tsp cinnamon tea

For the homemade marzipan:

100g almonds

100g icing sugar

10ml rose water

Method:

1. If you’re going for homemade marzipan start with that. Place the almonds in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let them soak for 10 minutes. Drain the water, place them on a tea towel and remove the skins. Ground them in a food processor until it turns into a paste. Mix the paste with the sugar and rose water and cook it on a low heat, mixing until it resembles a dough. Shape it into a long roll, cover with cling film and chill for 1 hour.

2. Heat the milk in a pan, add the marzipan, cocoa and cinnamon. Using a blender or food processor beat the milk and marzipan mixture until the marzipan is completely incorporated. Take it back to the hob on a low heat. Add the dark chocolate and mix well. Serve it hot.

I like to froth this drink a little before serving so that you can get a nice fluffy layer on top and sprinkle some more chocolate on top.