There's nothing better than a hot chocolate on a cold winters day, right?
So, when Wren Kitchens got in touch asking me to create a Christmas recipe with a twist, I immediately got to thinking about how I could switch up a classic hot chocolate.
All the coffee shops bring out their festive drinks around the start of November, so I thought I'd find little twists to make them at home! I wanted to make something that everyone could enjoy, so this is so simple and it all comes down to whatever flavour you fancy, but here's a few steps and ideas to achieve the perfect festive hot chocolate - with a twist! 
You will need:
t h e b a s i c s
Your Favourite Festive Mug (essential)
Hot Chocolate Powder
Milk
Mini Marshmallows
Whipped Cream
c h o i c e o f f l a v o u r i n g s
orange
caramel
cinnamon
biscoff spread
nutella
peanut butter
gingerbread syrup
black forest/berry syrup
peppermint essence
vanilla essence
baileys (for the adults!)
You may be getting the hint that you can add pretty much anything to shake up your hot chocolate.
m e t h o d
This one won't test your kitchen skills and won't take any longer than 5 minutes, so you can be on the sofa, wrapped in a blanket, sipping away in no time!
- First of all check the instructions on your hot chocolate to make sure you're following the right steps, but I'd usually try this method.
- Pour milk into your mug, leaving a bit of space at the top. This is just to measure how much milk you'll need.
-Then, decant that into a saucepan and heat it on the hob. Keep an eye on it and be sure to stir it. Whilst this heats up add 2 tablespoons of hot chocolate powder into your mug.
- When the milk is hot enough (but before it boils) pour it into your mug and stir to mix it with the hot chocolate powder.
- You can add your flavourings at any point, but I'd add them in here. So dollop in some caramel sauce, squeeze a zesty orange or add a few drops mint flavouring and a peppermint candy cane - whatever takes your fancy. Then stir, stir, stir.
- Top with mini marshmallows and as much whipped cream as possible and you are good to go!
It's so simple that there's so many ways you could make it, you can pop it in the microwave if you want to save on washing up.
I'm probably going to be trying out every single flavour from now until Christmas, but at the moment I'm loving adding a squeeze of an orange into my hot chocolate for a zesty surprise.
Click here to head on over to Wrens Christmas Kitchen for more classic recipes with a twist, including a Millionaire's Pavlova which I might have to try myself!
Give it a go! What flavours will you be adding?
1 comment
I just wanted to write a little note about November. It's always one of my favourite months and I just wanted to say why...
bonfire night
- Crackling bonfires and the kind of fireworks that make you go 'wooow' as they light up everyones faces. I've got exciting plans with family and friends full of food and fireworks. I'm hoping to film a nice little video too
autumn
- Autumn is in full swing, showers of orange leaves fall from the trees every time the wind blows and the countryside is like an artists palette of beautiful autumn colours.
goodbye uni
- This year, I'll be graduating with a 1st from university. Graduation feels like it's been a long time coming as we're pretty late to be having ours, but I can't wait to tie the final bow on my uni years.
twenty two
- It's birthday month! I don't think I'll ever be over the excitement of birthdays. I have lots of plans with my favourite people and I think that's one of the reasons birthdays excite me so much, I get to say 'Hey, all you people who constantly make me smile and laugh and who make me feel loved daily, come and spend a day doing fun things together' what's not to love about that?!
the lead up to December
- I don't just find 'Christmas Day' exciting, I find the whole thing exciting. The lead up, the time with friends, time with family, watching films, getting cosy, celebrating, playing games, wrapping presents, that warm, cosy feeling you get throughout the whole of December.
This look will feature in an upcoming Autumn Lookbook on my channel, but if you want to know any details...
what I'm wearing
jumper :: BooHoo
jeans :: Matalan
lip colour :: NYX Liquid Lipstick in Cannes
What do you love about November?
October has been a BUSY one. I've finished my internship at The Blogger Programme, I was struck with a serious cold half way through the month and my weekends have been jam packed of fun times with friends. I thought I'd just write down a few things that have made me happy recently! 
1. Happy Halloween! I loved getting all dressed up and heading to a big halloween party with my best friends on Saturday. So much fun, you can see my outfit here on my instagram!
2. The big crisp, bright red apples we got to devour on a dog walk through some orchards last week. They were delicious.
3. Autumn Colours - seriously HOW are trees SO beautiful?!
4. Hungry Hands Zoella Beauty Hand Cream. Smells good enough to eat.
5. Babysitting my little brother on Friday night. We had some lovely, long overdue brother sister time. He's growing up so fast so I cherish the moments he still wants to have a cuddle (although he tells me that will never stop, I'm not sure future 15 year old Ethan will agree!) How he is 9 on Wednesday, I'll never know!
6. My new camel coat from New Look. I feel all kinds of swishy and sophisticated in it. Style post & lookbook coming >>very<< soon.
7. Making plans for bonfire night. Looks like mine will consist of family, friends, fireworks and food!
8. Lighting all the autumn candles and turning on the fairy lights on dark afternoons.
9. Having a huge wardrobe clear out. I didn't have much of a choice as my wardrobe rail collapsed and my clothes have spent a little while in a huge heap, but it feels good to have sorted through, put the summer clothes away, make it neat and tidy and fill up a charity bag.
10. Henry. He's makes me smile everyday and has been such a babe helping me shoot outfits and film recently.
What's made you happy recently?
♥
It's that time of year again, when my hands are forever cold and getting dryer by the minute! I've mentioned my forgetfulness when it comes to hand creams in a post before, it usually takes a rather wonderful scent to keep me re-applying as much as I should.
Enter 'Hungry Hands' the newest hand cream in the Zoella Beauty range. I was super happy to hear Zoe was bringing out a range that was gingerbread scented (as I personally think the UK needs to get up to scratch on the autumn/christmas scents!) and it's lived up to my expectations. It's sweet and warming, but with a subtle hint of spice that comes through after. The scent makes me think of christmas baking and reminds me of days spent by the fire, watching films and wrapping presents.
It sinks in quickly and leaves your hands feeling like silk, with the scent remaining for hours after you've applied it. The packaging is also rather beautiful with the parcel paper brown, deep red and shiny rose gold lettering it looks really sweet sitting on my bedside table. For just £5 you get a lot of product and it does not feel cheap in the slightest. It also doesn't feel like it's aimed at a younger audience either, which I think is something that can often be wrongly assumed by the fun packaging. 
So, all to plan I should have the hands of a goddess by the end of the year! This would be a perfect little present for anyone, young or old, who loves sweet, warming and spicy scents.
Do you ever watch Zoella's Bath & Body Works Hauls and want to weep just a lil' bit because you know none of those candles are available to you? Yeah me too.
But fear not, I have the most affordable and 'good-enough-to-eat' scented candles that are available here in the UK!
My love of Autumn meant I was determined to find some autumn scented candles, I personally feel they're the ultimate scent to make you feel cosy. There's pumpkin scents, spicy scents, sweet scents, the lot.
Home Sense // TK Maxx
Chesapeake Bay Candle - all £3.99
White Pumpkin - Sweet, slightly spicy.
Fall Foliage - Sexy man smell. Yep. It's a thing.
Cosy Cashmere - Vanilla, with a hint of spice.
Tesco Home
Home Inspiration by Yankee Candle - 99p each.
Apple Cinnamon Cider - It smells exactly true to its name, very Christmassy,
B&M Stores
Essence Candles - £2.99
My mum spotted these candles and picked them up for me. I probably wouldn't of picked 'Apple Orchard' as I wanted spicy, sweet scents not fruity, but oh. my. god. this is my favourite.
Apple Orchard - Smells nothing like an apple orchard but like maple syrup and cinnamon. mmm.
Radiant Red Maple - Sweet, sugary, maple syrup scent (but not sickly sweet) with a hint of subtle spice.
These are the ultimate Bath & Body Works Dupes looks-wise too. Make sure you leave them burning for long enough each time, so the wax melts evenly and you get the most out of the candle.
I am so over the moon I found these candles and that none of them were over £4!
The burn-time is great so far, but despite that I feel like I should panic buy some more before I run out... possibly a bit dramatic when I've got 12 candles to burn!
Do any of these satisfy your autumn candle cravings?
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