apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

The idea behind these little chocolate cubes is after swirling them in a hot cup of milk or cream (water isn't the best option in this instance), you're left with a frothy cup of chocolatey goodness. It works brilliantly and can be spiced up or down to your own personal liking. You can leave it just straight chocolate, or add marshmallows like we did — maybe some cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg or vanilla. If you like things spicier you could even add in chili or extra sea salt for more of a kick.

First, here's the recipe:

• Hot Chocolate on a Stick from The Giver's Log

The Giver's Log is a fabulous place to pick up other tricks on making household goods and snacks. This awesome creation was no different and our results came out perfectly without any hassle or even that big of a mess (although we have more to say about that later on). The ingredient list is minimal and includes: chocolate, cocoa, powdered sugar and salt. Easy right? Right!

You will need to make sure that the only liquid that goes into the mixture is the melted chocolate itself. If you want to add other things like alcohol or extracts, they'll need to be put to the side and powders and pastes used instead to keep your chocolate from seizing. Make sure to secure a chocolate that is at least 70% cocoa butter (a higher ratio of cacao will provide faster melting) and although that seems bitter, the sugar in the recipe is more than enough to counter it and will impart the extra-rich flavor you're really craving.

Kept in an airtight container these treats last for a full year and can be decorated, adorned and packaged to your heart's desire. They're perfect for keeping in your desk drawer at work for a midday chocolate break or in your pantry for a chocolate fix at any time of day.

A Note About Not Using A Mold:
When we made our recipe, we were short on the ice cube tray molds. And after our recent move into a much smaller apartment, we slimmed down our craft room and did away with all of our cute candy and craft molds we had been saving for rainy day projects. So without any molds in sight, we decided to put the mixture into an 8x8" pan lined with parchment paper. We thought it would work out OK — and it did; although, if you try this method at home, we will warn you, there will be chocolate shrapnel adorning your nice clean counters and it might actually require the help of an electric knife.

The block is dense enough, regular knifes (heated or not) and bench scrapers just caused the chocolate to fracture in unattractive shapes, so we brought out our electric knife and went to town. It worked brilliantly, but it would have been easier to head to the corner store for an ice cube tray or two. Although we don't often admit to our faults here on The Kitchn, we thought it prudent to include this one as many of you might not have molds handy and could have the same thought we did.

One more tip, in case you'd like to give it a go in a pan: the shapes also might have cut cleaner with a regular hot knife had we scored the top before the chocolate was 100% cooled and hardened.

Thanks to The Giver's Log for the inspiration!

Related: Recipe: Mexican Hot Chocolate

(Images: Sarah Rae Trover)