Hot chocolate reviews and recipe

Recently I've become obsessed with hot chocolate...anywhere I go, I'll try their hot chocolate. A couple of months ago  I visited Madrid, their thick chocolate and churros were heavenly. You can get thick hot chocolate at Cocoa - a small independent chocolate shop on ecclesall road. I really love this shop, it's unlike any other shop I've seen in Sheffield. It's just unbelievable. You go in and just don't know where to look it's breathtaking and yes, they definitely do the best hot chocolate in Sheff.

Anyway my hot chocolate obsession has lead me to try out various hot chocolate to make at home and here are a few I've recently tried and my views on them. I've rated them out of 5.

Mortimer pure dark chocolate powder

This hot chocolate is unlike any of the others as it's actually powdered chocolate and 70% cocoa at that. Apparently it's great for cooking with. I found it had a slightly strange texture when I added it to my hot milk, kind of gloopy and didn't melt that well. Perhaps whisking would have helped with the consistency. The flavour was very rich although I added some honey to sweeten it slightly as I found it needed it. It's the most expensive of the ones I've reviewed here at 220g for £3.80.
★★★

Cadburys drinking chocolate

The texture of this is smooth, the colour is kind of grey and lighter than the others. It tastes cheap, sweet and disappointing. 500g £2.99 

★

Divine drinking chocolate

Well, Divine continues to be my favourite and it had been since I first tried it a few years ago. They've added salt which none of the others have done, this enhances the rich cocoa flavour. It melts beautifully and tastes delicious. 400g £4.00 

★★★★★

Green and blacks organic

The granule form is slightly odd but makes for easy combining with the milk. Another one lacking in sugar, maybe I'm just a sugar addict. It is organic though. It has dark slightly bitter taste with smooth texture 300g £3.59
★★★

Options hot chocolate - white choc

Something different here with this instant white chocolate variety. The initial flavour is really comforting, like a milky bar but unfortunately there is a nasty after-taste of aspartame, I guess flavour is something you have to sacrifice when you choose a 44 calories hot chocolate though. 220g £3.19
★★

Cafe direct san cristobal

This produced a lovely dark colour when finished and the flavour was lovely with the perfect amount of sweetness but it had a chalky texture that kind of made me choke a little bit, very powdery.250g £2.79
★★

Aero mint chocolate drink

 Another instant hot chocolate. This one is mint flavour, chocolate and mint is a favourite combination of mine and for an instant chocolate drink this one is very impressive. It has a foamy top with a delicious sweet minty flavour. Tastes just like the chocolate bar. 288g £3.49
★★★★


Here is a recipe for the ultimate luxurious hot chocolate - perfect for a special treat

Serves 2

• 1 mug (about 400ml) of milk (I used almond, cow is ok too)
• 1 mug coconut milk from a tin (if there is a thick layer on top, include that)
• 80g best dark chocolate - green and blacks maya gold is great here
• 1 tbsp cocoa
• 1 tbsp sugar/honey to taste
• a pinch of salt

Heat ingredients together on the hob, stirring with a wooden spoon. Pour into mugs, dollop on some whipped cream if you fancy and enjoy. Perfect for your bonfire night parties!

Madrid - City of churros, sunshine and beautiful people

I just returned from a few days visiting my good friend Susie, we've been friends since we've been alive so it was great to catch up with her. She showed me a few highlights of Madrid including Sol and where to find the best churros y chocolate.

The temperature reached 35 degrees which was lovely and I made the most of the cities culinary delights. I even improved my Spanish!

The churros place. First thing I ate in Madrid was these long fried strips of dough dipped in hot thick chocolate!

As shown here. I don't know how I stayed still long enough with a churro in my hand for this photo to be taken, they were so good.

These guys dress up as giant cartoon characters including mickey mouse, bart and even chucky (terrifying).  They shout guappa at the ladies and try and tempt people to pose for a photo for a price or buy a balloon. One day when I was exploring alone alone, a mickey mouse kissed my hand then turned us around presumably looking for my companion to take a picture of us. He was just stood there posing with his arm round me until he realised there was no one there, was pretty funny. Half of the time they walk around with their characters head off, talking to one another. Must be pretty weird for kids to see that.

A nice restaurant where I had these red wine baked clams with oyster mushrooms.  It was incredibly salty . In the middle is octopus, easily the best I've had and we also ordered some queso - local cheese selection.

The salty restaurant. The waitress was pretty mardy. Also me and my friend couldn't stop laughing (happened regularly on my visit) and we were just sat there with tears running down our faces. 

After the restaurant we stopped at this place which was open at 11pm and got a nutella crepe to share

tasty nutella crepe

Back at sol there was a pastry and sweet shop selling a wide variety of tasty food. I ordered some almond tuille type biscuits and an espresso, both were great!

An indoor market that sold horchata, mojitos, fresh fruit and veg, lots of fish and traditional Spanish dishes. You can buy a cocktail stick with quails eggs, anchovy, olive etc on for a euro and they are  good for nibbling on as you are looking round

enjoying an ice cold horchata from the market

A peruvian restaurant. This meal of garlic chicken was ok but the lemon meringue pie was amazing!!

The amazing lemon meringue pie

The thick hot chocolate that I became addicted to and will make any hot chocolate I ever have inferior by comparison...except cocoa on ecclesall road, there's is very good and similar to this. I'm gonna have to go there to get my fix soon

Inside a cafe, trying to escape the heat of the afternoon sun. The chocolate was good, the matcha  yoghurt smoothie and the rude staff not so good.

Went into starbucks and this was the view from the floor to ceiling windows

A nice looking building, there were many of these and I have no idea what actually goes on inside them

I do love this drink, jut sat in the starbucks patio

Quick snap as I enjoyed my ice tea 

Me and Susie

More architecture. 

One of the streets of Sol, filled with ice cream stores, clothing shops and tapas restarants

A rather blurry shot of some alcohol that graced the walls of a tapas restaurant 

Patatas bravas, ridiculously cheap wine and fried green peppers

Delicious!

A lovely spread

Me doing what I enjoy

And again..this time cooling off with some mint chocolate chip ice cream at a parlour

The early evening sky

Some tapas. The tortilla was different to how I've had it in barcelona in that the potato was diced and very soft as opposed to sliced waxy type. I also had calamari which was good and chicken in red wine tomato sauce,

The tapas restarant. I swear I was so spaced out most of the time from lack of sleep and excitement that I mistook these  scary mannequins for real people twice!

A very wide building. This square had lots of restaurants that try to entice you to eat there.

My friend was terrified of this sparkly dancing goat type thing that repeatedly opened and closed his wooden mouth.

Mojitos! They also sold caprinhas, weirdly enough I only drank one glass of wine the whole holiday!  Wasn't feeling the booze really.

So there it is, very photo heavy and words light but hope you enjoy it none the less.
Have any of you been to Madrid, or Spain? If so, what did you do?

Reykjavik - place of mountains, beards and Bjork

I just spent four days in beautiful Iceland. Travelling alone, I explored Reyjavik with plans to see and eat everything but not enough kronas in my wallet. I had an incredible time there.
The main highlight was bumping into one of my lifetime idols - Bjork! She was just strolling down Laugavegur, the main shopping street. I almost fainted and asked her if she was Bjork, even though it was obvious but she ran away across the road! Sadly no photo for me then but still an amazing experience.
The atoms aurora borealis were being lazy and didn't put on a very good display so was rather underwhelmed by that. 
It's not as cold as I expected, the days were between 0-9 degrees. It was actually cooler as I arrived back home. Also the just 5 hours of light took some getting used to.
A welcoming, warm and peppery smelling massive greenhouse was another interesting visit made even better by it's home made tomato soup which was undoubtedly the best I've had, and I'm not a fan of tomatoes normally. Rows of the juicy fruit in various stages of growth were on display and pots of basil and scissors were on tables for you to snip into your soup.
The food was hit and miss. Cafe Loki was incredible , the food was delicate and simple, their rye bread ice cream is just spectacular. Cafe Babalu is quirky and cosy with the best chocolate banana crepes, bulging with thick chocolate sauce. Sushibarinn had wonderful fresh sushi and very delicious salmon tartar with avocado, chilli and black and white sesame. Those three are a must if you visit.
I saw a few geysers and waterfalls too but got very lonely out there, despite being used to travelling alone - at 19 I travelled to Greece on my own for two weeks, saganaki cheese..hello!
Perhaps the loneliness was due to the hotel being a fair walk away from the centre and no one else my age staying there, though I'm pretty sure they were all British, which can be disappointing. 
I'd recommend younger folk (or those young at heart) to stay at the hostel on Laugavegur as the staff are ridiculously friendly and travellers just hang out in the lobby there, enjoying the live music and other activities.

Here are some photos in no particular order.
 

Lovely soja latte at a restaurant that had no name (popular theme in Reykjavik)

Hotel buffet dinner, soup was so salty!

First introduction to Plokkfiskur, Icelandic fish stew..wasn't expecting this and didn't enjoy. Had the texture of tuna on a jacket potato after being chewed for a while. The bread was lovely, very syrupy

Crepe with maple syrup, flaky and light

Some street art that is prevalent across Reykjavik

Had one of those brownies, they were lovely and the girls here were kind and chatty, recommending the best places for nights out.

At the greenhouse

More art

More tomatoes

The tomato cafe

Lovely soup

More salty vegetable soup at a restaurant out near the geysers

This pecan pie was delicious, great pastry and wobbly sweet filling

Wrapped up enjoying the landscape

Salmon tartare at Sushibarinn

Sushi platter at Sushibarinn

Gorgeous generously filled  chocolate and banana crepe at the wonderful Cafe Babalu

Cafe Babalu

The view from the church tower, looks like the edge of the world!

Simple and elegant food at Cafe Loki. Egg and pickled herring on one rye, incredible buttery rich (much better than before) plokkfiskur on the other accompanied by amazing rye bread ice cream

Traditional Icelandic food - Skyr served with cream and sugar. How I didn't get ill I have no idea!

Amazing bakery. Bought some rye bread to take home and it's dense and sour and lovely

Yellow house

Church tower

Seafood coconut soup at Sushi Samba, also had calamari tempura and the most incredible basil aioli

Inside Cafe Babalu

A lovely scene on a beautiful walk