Caramel spiced rum hot chocolate

Move over, all other variations, for I have found the most warming, accidentally-boozy, rich hot chocolate out there. Even if you make it with low-calorie drinking chocolate, we’re talking thick, dark, and creamy. This is serious business. Meet caramel spiced rum hot chocolate.

Caramel spiced rum hot chocolate // The Dinner Bell

The sweets-in-alcohol thing is far from new, and caramel spiced rum is my favourite variation by far. It started with Skittles vodka, which my mum brought to my student flat in the first year of university, sipping it from a shot glass like most parents would tea from a mug. We tried Christmas pudding vodka too, and then Werthers, which was the one that stuck with me. Now that I’ve moved away onto rum instead, it was an obvious choice for something to serve up at a Christmas party.

It’s good on its own, but with chocolate and cream? Pure indulgence. Grab your ingredients, fluffy socks, and a good book, and let’s go.

The whole thing is so simple I’m not even writing it out as a proper recipe. Bonus: you’ll end up with a jar of caramel spiced rum that can be added to hot chocolate, coffee, or just enjoyed over ice.

Caramel spiced rum hot chocolate

The caramel spiced rum is the only part of this that takes time, really. You’ll need 400ml spiced rum and one bag – 135g – of Werthers Originals. That’s it. Whack them both into a nice big jar (like the kind you get mincemeat in!), shake, shake, shake, shake, a-shake it, and leave for a couple of days for the sweets to melt into the rum. You can speed this up by crushing the Werthers, or sit the jar into a bowl of hot water, shaking regularly (this’ll take a couple of hours, tops). When left still, it’ll separate out into two layers, but a quick swirl will bring it back together.

The hot chocolate bit? Warm some milk – about 45ml per person – on the hob, and add a couple of squares of good quality dark chocolate. When the chocolate’s melted into the milk, make the hot chocolate however you normally would, whether that’s with low-calorie powder and hot water or fancypants drinking chocolate. Pour into mugs, add a shot or two or rum per person, top with cream if you like, and enjoy!

Keep the rum in the fridge and it should be fine for a couple of months, if it lasts that long.