Let’s Froth Milk for a Smooth Hot Chocolate Latte

Today, I’m frothing milk to make “Smooth Hot Chocolate Lattes.” A fun project! What is a latte? In a nutshell, it is strong coffee or espresso and frothed hot milk with perhaps a little whipped cream and sprinkles added on top. Sometimes flavorings are added. In Louisiana, this very similar to café au lait — which I absolutely love. So, I am experimenting with making “Hot Chocolate Lattes.” After all, it is winter and the cold winds are blowing here in Louisiana. Nothing tastes better than hot cocoa. Plus, I like that morning caffeine boost. It is all about frothing the milk. Last fall I made a “Pumpkin Spice Latte” which was delicious. But, I needed to find a better way to froth the milk. As luck would have it, I noticed a milk frother for $3.99 while shopping at Hobby Lobby — that All-American craft store. Who could pass up that gadget? Well, the gadget works and I have been making some crazy “Hot Chocolate Lattes.” My lattes are so smooth, I am pleased — and addicted.

A café au lait and latte drink are similar but not the same. Café au lait is 1:1 coffee and steaming milk. It is served in a short, white coffee cup — made for dipping beignets — however I have never seen anyone dipping powdered sugar beignets into the coffee. No foamed milk in a café au lait. It has been a favorite drink in New Orleans for years. A latte contains a small amount of espresso (or strong coffee), and larger amounts steamed milk and frothed milk. It is served in a tall glass and you can see distinct layers of coffee, milk and foam.

So, it is not latte without the milk foam. I don’t have an espresso maker for frothing milk and that has been my obstacle in making lattes. I’ve tried frothing milk by shaking it in a jar, using a high powdered smoothie maker and using an immersion blender. All of those techiques have had mixed results. This inexpensive ($3.99) milk frother really works. Did I mention that it needs 4-AA batteries? That takes the fun out of my bargain shopping “find.” But, I have made some really fine frothed milk.

This small appliance has two attachments — a frother and a whisk. To use the frother, dip it in the steaming milk, hold at and angle and turn it on. Whisk up and down and in circles until the milk is frothed. Turn it off and remove from milk. (So important…turn the frother off before removing from the milk.) The small frother is perfect for making one or two cups of latte and frothing small amounts of milk.

The whisk works the same way to beat heavy cream. The cream doesn’t have to be hot. Just beat the cream until it is thick as shown above. You may have to beat the cream for severam minutes — don’t give up.

You cannot, however, use this gadget in place of an immersion blender. I tried whisking a creamy buttermik salad dressing using my milk frother. The motor of this tiny gadget is just not strong enough. In addition, if you keep the motor running while only partially submerged in the dressing ingredients or while removing the frother/whisker beaters from the liquid, you will spatter the counter, walls and youself.

Remember, this gadget has batteries. You can’t put the motor in the dishwasher. The beaters detach and are dishwasher safe. However, I just washed the beaters by hand.

Hot Chocolate Latte Ingredients

To make the “Hot Chocolate Lattes”, you need strong coffee, chocolate of some sort, sweetner and hot, steaming milk. So many combinations of ingredients work here and I’ve tried them all. Whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles are optional.

For coffee, I’ve used brewed espresso beans (which is a dark roasted coffee bean), instant espresso powder and double-strength brewed Community coffee.

For sweetners, I’ve tried maple syrup (my favorite), Steen’s Cane Syrup and Sugar in the Raw (a turbinado sugar with a bown sugar flavor).

For chocolate, I’ve used Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup, Nestle’s Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels and cocoa powder. These Nestle’s plant-based chocolate morels are a new product on the market (my husband purchased them by mistake). They don’t contain milk and are intended to meet the desires of vegan cooks — otherwise there is no difference with traditional chocolate chips. I prefer not to use cocoa powder in my lattes unless absolutely necessary. Cocoa powder does not dissolve well in coffee. Plus, it leaves a bitter after taste. Hershey’s Syrup is so sweet, but the advantage is that it is easy to use.

Making Hot Chocolate Lattes

After making countless batches of hot chocolate lattes, I’ve developed a simple system for making them which works and results in a thick layer of foam. The lattes are smooth with just a small taste of chocolate and coffee. They aren’t too sweet. There is no bitter after taste.

I’ve made one cup of latte at a time as well as larger batches. For one cup, I use instant espresso granules. It is easy to keep the espresso granules frozen and remove just what I need. For a large batches of lattes, I brew either espresso or double strength coffee.

Here are the steps to make two cups of lattes. Although my recipe for the coffee/chocolate syrup makes six cups of lattes, for these photos, I only made two lattes using 15 oz mugs. I refrigerate the remainder of the coffee/chocolate syrup for later use.

First, Make espresso/chocolate syrup. Brew espresso coffee beans or double strength coffee. Transfer two cups of the espresso to a medium-sized sauce pan. Add the chocolate chips and maple syrup (or Steens syrup or Sugar in the Raw). Heat and stir until the chocolate chips are dissolved and distributed into the coffee. Pour approx 1/3 cup syrup into each of two mugs and refrigerate the remainder of the coffee/chocolate syrup to use the next day.

Second. Steam 1-1/3 cup of milk. Heat the milk in a small saucepan until bubbles form on the sides of the saucepan and steam escapes from the top. Do not boil. Pour only about 1/3 cup of the steaming milk into each of the two mugs. Stir to distribute the milk into the coffee.

Third. Using a milk foamer, foam the remainder of the steaming milk which is still in the saucepan.

Then carefully divide and pour the foamed milk into the latte mugs over the coffee/milk. Do not stir. The foamed milk will separate into layers. Sprinkle on chocolate spinkles.

The lattes are done! So easy.

Optionally, you can add stiff whipped heavy cream to the top of the lattes. It makes a special addition, but really is not necessary. As you can see, these mugs are full with the foamed milk.

For making one cup of latte, my process is essentially the same. I heat 1/3 cup water in a microwavable measuring cup. Then add instant espresso granules and Sugar in the Raw to the boiling water and stir to dissolve these ingredients. Next, stir in and dissolve the chocolate morsels. Pour into the latte mug. Then, heat 2/3 cup milk to steaming — adding half to the mug and stirring well. Foam the remainder of the milk and pour into the latte — this time don’t stir. Sprinke on chocolate spinkles.

NOTE: for larger lattes, heat one cup milk per latte. Increase the anount of coffee/chocolate syrup used to 1/2 cup per latte.

I am especially partial to drinking “Smooth Hot Chocolate Lattes” along with chocolate chip cookes. Enjoy these two treats on cold winter days. Nothing is better that hot chocolate with a espresso-caffeine boost. We’re in Louisiana! And it is cold, cold — 17 degrees F. Can you believe it?

I rarely shop at Hobby Lobby — it is a tempting store. I almost passed up the milk frother but just couldn’t resist this impulse purchase. For a prices of $3.99, I turned back around and grabbed the milk frother. It is a fun little gadget — and that’s what my blog is about. Now, I’m making hot lattes and drinking my milk and getting my calcium, too. Who could imagine that turn of events. Enjoy the recipe!