Doin’ You: Easy peasy hot chocolate

With a combination of unbearably frigid temperatures and the unpleasant jolt back to reality after a lazy winter break, university students are in dire need of comfort food. Hot chocolate is the perfect solution because it can transport you back to your carefree childhood while giving you a much-needed dose of caffeine. It’s a win-win because cocoa is an antioxidant, so you can indulge while maintaining your New Year’s resolutions to eat more healthy foods.

Switch up your morning routine by substituting creamy, homemade hot chocolate for your regular boring old coffee. Skip the lines and steep prices at Starbucks and prove that you are above mediocre store-bought mixes by whipping up your own. Have some as a reward after you finally crack open your brand new overpriced textbooks, or procrastinate by experimenting with the recipe until it satisfies your chocolate addiction.

With only four basic ingredients, this recipe is basically fail-proof and is far superior to the watered-down hot chocolate of arenas, stadiums and free events. Bring some to your study group to win over new friends.

What you’ll need:

• 1 mug of milk
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of cocoa
• A pinch of salt

Step 1

Pick out your favourite mug. Dump the cocoa, sugar and salt in and mix it all together until it looks like one even colour. Don’t worry if you don’t have real measuring spoons. I used regular old spoons and it didn’t make any difference.

Step 2

Pour your milk into the mug and stir. Make sure you scrape the bottom of the mug so that you don’t end up with any nasty clumps that will make your hot chocolate too strong the near the end.

Step 3

Microwave your concoction for a minute and a half. Use the time to put away your ingredients and marvel at your efficiency.

Step 4

Stir it up to remove the lava-like chocolate bubbles that will have formed on the surface. Scrape the bottom again to distribute the chocolaty goo equally. Curl up with a blanket and a book (Netflix works too) and enjoy!

Step 5

If you want to be really fancy you can add a sprinkle of cinnamon, a couple marshmallows or even some whipped cream. Don’t forget to document the event so that your Facebook friends or Instagram followers can appreciate your impressive culinary skills.