Make Halloween hot chocolate for this year’s Halloween bash! Black hot chocolate is eerily dark, so fun to look at, and just as delicious to drink! Topped with a ghost marshmallow, serving mugs of black hot cocoa is sure to be a hit!
You might be wondering how Halloween hot chocolate is different from your regular cup of hot chocolate. And no, it’s not black food dye (I know some of you were thinking that!). What makes a cup of black hot cocoa is the use of black cocoa!
For those that have never heard of it, what it is is Dutch processed cocoa to the max. Like, super ultra processed by washing it in an alkaline solution far more than your typical cocoa. So, the results are so dark, it looks black. Think about the kind of cocoa you’d need to make Oreos!
This Halloween hot chocolate is not only fun and spooky to look at with the black cocoa and the floating ghost Peeps for garnish, but it’s one of the tastiest cups of cocoa you’ll ever have. It’s creamy, sweet, and very chocolaty!
Halloween Black Cocoa Hot Chocolate
Why you’ll love this recipe
- A full batch of Halloween hot chocolate is ready in 20 minutes.
- The sweet creamy caramel adds something a little extra special.
- Your Halloween party guests will LOVE seeing black cocoa in use!
- You can garnish it however you like. Marshmallow ghosts are just one idea.
Helpful Tools
Ingredients
Below is a list of the ingredients you’ll need to gather to make this recipe, why you need them, and possible substitutions. Scroll all the way down for the full recipe card with measurements.
Jump- Whole milk: I use whole milk because I like the thickness of it. The less fat in the milk, the thinner the consistency.
- Heavy cream: This gives it even more richness. Using heavy cream will help keep it nice and creamy.
- Black cocoa powder: If you can’t find this in your local grocery store, Walmart, or otherwise. You can pick it up through Amazon. I like this one & also use it in my Halloween brownies.
- Caramel sauce: Gives the black hot cocoa a wonderful sweetness and caramel flavor. I used Guernsey because it doesn’t have any high fructose corn syrup but Smuckers or similar also work.
- Ghost-shaped peeps: You could also use pumpkins, skulls, or regular marshmallows!
How to make Halloween Hot Chocolate
This section shows you how to make this recipe, with process photos showing the steps to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.
Jump- Step One: In a large pot over medium heat, whisk together the milk, cream, and cocoa powder until the powder fully dissolves (this may only happen once the milk is heated).
- Step Two: Stir occasionally for about 10 minutes until the mixture begins to steam.
- Step Three: Stir in the caramel sauce and continue heating for 5-10 minutes.
- Step Four: Once the caramel sauce has melted into the hot cocoa, pour some into your serving mugs. Top with ghost peeps and enjoy!
How to serve it
Black hot cocoa is a must-have for any Halloween-themed party! It’ll fit in nicely on your food table alongside Halloween swirl cream cheese brownies, pumpkin deviled eggs, ghost Oreo balls, and Halloween monster munch popcorn mix.
- Be sure to follow the order in which ingredients to add when. This will help get you a smooth, velvety consistency.
- Keep an eye on the stove. The milk and cocoa mixture should only steam, not boil. Otherwise the milk might scald.
- You can replace the marshmallows with whipped cream if you’d like. You could also top it with black sprinkles!
- If you can’t find ghost marshmallow peeps, you can always draw a face on regular marshmallows with black food gel.
Storage & Reheating
How to store leftovers
Keep any leftover black hot cocoa in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Reheating Instructions
Reheat it on the stove using a small pot. If it’s just a single serving, go ahead and use the microwave.
FAQs
What is the flavor of black cocoa?
Nice and chocolaty! Thanks to the ultra-Dutch processing, it doesn’t have that bitter flavor that you might find in other types of cark chocolate.
Can I make this without black cocoa?
If you can find something as close to black cocoa as possible, you might get away with it. Hershey’s special dark cocoa is probably as close as you’re going to get. Anything else will get you a regular cup of hot cocoa.
Need more fun Halloween recipes? Try these:
Brownie Bottom Halloween Cupcakes
Click here to view my entire collection of Halloween recipes.
Did You Make This?
If you made this recipe, I’d love to know how it went in the comments section below.
You can also tag me on Instagram – @melissa_ppplates or share a pic in the Persnickety Plates Community Facebook group. I love seeing what you’ve tried!
Halloween Hot Chocolate
Video
Ingredients
- 2 ¾ cups whole milk
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 cup black cocoa powder
- 1 ½ cups caramel sauce
- Ghost shaped Peeps
Instructions
- In a large pot over medium heat, whisk together the milk, heavy cream and cocoa powder. The cocoa powder may not fully mix with the milk until heated.2 ¾ cups whole milk, ½ cup heavy cream, 1 cup black cocoa powder
- Stir the mixture every few minutes until the mixture begins to steam, approximately 10 minutes.
- Stir in the caramel sauce.1 ½ cups caramel sauce
- Continue heating for 5-10 minutes to allow the caramel sauce to completely melt into the hot cocoa.
- Take your favorite serving mugs or glasses and pour the black hot cocoa into each.
- Top with ghost shaped peeps and serve!Ghost shaped Peeps
Notes
- Be sure to follow the order in which ingredients to add when. This will help get you a smooth, velvety consistency.
- Keep an eye on the stove. The milk and cocoa mixture should only steam, not boil. Otherwise the milk might scald.
- I use Guernsey caramel sauce but Smuckers or similar will work.
- You can replace the marshmallows with whipped cream if you’d like. You could also top it with black sprinkles!
- If you can’t find ghost marshmallow peeps, you can always draw a face on regular marshmallows with black food gel.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
