Easy Carnation Orange Spiced Hot Chocolate With Cloves

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Cold weather calls for a mug of cozy hot chocolate, and what better way to finish off a big mug of cocoa than with a fresh whipped cream topping? This orange hot chocolate with cloves is so delicious you will find it hard not to have another steaming mug of the rich decadence. So put on the kettle and get out your Carnation instant rich and creamy hot chocolate blend; your tastebuds are in for a treat. 

It’s the deep of winter here, so I wanted a hot chocolate. But not just any hot chocolate. I wanted a flavorful, decadent drink. That’s when I thought of adding orange blossom water from the cupboard. I mean, orange and chocolate. What’s not to love about that flavor combination? After taking the first sip, a brainwave hit me that adding a dash of cloves would make it sing and round out the flavor more. I was right; this orange spiced hot chocolate topped with luscious whipped cream and sprinkled with chocolate shavings is fantastic!

​The chocolate bar I used for shavings was from Lindt because if you are going all the way in terms of a quality drink treat, it has to be the best ingredients. Shaving chocolate is more challenging than you would think when dealing with a thinner chocolate bar. In fact, I started with the whole bar, quickly snapping off a section. So, begin working with just one section at a time. Or if shaving chocolate seems too fiddly, chop it coarsely with a knife on the cutting board. 

Glassware matters, too. If you want to impress, use your best glass mug for this hot chocolate recipe. I used my Irish coffee mug and the immersion drink blender I had. Honestly, it’s as easy, if not more so, to stir with a spoon. In fact, that little immersion blender packs some power and can end up making a huge mess. Ahem, I may have learned the hard way. 

orange spiced hot chocolate (3)

Why you will love this Orange spiced hot chocolate with cloves. 

It’s old-fashioned. Rich and tasty, the cloves spice has fallen out of fashion but once predominated in orange flavor combinations. It’s a truly delicious blend that harkens back to yesteryear. 

It’s the best hot chocolate when you use a quality blend like Carnation’s rich and creamy mix. Using a hot chocolate mix speeds up the process, making this a quick and easy drink for the whole family. 

​Orange hot cocoa is the delicious hot chocolate that warms you up from the inside out, perfect for a cold winter day. 

Put the kettle on to make this easy orange spiced hot chocolate with cloves!

​This recipe is for one hot chocolate but can be doubled or tripled depending on how many people you serve. Remember to add enough water to the kettle when you put it on to boil so that everyone gets enough simultaneously. Each mug takes half a cup of water if you are using Irish coffee mugs. For more oversized mugs, you must adjust the hot chocolate powder mix to water ratio to determine how much to fill it three-quarters full.

​Get the mug or mugs ready while waiting for the water to boil. Fill each one with two and half rounded tablespoons of the Carnation rich and creamy hot chocolate mix. If you’re not familiar with making cocoa, be sure only to add enough water as needed to melt the powder and blend it well with your spoon. Adding all of the water at once will lead to many residual particles floating about and the possibility of too much powder being left in a lump in the bottom of your mug. 

Add one tablespoon of the orange blossom water once you have mixed the hot chocolate with the required water. DO NOT taste test this ingredient. I learned the hard way that while it may smell divine and nicely flavor your baking and drinks, it’s utterly unpalatable on its own. 

​Now, add half a teaspoon of cloves and mix both in well. Add to that one-quarter cup of half-and-half creamer. This is optional. If you want to cut back on the fat content of the drink, then you can add more water and skip the creamer. Or alternatively, add half a cup of regular milk. But I was looking for decadence, so I used half and half. I should also note that my immersion blender made a giant mess, so the images you see here are missing part of the beverage due to spillage before I topped the mug with whipped cream. 

For this, I just used a regular can of whipped cream. If I were making a lot of this for a sledding party, I would likely make the whipped cream using whipping cream and a tad of sugar. But when you are just making a one-off canned, it works fine. Plus, it leaves those cool little lines from the nozzle. 

The last step is generously sprinkling the whole thing with the shaved chocolate. As I said, I used a Lindt chocolate bar with salted caramel, which was a great choice! The salted caramel chocolate sprinkles added even more flavor complexity to the hot drink. 

So now you’ve made your mug of orange spiced hot chocolate, go ahead and cozy up under a blanket with your favorite book or TV show. Enjoy. You deserve it. 

Ingredients:

Carnation Rich and Creamy Hot Chocolate Mix: This is a convenient and popular choice for making hot chocolate quickly and easily. You usually just need to add hot water or hot milk, stir, and your hot chocolate is ready to enjoy.

Hot Water: Allows the chocolate flavor of the mix to shine through more prominently. Using hot water also results in a lighter, low-calorie beverage. 

Half and Half Creamer: This blend is half whole milk and light cream. It brings an added richness to the drink while also cooling the heat of the hot water, making the beverage drinkable immediately. 

Whipping Cream: We used canned whipped cream, with its main advantage being convenience. Plus, if you were to make it from scratch for only one serving, there would be more wastage of the whipped cream as it doesn’t store as well as premade. 

Orange Blossom Water: This has a delicate and floral flavor with a subtle citrus undertone. Made from the blossom of the bitter Orange vs the orange fruit itself. 

Cloves: Cloves have a strong, warm, sweet flavor with a hint of bitterness. The taste is aromatic and slightly numbing on the tongue, so use caution when adding it to your drink. 

orange spiced hot chocolate

Substitutions and Add-Ins

Hot Chocolate Mix: We used Carnation Rich and Creamy Hot Chocolate mix; however, any hot chocolate mixture that mixes well with water can be used. 

Half and Half Creamer: This dairy product is not as rich as the whole cream but does add milkiness to the hot chocolate. If you wish to switch it out for a full-fat creamer or, in contrast, use lighter milk, that is also fine. 

Whipping Cream: Canned whipping cream is decadent by its very nature. However, using a non-dairy whipped topping or an alternative like Cool Whip or Dream Whip would also work in a pinch. 

Orange Blossom Water: This product by Cedar is powerful. It’s best used in drinks and baking. If you find the orangeness bitter, you can switch it out with orange extract, which has a sweeter tone. 

Cloves: This recipe calls for ground cloves. You can omit if you don’t like cloves or have a food allergy. Alternatively, you can switch the spice blend to include cinnamon. In fact, standing a cinnamon stick or two in the mug would be very festive looking for the holiday season. 

Expert Tips and Serving Suggestions:

Tips #1: Be sure to mix the hot chocolate powder with just a little water to avoid having any lumps or clumps of powder remaining. Once blended, you can add the rest of the water. 

Tip #2: Be sure to use the orange blossom water and cloves as directed in the recipe to avoid an unpleasant overuse of either. You can reduce both as your palette prefers. 

Tip #3: Don’t use an immersion blender on the hot chocolate directly in your mug, as it can be messy.

Serving this hot chocolate in a clear glass mug with a cookie or two will win you favor with family members. After all, who can pass up a lavish, rich, creamy hot beverage on a cold winter day? 

If you like the flavor of Orange and chocolate, try our orange blossom chocolate muffins!

If you enjoyed a mug of this orange spiced hot chocolate we would love to hear about it. Leave a comment below the recipe card if you test this recipe. As always, we love hearing from you, our readers!  

orange spiced hot chocolate

Carnation Orange Spiced Hot Chocolate With Cloves

Amber Bondar
This easy to make Carnation orange spiced hot chocolate is a decadent beverage that is the perfect way to warm up on a cold winters day. With orange blossom water and ground cloves topped with whipped cream and chocolate shavings it's sure to be a hit with everyone in your family.
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Course Drinks
Cuisine American, Canadian
Servings 1

Equipment

  • 1 Mug
  • 1 Tablespoon
  • 1 Teaspoon
  • 1 Grater

Ingredients
  

  • Tbsp Carnation Rich and Creamy Hot Chocolate Mixture Heaping
  • 1 Tbsp Orange Blossom Water
  • ½ Tsp Ground Cloves
  • ½ Cup Boiling Hot Water
  • ¼ Cup Half and Half Creamer
  • Whipped Cream To Top
  • Chocolate Shavings

Instructions
 

  • Boil the water on high heat until it reaches a rolling boil.
  • In mug add two and half heaping tablespoons hot chocolate mix.
  • Measure one half cup of boiling water and add only enough to mix and dissolve the hot chocolate powder.
  • Slowly add the remaining water and mix well.
  • Add in the cloves and orange blossom water mixing well.
  • Measure and add the half and half creamer.
  • Top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.
  • Serve straight away!
Keyword cloves, hot chocolate, orange flavored, spiced beverage, winter beverage
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