#HotChocHotties

It's time to talk about something important...

It's HOT CHOCOLATE TIME!!!

What could be a better treat as the nights draw in, the air gets chilly and lets face it the telly gets a whole lot better. A hot chocolate is a really lovely seasonal treat that transports you to festive scenes as you warm your cockles up with a warm, sweet mug of goodness.

And now in a delightful turn of events you've been given the chance to benefit from your hot chocolate indulgences. The St Enoch Centre is hosting it's very own chocolate competition to find Glasgow's very best hot chocolate recipe, along with all kinds of hot chocolate tips. Make sure I get a copy of it? Thanks.

You can find out about all this scrumminess right HERE and when you're sharing all the deliciousness, just make sure and use #HotChocHotties. There's even prizes for the most inspirational chocolate inventions - including luxury chocolate collections and gift vouchers of up to £150.


Now I really should share some absolutely fabulous hot chocolate recipe, but I'm not the best in the recipe department. When it comes to hot chocolates I usually just make a big chocolatey mess and throw everything in, let's say that I'm going for the 'rustic' approach. Handfuls of marshmallows, lashings of whipped cream and a sprinkling of chocolate shavings - amazing. In reality my sister makes the best hot chocolates, I don't know how she does it and she won't let on to her secret, maybe you've got a secret little trick that you do? Well go on get entering then.

Hot chocolate is the best drink as a winter treat, it reminds me of skiing holidays, where you close your eyes and point at what liquor off the obscure menu you want to add in. It immediately takes you to winter afternoons in front of fires and movies, curled up with a tartan blanket. Some amazing holidays are brought to mind when croissants are dunked in frothy hot choccies for breakfast and nights in Italy supping on soup bowls of intensely thick cioccolata densa. 

And lets not forget that hot chocolate has been around for a helluva long time.

It's believed that the Mayas first drank hot chocolate up to 2,000 years ago and up until the 19th century it was even used as a medicine - ummm suddenly I'm not feeling so well! It was the drink of Kings and become popular in the court of King Charles V, becoming a fashionable beverage to consume. For many it was considered a luxury as cocoa was so expensive and it is even noted that it was used as a dowry when the Spanish Royal Family married other European aristocrats.

So it's a luxurious drink with the royal stamp of approval, what could be better?!

The Mayans mixed it with chilli peppers, whilst others used vanilla and spices, with the Old Spaniards drinking it cold. So take inspiration from them! Add spices, how amazingly christmasy would cinnamon be or make it chilly like the ye olde folk from Spain and watch as it becomes even more delicious as the ice cream melts away.

I'm sure there's a whole load of you out there with some pretty darn amazing chocolate recipes so let the St Enoch Centre know and you could win some prizes! Just don't forget to use the #HotChocHotties and sent me samples...