Strawberry White Hot Chocolate

Strawberry White Hot Chocolate: This rich white hot chocolate is made with fresh strawberry puree and can be made in less than 20 minutes start to finish! Day 6 of the 14 Days of Love!

For day 6 we’re getting all sorts of cute up in here. I don’t know about you, but for me, hot chocolate usually inspires visions of sitting by the fire listening to Johnny Mathis (or Amy Grant in my case) croon about festive things.

Hot chocolate is a winter thing, not just a Christmas thing, despite what my brain imagines, so hot chocolate is going to be a Valentine’s thing too. And this strawberry hot chocolate is going to deck your halls pink and red! But more pink than red since the drink is all pretty in pink.

Although the weather has been unseasonably warm here (okay, it’s more like unseasonable here if it’s actually cold, but I choose to live in a dream world where we actually have cold weather), if it’s still icicles and snowflakes by you, you could still sit by a fire while sipping this pink masterpiece. In fact, trade out Johnny for a little Journey (“Open Arms”) and you’ve got yourself a perfectly festive Day 6 of the 14 Days of Love.

This white hot chocolate begins with fresh strawberry puree. This puree is super simple to make, which makes this drink that much more enjoyable.

The first thing to do is to macerate the strawberries with sugar. Macerating is just a fancy cooking term for releasing liquid . The sugar breaks down the strawberries, allowing them to release their natural juices. You can use fresh or frozen strawberries. On a side note, could they not have picked a better word? Macerate sure sounds like massacre, which doesn’t inspire much kitchen confidence, so perhaps that should have been rethought.

Once the strawberries have begun to break down, puree them in a blender or a food processor until it is a smooth liquid. With a sieve or cheese cloth, strain the strawberries to remove all seeds.

For the hot chocolate, heat milk over low heat. Stir constantly to make sure the milk does not burn. Once the milks begins to bubble on the sides, pull off the burner and stir in pure white chocolate. When melted, stir in the strawberry puree, vanilla extract, and salt. If you want the color pinker, add in 1-2 drops of food coloring (this is totally optional).

Pour into glasses, top with whipped cream, and enjoy!

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Strawberry White Hot Chocolate

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

5 mins

Total Time

25 mins

 

This rich strawberry white hot chocolate is made with fresh strawberry puree and can be made in less than 20 minutes start to finish!  

Course: Drink

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Strawberry White Hot Chocolate

Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 12 oz strawberries, fresh or defrosted from frozen
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 cups milk
• 6 oz pure white chocolate (finely chopped)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Pinch salt
• Red food coloring (optional)
• Whipped Cream for Topping

Instructions

1. Place fresh or frozen strawberries (with the stems cut off) in a large bowl. Sprinkle sugar over the strawberries, and toss to combine. Allow to sit for about 10 minutes, until they begin to release their juices.
2. Blend or puree the strawberries until smooth. Pour through a sieve or cheesecloth to remove all seed. You should have about 3/4 cup puree.
3. Over low heat, bring the milk to a simmer, whisking constantly. As soon as bubbles begin to appear on the outside edge of the milk, remove the pan from heat. Stir in chopped white chocolate and mix until smooth.
4. Add in the berry puree, vanilla extract, and pinch of salt and stir until combined. If you want the drink to have a deeper pink color, add in 1-2 drops of red food coloring (completely optional).
5. Top with whipped cream and enjoy!

Check out the other 14 Days of Love here:

Day 5: {Baked} Strawberry Shortcake Donuts

Day 4: White Chocolate Cherry Almond Cookies

Day 3: Chocolate Peanut Butter Fruit Dip

Day 2: Red Velvet White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Day 1: Funfetti Blondie Bites