Dulce de Leche Hot Chocolate
This creamy dulce de leche hot chocolate recipe is a cozy blend of cocoa and caramel sweetness, perfect for warming up on chilly days.
Making hot chocolate from scratch is easy and fun. You can make it your own by adjusting the ingredients to your liking or adding a few extras!
The possibilities are endless here. Make it festive and try gingerbread hot chocolate. If you are hosting a Christmas party and want to make something special, add spiked hot chocolate recipe to your adults’ menu and see what they think!
Or, why not make it a hot cocoa bar, serving it with a lot of delicious homemade treats like white wine cookies, Linzer cookies or biscotti?
How to make hot chocolate with dulce de leche
Ingredients:
- Milk
- Heavy cream
- Cocoa powder
- Dulce de leche
- Powdered sugar (optional)
Tools:
- Saucepan – 1-quart/1-liter is the perfect size but any bigger than that will also work well.
- Measuring cups & spoons – or a scale to measure up all the ingredients.
- Whisk
- Electric whisk – This is optional and only needed if you want to add whipped cream to a cup of your hot chocolate.
- 2 mugs/cups & spoons
The process:
Place a saucepan on a stove and pour the milk in. Bring it slowly to a boil, then reduce heat and add heavy cream, cocoa powder and dulce de leche.
You will need to whisk this until all the ingredients are blended and there are no cocoa lumps.
Once done, you can pour this homemade hot chocolate into 2 mugs. Whipped cream is an optional topping and can be omitted if you don’t fancy it.
Optional toppings:
- Marshmallows
- Whipped cream
- Caramel or dulce de leche drizzle
- Crashed candy cane
- Chocolate shavings
Frequently asked questions:
It is always better to make it with milk if you are looking for a creamy, rich taste.
It is a rich sweet “spread” similar to caramel that originated in Latin America. If you don’t have it on hand or can’t find it in your local store, feel free to use caramel instead.
Yes, you can. Either a stovetop or slow cooker will work great. The key for both is to heat it up slowly. Stir if needed.
More hot cocoa recipes you might like:
- Turmeric Hot Chocolate
- Slow Cooker Hot Chocolate
- Baileys Hot Chocolate
- Creamy Limoncello Hot Chocolate
- Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate
- Almond Milk Hot Cocoa
This post has been updated recently with tips and improved recipe card.
Creamy Dulce de Leche Hot Chocolate
Ingredients
- 2.5 cups milk (600 milliliters), see note 1
- ¼ cup heavy cream (60 milliliters), see note 2
- 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder , see note 3
- 4 tablespoons dulce de Leche (heaped) , see note 4
For whipped cream (optional)
- ½ cup heavy cream (120 milliliters)
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar , see note 5
Instructions
- In a saucepan, bring milk to a boil. Reduce the heat and add heavy cream, cocoa powder and dulce de leche. Whisk until smooth. Turn off the heat.
- Optional: Whip the cream and sugar until stiff.
- Pour into mugs and top with whipped cream or marshmallows.
- Serve warm!
Notes
- Whole milk, semi-skimmed or skimmed will all work just fine here. If you are using raw, unpasteurized milk, you need to make sure it is safe for drinking by boiling it for at least 2-3 minutes. This must be done on a stovetop!
- You can use heavy cream/double cream or whipping cream.
- I used unsweetened cocoa powder. If you use the sweetened kind, your hot chocolate will turn out extremely sweet.
- Caramel can be substituted for dulce de leche.
- Powdered/confectioners’ sugar (US) = icing sugar (UK).
Thanks a lot for the wonderful recipe. Our entire family loved it!
That’s great to hear, Carrie! Thanks for the feedback.
I loved it , just what I needed. Thank you!
You are welcome, Amanda :)
I tired this recipe but used coconut milk to replace the heavy cream and milk! It was so creamy and delicious. I also added a bit of cinnamon. Awesome recipe.
Thanks a lot for the comment, Lorra!