Rich, spicy hot chocolate a decadent treat

Advertisement

Advertise with us

Today for Homemade Holidays, we have a spicy and satisfying stovetop hot chocolate recipe from Free Press reader Sandy Rubinfeld. Hot tip: if you don’t finish the whole pot, you can store the leftovers in the fridge and mix it into your morning coffee for a fancy faux-mocha — make sure to stir well, as the hot chocolate thickens further in the cold.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/06/2024 (834 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Today for Homemade Holidays, we have a spicy and satisfying stovetop hot chocolate recipe from Free Press reader Sandy Rubinfeld. Hot tip: if you don’t finish the whole pot, you can store the leftovers in the fridge and mix it into your morning coffee for a fancy faux-mocha — make sure to stir well, as the hot chocolate thickens further in the cold.

“This is the very best hot chocolate I have ever tasted! It is perfect for a chilly Winnipeg winter day. It is incredibly rich, like a hot chocolate pudding, so I save it for rare occasions. I came across it decades ago in The Vegetarian Epicure Book Two. It is authentic to northern Spain,” writes Sandy.

Castilian Hot Chocolate

Submitted by Sandy Rubinfeld

Ingredients

  • 125 ml (½ cup) unsweetened powdered cocoa
  • 250 ml (1 cup) sugar
  • 35 ml (7 tsp) cornstarch
  • 125 ml (½ cup) water
  • 1 litre (4 cups) milk
  • 1 ml (⅛ tsp) red pepper flakes (optional)
  • 5 ml (1 tsp) cinnamon (optional)

Directions

  1. Mix the cocoa and sugar together.
  2. Dissolve the cornstarch in lukewarm water. Combine this with the cocoa-sugar mixture in a medium-sized saucepan. Stir until it forms a smooth paste.
  3. Slowly begin heating this mixture. Continuously stir with a whisk. Gradually pour in the milk. Continue stirring, as you bring it to a simmer.
  4. Simmer, stirring often, for at least 10 minutes. If using, you can add the cinnamon and red pepper flakes at this point.

The cocoa is ready when it thickens, and is a glossy, smooth, rich chocolate colour. The consistency should be like a chocolate pudding that didn’t quite set.

eva.wasney@winnipegfreepress.com

Eva Wasney

Eva Wasney
Arts Reporter

Eva Wasney is a reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press.

Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.

Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.

Report Error Submit a Tip

More Stories

Kinew adds cabinet portfolio to focus on first responders

Carol Sanders and Nicole Buffie 5 minute read Preview

Kinew adds cabinet portfolio to focus on first responders

Carol Sanders and Nicole Buffie 5 minute read Yesterday at 3:47 PM CDT

Premier Wab Kinew shuffled his cabinet Monday and created a new ministerial position that will oversee first responders in the province.

Kinew appointed David Pankratz, the MLA for Waverley, as minister responsible for first responder initiatives.

Tuxedo MLA Carla Compton was appointed minister responsible for accessibility, taking over the role from Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine.

The new ministers were sworn in at a ceremony at the legislature Monday afternoon.

Read
Yesterday at 3:47 PM CDT

Province helping youths leaving CFS system with three-month EIA ‘unconditional income’

Nicole Buffie 2 minute read Preview

Province helping youths leaving CFS system with three-month EIA ‘unconditional income’

Nicole Buffie 2 minute read Yesterday at 4:29 PM CDT

The province is making it easier for youths transitioning out of care to access employment income assistance.

Conditions on benefits will be waived for three months, to create a “time-limited, unconditional income,” Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine said Monday.

The changes will allow for direct enrolment on income assistance upon aging out of care, Fontaine said.

“The data tells us young adults exiting care disproportionately experience homelessness and insecure housing,” she said. “Financial insecurity is a key contributor to housing insecurity.”

Read
Yesterday at 4:29 PM CDT

First Manitoba-U.K. Defence Summit begins

Free Press staff 1 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

United Kingdom delegates from the aerospace and defence sector are visiting Winnipeg this week for the first Manitoba-U.K. Defence Summit.

Industry executives will discuss trade, investment and collaboration with their Manitoba counterparts, according to a Manitoba Aerospace & Defence news release.

The group started with a conference at the Manitoba Club on Monday. Today, United Kingdom leaders will visit Boeing Winnipeg, StandardAero and Magellan Aerospace, the news release says.

The summit is being led by the Canada-Manitoba Defence Alliance, which the provincial government launched earlier this month.

Northern style

AV Kitching 7 minute read Preview

Northern style

AV Kitching 7 minute read Tuesday, Sep. 15, 2026

North of North is partnering with the Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq to celebrate the way it has propelled authentic northern fashion into the global spotlight at the gallery’s special edition of Crafted on the Catwalk tonight, featuring fashion and design from Manitoba, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, Nunatsiavut and Nunavik.

Arnaquq-Baril and series stars Anna Lambe and Zorga Qaunaq spoke to the Free Press ahead of tonight’s catwalk show.

Read
Tuesday, Sep. 15, 2026

No dog? No problem Local program offers offices pup for a day

AV Kitching 4 minute read Preview

No dog? No problem Local program offers offices pup for a day

AV Kitching 4 minute read Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025

Brandt and Paisley are raring to start their new jobs.

They’ve passed their assessment tests, aced their personality evaluations, received all the relevant vaccinations and are getting ready to greet their colleagues at their respective places of employment.

But instead of hellos and handshakes, they’ll most likely be giving their co-workers tail wags and face licks. Not that anyone in the office will mind.

The doggie duo are part of Business Buddies, a new program from the city’s Animal Services Agency which sees canines in the facility spending the afternoon with local businesses.

Read
Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025

Night terrors

AV Kitching 7 minute read Preview

Night terrors

AV Kitching 7 minute read Monday, Oct. 20, 2025

Before we go any further, let me just unequivocally state: Six Pines is not for the weak.

I was so terrified my mind has effectively erased the entire experience.

I shall do my best to give you a comprehensive, cohesive review of the night my friend and I visited, but please forgive the lack of detail.

What you are about to read are snatches of memories, dragged kicking and screaming from the depths of my fear-addled brain, which is, even as I type, trying to block all attempts of retrieval.

Read
Monday, Oct. 20, 2025