20 Wonderfully Creative Hot Chocolate Recipes

As the official content creators for The Okanagan Hot Chocolate Festival, it is our duty to keep up to date with the current trends and creative hot chocolate recipes in the world today. We’ve been doing a lot of research as we are charged with creating some recipe reels and content for the 3rd annual festival held in our home valley this coming January. These are our inspirations and we can’t wait to share them with you! Be sure to follow us on Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest and Tiktok for more!

For your convenience you can swipe through our gallery slideshow or scroll down to see each individual recipe.

Miso Salted Oat Milk Hot Chocolate

Miso is an underused ingredient, especially when it comes to sweets. Its umami mixed with sweet and salty creates for the best vegan cup of hot chocolate. This version is free of refined sugar as it uses maple syrup, white miso paste, chocolate, cocoa powder and oat milk. Simple and healthy.

Ruby Hot Chocolate aka Barbie Hot Chocolate

I first heard of ruby chocolate while perusing the Valrhona chocolate site. The pink chocolate makes a visually stunning hot chocolate reminiscent of the Barbie movie. We think the Barbie movie marketing will live on in the Zeitgeist well into the winter months. Ruby chocolate is made with ruby beans, meaning there is no added colouring to get its signature pink colour! It is fruitier and milder similar to a white chocolate yet it is truly real chocolate!

Whipped Hot Chocolate

Making a great hot chocolate is just as much as the toppings as it is the liquid. This whipped hot chocolate makes for an extra chocolatey addition as opposed to the classic whipped cream. Bonus, it is super easy to make with the classic hot chocolate power mix. It is also super adaptable! Use it to top your coffee, hot chocolate or cold drinks like chocolate milk!

Cabernet Hot Chocolate Latte

We are based in wine country after all, and we DO love to have an excuse to add wine to absolutely anything! This red wine hot chocolate is a great boozy hot chocolate for winter parties. Adorned with chocolate syrup and espresso to top it all off!

Hot Chocolate Bubble Tea

Boba or bubble tea is a sensation here in British Columbia and in many locations where there is a sizeable Asian population. I love bubble tea, particularly milk tea, and in Kelowna we are gaining a foothold of quality milk tea locations.

Baileys Hot Chocolate

In Canada, you probably won’t find a liquor cabinet with Bailey’s in it, especially during the winter months. We love this recipe but like to play with the different Baileys flavours. Anyone for a Nanaimo Bar Baileys Hot Chocolate? Or how about a Vanilla Mint Shake Baileys? Use this recipe as a base and play away!

Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate with Peanut Butter Whipped Cream

If you’re like me, you buy the Reese’s peanut butter cups to munch on while you hand out the other candies at Halloween. There’s just no better combo that chocolate and peanut butter. This hot chocolate taste that love affair to the next level with a peanut butter whipped cream. If you’re allergic to peanuts I highly recommend the Wow Butter substitution.

Hot Chocolate x Cocoa Hybrid

What’s the difference between a hot chocolate and a hot cocoa? You don’t need to know in this hybrid recipe! But we will tell you anyways! A hot chocolate is made with real chocolate while cocoa is made with powder. This hybrid recipe is sweetened with maple syrup and the perfect combination of creamy rich decadence with added vanilla extract. It is so simple but difficult to find the best of both worlds.

Earl Grey Hot Chocolate

In 2022, the local French patisserie in Kelowna, Sandrine’s, made the most delicious Earl Grey Hot Chocolate paired with a signature earl grey macaron. It was my favourite of the entire Okanagan Hot Chocolate Festival that year. Now I found a recipe that is so close to perfection I can make it whenever those chilly nights call for it.

Hot Chocolate Matcha Latte

There are so many health benefits to drinking matcha on a daily basis. Cocoa powder provides properties that increase your brain power and reduce anxiety or depression. Add to this the antioxidants, vitamins, glowing skin, etc. from matcha and you’ve got yourself a delicious morning ritual.

Chai Spiced Hot Chocolate

Chai is a spice combination that compliments autumn so well. I dare say it is better than pumpkin spice because it has an added kick. This gorgeous chai spiced hot chocolate is dairy free and provides a kick that is smoothed by the creamy hot chocolate. This recipe provides the ingredients to make your own Chai spice to keep for baking, cooking and more.

Black Garlic Hot Chocolate

Definitely the wildest flavour combination on this list of unique hot chocolates, the black garlic is just regular garlic cloves but cooked slowly for 30 days. The result is a sweet and sticky garlic paste that is similar to dates yet has a distinct flavour of its own. If you’re interested in trying black garlic paste or buying a jar of black garlic we recommend SouthChinaSeas.ca – use the link to get 15% off your purchase!

Functional Mushroom Hot Chocolate

Functional drinks and food are all the rage. Especially when it comes to mushrooms. We have a local health food store, Goods Health & Wellness, that enters the Okanagan Hot Chocolate Festival providing functional hot chocolates. You can select if you want an energy, brain function or immunity boost by selecting which type of mushrooms you use. It is a great substitution for coffee in the morning.

Hojicha Hot Chocolate

Hojicha is roasted green tea and in this recipe it creates a nuttiness alongside the dark chocolate. Unlike matcha which is green tea leaves ground into a fine bright green powder, Hojicha is roasted tea leaves, stems and twigs that is left as a loose leaf or ground into a fine powder. It’s colour is more muted than matcha.

Mexican Spiked Hot Chocolate

A classic in the most historical sense of the words. The ancient Mayans and Aztecs blended cocoa beans and created the earliest versions of hot chocolate with vanilla and spices. This version has all natural ingredients with the added option of making it a bit boozy. The cayenne adds the perfect heat on a cold evening.

Colonial Spiced Hot Chocolate

Fancy a trip back in time to enjoy a hot chocolate just as the colonists would have enjoyed it? Try this recipe! It is much more spiced than I expected with the additions of cardamom, cayenne, nutmeg and star anise.

You might also enjoy our food tour of the Vancouver Christmas Market…

Bourbon Cookie Butter Hot Chocolate

The decadence! Cocoa powder, chopped chocolate, bourbon and Biscoff cookie butter are used to create this ultimate hot chocolate that will impress the Grinch in your life!

Parisian Hot Chocolate with Raspberry Whip

There’s nothing I love more than a European-style hot chocolate. Their love of the decadent and thick melted chocolate of an elevated caliber is something to admire. But every now and then it is good to mix it up a bit and that’s what this raspberry whip provides. A visually exquisite feast for the eyes that creates an acidic yet sweet hit of fruit on top of creamy chocolate decadence.

Blood Orange Hot Chocolate

A classic pairing of orange and chocolate makes for the perfect sweet treat come the holidays. This hot chocolate recipe is super easy to make but is very flavourful!

Hot Chocolate with Marscapone Whip

The added marscapone whipped cream calls to mind a cannoli and is a warm mug of love. The dark hot chocolate is complimented by the creamy yet lightly salted marscapone cheese.

Stay tuned while we dream up our own hot chocolate recipes and flavours for the coming hot chocolate festival. As always, you can subscribe to our Substack newsletter and on our Instagram.

If you decide to make any of these incredibly creative hot chocolate recipes please let us know by tagging us and the official websites who published each recipe! It means the world to us when you do!