Some recipes I make over and over again, and some I don’t. I’m not sure why, but once a recipe becomes part of my repertoire, I tend to stick with it. However as a diversion from my usual Parisian hot chocolate recipe, I revisited this one, which I learned to make in Belgium. I’d forgotten how good it was!

I made this hot chocolate recipe when I did an internship at Wittamer, one of the best chocolate shops in Brussels. And let me tell you, there’s plenty of competition in that town.

The head chocolatier, Michael Lewis gave me this recipe, which they serve in their chic tea salon overlooking the place Sablon. This recipe is simple enough to make anytime you’re looking for a hot chocolate fix. Which for me, is often – especially in the winter.

Unlike other hot chocolates, this one uses a touch of milk chocolate, and you should seek out a good-quality one. Most of the better milk chocolates list their percentage of cacao on the label (often between 30-35%) and taste better than those bars sold by the supermarket check-out aisle, which are basically candy, not chocolate.

I included this recipe in The Great Book of Chocolate, where there’s also a story about my time working at Wittamer, dipping chocolates all day, then wrapping things in lovely bows for the boutique. I was also fortunate enough to sample (i.e.; sneak in as many as I could when no one was looking) most of their rich, creamy chocolates: one bite and it’s a no-brainer to see why Wittamer is “the” classic Belgian chocolate. This hot chocolate? It’s no slouch either.