Make a cup of ‘proper’ cocoa

An old-fashioned, traditional mug of coziness

My mum used to make me cocoa in the winter months, as a way to help me sleep. It works.

I’m not talking about hot chocolate, I’m talking ‘proper’, traditional cocoa. It takes a little patience and asks you to pay attention, which is rather the point. Stay present, or the milk boils over and makes a mess.

A mug of cocoa on a winter's evening is one of those small rituals that’s stayed with me.

There's something deeply nostalgic about it. Warming, grounding, and it reliably coaxes me into a deep sleep, on those cold winter nights.

For the cup of cocoa that sends you to sleep, you'll need…

• 2 heaped teaspoons of cocoa powder

• 1 teaspoon of sugar

• Enough milk to fill your favourite mug

• A small pan

How to make a proper cup of cocoa, the old fashioned way…

1 | Warm the milk

Fill your mug three quarters of the way with milk, then pour it into a small pan.

Set over a medium heat and keep a close eye on it, you don’t want it boiling over.

2 | Mix your cocoa

Mix the cocoa powder and sugar together in your mug. Add a tiny amount of milk and stir until it becomes a smooth paste, then add a little more milk to loosen it to a liquid consistency.

It can take a little while for the milk and cocoa to combine - avoid adding more milk until you have a smooth paste, otherwise you can get lumpy cocoa, and no one wants that!

3 | Watch and wait

This is the part that requires attention. Keep your eye on the milk. You want to catch it just as it begins to rise in the pan, just before it boils over.

Waiting until this point makes the milk wonderfully frothy, but keep a hawk-eye on it so you catch it at exactly the right time.

4 | Pour and stir

Pour the hot milk into your cocoa mixture, stirring as you go to slowly bring everything together.

Wrap both hands around your mug, drink slowly, feel the coziness envelop you.

There are few better ways to end a winter's evening than sitting by the fire as it burns down to embers with a warm mug of cocoa cradled in both hands. It’s a tradition I’m keeping alive, I hope you can make it a tradition for your winter evenings too.

📍 Save to Pinterest for a quiet winter’s evening…