Make your own chocolate syrup for great
chocolate milk. Photo courtesy Recchiuti
Confections.

We taste a lot of products, and most of the commercial chocolate syrups don’t deliver a great chocolate experience. Most of them are cocoa-flavored corn syrup with thickeners.

It’s easy to make your own delicious chocolate syrup:

1. Mix 1/4 cup gourmet hot chocolate or cocoa powder with 1/4 cup boiling water.

2. Whisk until smooth. Depending on the sugar content of your mix, adjust sweetness. People on sugar-free diets can use agave nectar or artificial sweetener. Don’t make it sugary-sweet: You want to enjoy the quality chocolate flavor.

3. You can spice up your chocolate syrup by adding a pinch or two of allspice, chile, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, pepper and other spices.

Use the syrup in beverages or to garnish desserts and dessert plates. In the summer heat, an egg cream is a great idea.

EGG CREAM RECIPE

Ingredients

 
Preparation
1. In an eight-ounce glass, mix 2-4 tablespoons of chocolate syrup, depending on how sweet a drink you prefer.
2. Add 4 ounces (1/2 cup) whole milk.
3. Pour seltzer into the center of the glass, to generate a head of foam.
4. With a long-handled spoon, stir to blend the syrup and milk without disturbing the foam.
5. Drink without a straw, in order to get chocolate milk and foam in each sip.