If you’re like us, you grew up drinking hot cocoa out of a packet, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But if you’ve never made hot cocoa from scratch using something as rich and creamy as sheep milk, you’re missing out! Homemade hot cocoa only requires a few basic ingredients, and takes a only a few minutes to make.
Our sheep milk hot cocoa recipe can be made using fresh milk. It also works equally well using frozen milk. As you might know from previous blog articles, sheep only lactate seasonally, but sheep milk freezes well without any loss of quality. This means that you can have delicious creamy beverages like fresh hot cocoa outside of milking season. Simply defrost the frozen milk prior to using it.
Additionally, we find that you can easily make a large batch of cocoa and then store it in the refrigerator for several days. Simply reheat as desired. Here is our favorite sheep milk hot cocoa recipe. We encourage you to give it a try this winter.
Ingredients:
½ cup brown sugar (you can also use granulated)
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ tsp salt
4 cups sheep milk (you can use fresh or defrosted frozen milk)
1 tsp vanilla
Directions:
In a small sauce pan combine all the ingredients together except the vanilla.
Place over low heat. As the milk mixture is heating, use a whisk to stir the chocolate in. Whisk until the chocolate is incorporated, the sugar is completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Continue to heat until the mixture is steaming. Make sure to stir the hot cocoa regularly as it is heating to prevent scorching the milk. Do not allow it to boil.
Once the mixture is hot, remove from heat, stir in the vanilla and pour into mugs to serve. Feel free to stir in any add-ins you desire at this point. Whipped cream, peppermint candies, marshmallows and chocolate shavings all make great additions. Or for cinnamon fans, steep the cocoa with a cinnamon stick.
If you wish to make a large batch to store:
Heat the milk mixture up just enough to melt the sugar and chocolate. Make sure both the sugar and chocolate are fully incorporated and that the mixture is whisked smooth. Then turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla.
Allow the hot cocoa to cool to room temperature before putting it into the refrigerator. As the mixture is cooling you should whisk it regularly. When you heat and cool sheep milk it tends to form a thick skin on the surface as it cools, much more so than cow’s milk. This skin can easily be eliminated by periodically whisking it back into the milk until the mixture is smooth.
Once the mixture has cooled, it can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for several days. To serve, you will need to stir or shake the hot cocoa thoroughly. Then simply pour into mugs and reheat in the microwave.
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