The Canned Ingredient That Makes Hot Chocolate So Much Richer

When the weather turns cold — or, heck, when you want a decadent drink at any time of the year — it doesn't get much better than hot chocolate. If you want to level up your cocoa for an even sweeter bit of indulgence, there's one canned ingredient that will make it richer, creamier, and just all around better: sweetened condensed milk.

This versatile pantry item is not only the key to making two-ingredient truffles, the foundational ingredient for easy homemade dulce de leche, and the ticket to making better buttercream frosting, but it's an add-in you may not know your homemade hot chocolate has been begging for. Once you incorporate it and taste the difference, you might never go back to your old hot cocoa formula.

This shelf-stable dairy product is made from cow's milk that has been concentrated through a process of heating in a reduced-pressure environment, decreasing the liquid's water content by about 50%. Sugar is then added in, significantly increasing the overall sugar content from about 5% in fresh milk to about 55% in the finished sweetened condensed version. This heightened sweetness is one reason the product works so well in hot chocolate and other saccharine recipes. Condensing also gives it a syrupy consistency that adds richness, texture, and acts as a binder for the other ingredients. The end result for your batch of homemade cocoa is a drink that has a creamy thickness, and is luscious, delicious, and cohesive.

Adding sweetened condensed milk into your go-to hot chocolate recipe may require some experimentation. The canned product will add both sweetness and thickness, so you may need to adjust the total amount you use to achieve the flavor and consistency you want. In general, using one 14-ounce can is a good rule of thumb for a larger batch of hot chocolate meant to serve multiple people. If you're making just a small amount of cocoa for one or two, you may want to employ an add, taste, add approach to reach the sweetness and thickness you want.

Recipes vary in terms of incorporating the sweetened condensed milk. For crockpot hot cocoa, you can simply put all your ingredients into the slow cooker together (including the canned addition) and stir occasionally over low heat until all the elements are creamily combined. Other recipes call for blending the sweetened condensed milk and other dairy contents in a pan first and heating them together, then adding the other components. Still others admonish mixing the sweetened condensed milk with all the other elements except for the regular milk, combining until smooth, and then gradually stirring in the milk. In the end, all roads lead to a hot chocolate that is rich, creamy, and very flavorful.

You can also add some extra sweetened condensed milk as a topping to finish off your steaming mug. It's the ingredient that keeps on giving!