Happy Halloween everyone! This Ghoulish Black Hot Cocoa is creamy and delicious! It’s made with black Dutch processed cocoa and is topped with homemade spooky marshmallow ghosts.
To make the marshmallows look like ghost use a paint brush just for food to paint the eyes and mouth on with black food gel. The food gel is thick, which is good so that the color does not run down the ghosts.
What is dutch processed cocoa?
Dutch processed cocoa is a very dark and rich cocoa powder. Black Dutch processed cocoa is simply a cocoa powder that has been heavily dutched or alkalized. It has smoother non-bitter taste that is literally black in color. When used in baking or. Cooking, it turns everything extremely black. For this hot cocoa, I used black cocoa from The Cocoa Trader, which can be purchased on Amazon.
The black cocoa makes the hot cocoa spooky and perfect for Halloween.
How are the marshmallows made?
I made these marshmallows with egg whites. There are other versions made without them as well. Dissolve gelatin in cold water, then add it to a heated mix of sugar, corn syrup and water. I use powdered gelatin, but another option is using gelatin sheets.
Pour the hot mixture into whisked egg white with stiff peaks. Whisk in a stand mixture for 8-10 minutes. This marshmallow mixture gets piped onto powder sugar dusted, parchment lined baking sheets in the shape of ghosts. To pipe them, you need to pipe 3 dollops on top of each other with the largest at the bit and the smallest at the top. Then the marshmallows need to dry for at least 8 hours or overnight on the counter.
Add the marshmallows to the top of the hot cocoa and serve. This is the Perfect drink to end your Halloween night!
Black
Here are other great drinks perfect for Halloween!
Fall Themed Pear Gin Rosemary Fizz
Ghoulish Black Hot Cocoa
Ingredients
Gelatin
- 2 tbsp cold water
- 1 tbsp gelatin powder
Marshmallow
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup light corn syrup
- gelatin mixture
- 2 egg whites
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- Powdered sugar
- Black food gel
Cocoa
- 3-5 tbsp black Dutch processed cocoa
- 3 tbsp water
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 3-4 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Marshmallows
- In a small dish add the gelatin and 2 tablespoons of cold water. Stir to combine, then set aside.In a saucepan add corn syrup, granulated sugar, and 1/4 cup water. Whisk and bring to a boil for about 2 minutes or until a candy thermometer registers temperature between 242 – 245°F. While the mixture is boiling, add the egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Whisk until they hold soft peaks. When the sugar mixture is ready, add the gelatin and stir to dissolve. Slowly add the hot mixture into the egg whites and whisk until stiff (about 8-10 minutes). Add the vanilla extract and whisk just until combined. Line 2 baking pans with parchment paper, then dust them with powdered sugar. Add the marshmallow into a large piping bag with a large round piping tip (tip #12). Pipe the ghosts on the parchment lined pan by holding the piping bag straight down. Pipe a large dollop upwards, then a quick pause, then pipe upwards a slightly smaller dollop, then a quick pause and pipe again upwards a very small dollop, until you have a ghost shape. Allow the marshmallows to dry at least 8 hours or overnight. For the faces, dip a thin paint brush into a couple of drops of black food gel. Paint 2 small circles for the eyes and one large oval for the mouth. Set aside.
Hot Cocoa
- Add cocoa and water in a small saucepan over medium heat until both are fully combined. Add additional 1-2 tbsp of water if necessary. Add milk, cream, sugar and vanilla. Stir and let the cocoa to a simmer. Adjust sugar according to taste. Pour cocoa into a 14 oz large glass mug. If using a smaller mug, divide the mixture in half. Top with 1-2 ghosts marshmallows and serve.
