Stock up on cocoa to keep out the chill

Before I was deemed old enough to have cappuccino when I went to my parents’ café, my dad would make me a hot chocolate so heavily capped with schiuma (foam) it would take half a dozen scoops through milky peaks to get to the molten chocolate. All ills were cured. With such a primitive imprint it’s not surprising that at any small hurdle in my day I self-prescribe a cup of medicinal, roborant, liquid chocolate.

Everything I wrote about hot chocolate last year still stands but there are addictions. My current favourite – so prized I ration it for big hurdle days – is Bare Bones’ Limited Edition 68% Salted Hot chocolate (£10/250g, bareboneschocolate.co.uk). I’ve gone on about the bar but in hot choc form it’s equally transporting. You deserve it and so do I.

I’ve been having a lot of fun with Knoops, not least the variety: from a 28% white (I loathe white drinking chocolate but this isn’t only about me), to a robust 80%, with seven choices in between. My favourite was the 54% – great for when you can’t make up your mind, and also for children as it’s not too alienating but tastes of chocolate and not sugar. Prices are £8.95-£9.95/250g (knoops.co.uk) depending on the origin.

Hotel Chocolat wins for sheer flavour choice (from £9/250g, hotelchocolat.com). The 50% Milky is a favourite with my children, but I go for the 70% for more poke. On a winter’s day the Chilli Dark is lovely, especially if some alcohol falls into it. Seasonal flavours are where it really starts happening: look for the dark mint and orange supermilk and pray for cold.