First of all, as far as I’m concerned, hot chocolate and chocolate milk are made with chocolate and drinking quality milk or “milk”, not with cocoa, and definitely not with some kind of mix that looks like you got dirt in your skim milk.
I’m just a firm believer in the real thing.
So what you have to do is melt the chocolate in the almond milk and blend it to mix it in. Almond milk should not be heated to boiling by itself, but you can safely heat it after mixing in the chocolate.
I have found that some commercial milks can taste thin. If I want the finished product to be “milkier”, I add some coconut milk powder, which I buy at an Asian food store.
For chocolate milk, it’s the same thing, but you may need to add some extra sugar, as chilled things taste less sweet.
Gosh, better make plenty, too. I bought some chocolate rice milk once that was so horrible I took one taste and threw the carton away. Not this. This is the real deal.
Ah, and the piece de resistance: European-style hot chocolate. When blending the chocolate and milk, add some cornstarch to thicken it up so you will use a spoon while drinking it. Thicker is definitely better.
If you like great hot chocolate, you can melt a piece of a dove bar in your hot chocolate. Also putting your whip cream at the bottom of the cup before you feel it can make it taste extra creamy. For details for the hot chocolate trick
Hot Chocolate Trick
I have never tried making hot chocolate with Almond Milk before, I didn’t even know there was such thing as almond milk, I guess it must be like coconut milk.
Also, commercial milks usually do taste thin, but if you buy some whole organic milk, it can be pretty dang good.
The reason I use almond milk is because I don’t tolerate dairy products well. So homemade almond milk is a more or less adequate substitute, purchased almond milk less so.
A lot of us with gluten intolerance also have lactose, casein, and even egg intolerance. So I try to provide recipes for people with a broad assortment of dietary restrictions. Often the recipes I write are also vegan.
I used to buy heavy cream in glass bottles from a local dairy, but those days are long gone.