French Hot Chocolate
by Sommer Collier — last updated on Sep 24, 2024 
This simple 5-ingredient French Hot Chocolate Recipe, AKA Drinking Chocolate, is a Parisian favorite and a must-make for the holidays!
Why You’ll Love This French Hot Chocolate Recipe
Several months ago I had the opportunity to spend a week in Paris with a few friends. Traveling with a group of sweet tooths, I noticed that hot chocolate is a thing in Paris.
It’s everywhere.
Cafes. Bakeries. Sandwich shops. Chocolatiers. Tea shops. If you need a warm luxurious mug of French Hot Chocolate while in Paris, you can find one within a block or two, no doubt.
And if you have ever had a cup of hot chocolate from France, you are in luck. It will change your whole perspective on what good hot chocolate is. Good hot chocolate is made with real, quality chocolate, cream, and a little brown sugar for good measure. This hot chocolate recipe is for real chocolate lovers only!
Drinking Chocolate
Luxury is a prominent feeling when experiencing French Hot Chocolate for the first time.
It’s not thin and cocoa powder-based, like most American hot chocolates.
The Parisian variation, known as Chocolat Chaud, is most definitely a dense Drinking Chocolate. It is thinner than chocolate fondue or liquid ganache, yet not by much.
Ingredients You Need
My French Hot Chocolate Recipe requires only five simple ingredients:
- Good quality semisweet (or bittersweet) chocolate
- Milk
- Cream
- Brown sugar
- A little vanilla extract
I tried using only milk, only half-and-half, and then only heavy cream, but I found that this combination of whole milk and heavy cream provides just the right consistency to rival any mugful I tasted in Paris.
The key is to gently simmer and stir the ingredients until not a single unmelted speck of chocolate is present. The mixture must simmer until entirely smooth. Then it will thicken just a touch to the perfect velvety texture.
This French Hot Chocolate Recipe is the perfect after-dinner drink for your holiday feast.
Sip it by the fire for a romantic ending of a day (hopefully) filled with love and laughter.
Looking for More Decadent Drinks? Be Sure to Also Try:
- Drinking Caramel
- Mexican Atole de Elote
- Toffee Caramel Latte
- Best Chai Tea
- Horchata Recipe
- Hot Chocolate Bombs
- Hot Apple Cider Wassail Recipe
- Chocolate Brandy Latte
- Vietnamese Egg Coffee
- Hot Buttered Rum (Crock Pot)
- Mexican Mocha Recipe (Mexican Coffee)
French Hot Chocolate Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 8 ounces quality chocolate bars, semisweet or bittersweet
- 1 3/4 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Break the chocolate into pieces and place in a sauce pot. Set the pot over medium-low heat and add the milk, cream, brown sugar, and vanilla extract.
- Stir until the chocolate comes to a low simmer and the drinking chocolate is completely smooth and slightly thickened.
- The drinking chocolate should be substantially thicker than classic hot chocolate, but not as thick as chocolate fondue. If it is too thin, simmer a little longer. If it is too thick, add another 1/4 cup milk. Ladle into mugs and enjoy immediately.
Great hot chocolate! I used semi sweet morsels instead of bars. Was still wonderful!
i read the comments till i found what i wanted — an addition of 1/2 tsp. espresso powder is what i’ll be adding. most of the recipes i’ve seen use only milk, but i’m the kind of person who’s more likely to have heavy cream in the fridge than milk, so …
I just stumbled upon this recipe, I tried it immediately and as a French person… I loved it!
I rarely had such nice hot chocolate before! I usually make hot chocolate with only chocolate, milk and sugar but the cream definitely adds a little something.
I’ll make some again, for sure!
I appreciate the effort you made to share the post. The topic here i found was really effective to the topic which i was researching for a long time. Thank you for sharing.
Hi, I was just hoping for some clarification as I’m dying to try this. Higher up you say what’s needed and it says ‘good quality semi-sweet chocolate’ and then in the actual recipe you call for ‘bittersweet chocolate’…which is it actually, as they are rather different things. Thanks!
Hi Shirley,
Honestly, you can use either. Go with bittersweet chocolate, if you don’t have a huge sweet tooth, as it will cut down on the sugar. :)
It was definitely too sweet for me next time I’ll use dark chocolate and cut back on the sugar. But I loved it!! Perfect for this time of the year!
What chocolate do you recommend? I don’t normally buy it fir baking so I’ve no idea what yo buy.
Hi Diane,
Just buy good quality bars, whatever brand you prefer. :)
I would only want to be making enough for one serving but I’m not sure I could successfully reduce the ingredient quantities so that it would taste good. If I made the full batch, or maybe even half a batch, could the rest be refrigerated and then heated?
Hi Sharon,
Absolutely! We reheat it all the time. :)
Delicious….just a bit too sweet for me and I love sweet. Next time, I’ll either cut the amount of sugar or add more chocolate.
Ah this looks so delicious and the mugs are so cute!
This is amazing! I’m wondering…would you suggest some appetizers to go with this super rich treat? I was looking at your Spiced Apple meatballs that looked delish, but wasn’t sure if they would play well together ; )
I have being look for a long time for a hot cocoa that its creamy and amazing like the one of your recipe, so when I founded the pictures at Pinterest, holly cow! I finally made this hot cocoa and it is DI-VI-NE. Thank you SO much!!
Hi Ellie,
YAY! I’m so happy you liked it. We make it more than we should this time of year. ;)
This looks amazing! Would it work the same with white chocolate?
Hi Kala,
The consistency would be slightly different, but I don’t see why not. Let me know how it turns out if you try it!