We have been making chocolate punch with the Thermomix® every Advent season for years. The drink takes 15 minutes from cold to ready to drink and tastes of dark chocolate with cinnamon and gingerbread spice.
We have made hundreds of litres of punch and learned one thing along the way: most recipes just say “heat gently”, but that is too vague. At 80°C with reverse direction, nothing catches on the bottom and the chocolate melts evenly. Higher temperatures cause milk to stick to the base of the bowl; lower temperatures do not melt the chocolate cleanly.
Chocolate Punch with the Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 8 ✓
- 800 g milk
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 50 g dark chocolate
- 1/2 tsp gingerbread spice
- 2 tbsp dark rum
- 200 g chocolate liqueur
- 100 g whipped cream (spray or freshly whipped) alternatively whipping cream
- Einige chocolate sprinkles
Instructions 0 / 3
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1
Warm the milk and spices.
Add the milk, cinnamon stick and chocolate broken into pieces to the mixing bowl and heat for 5 min / 80°C / reverse direction / speed 1.
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2
Add the alcohol.
Add the gingerbread spice, rum and chocolate liqueur and continue to mix for a further 5 min / 80°C / reverse direction / speed 1.
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3
Serve.
Remove the cinnamon stick, divide the chocolate punch between highball glasses and serve garnished with cream and chocolate sprinkles.
Tip: If you prefer a non-alcoholic version, simply leave out the rum.
Video
Nutrition per serving
Why reverse direction is essential for milk and chocolate
The Thermomix® has two directions of rotation: normal direction chops, reverse direction only stirs. For milk-based drinks, reverse direction is not optional. In normal direction the rotating blade would draw air bubbles into the milk and at the same time pulverise the chocolate pieces instead of melting them. The result would be foamy rather than creamy.
The temperature matters too: 80°C is hot enough to melt the chocolate, but still below the boiling point of milk. The cinnamon stick releases its flavour during those 5 minutes without turning bitter. Leaving it longer makes no difference, as the essential oils are fully dissolved after 5 minutes.
Dark chocolate only, no milk chocolate
The recipe calls for dark chocolate with at least 50% cocoa content. Milk chocolate does not work here because it contains too much sugar and too little cocoa. The punch would taste sweet rather than chocolatey. White chocolate is completely out of the question, as it contains no cocoa at all.
The 50 g of chocolate to 800 g of milk is a deliberate ratio. More chocolate does not make the punch more chocolatey, it simply makes it thicker. The chocolate liqueur added at the end delivers the main intensity; the dark chocolate provides the base.
Alcohol goes in after the first heating step
The rum and chocolate liqueur are only added after the first 5 minutes and then heated for a further 5 minutes at 80°C. There are two reasons for this: first, only a minimal amount of alcohol evaporates at this temperature (the boiling point of ethanol is 78°C, but more is retained when it is bound in milk). Second, the rum and liqueur need this time to combine with the milk. Simply stirring them in is not enough.
For the alcohol-free version, leave out the rum and replace the chocolate liqueur with 3 tbsp of cocoa powder plus 3 tbsp of sugar. This does not give exactly the same sweetness and creaminess as liqueur, but it works. Alternatively, replace the chocolate liqueur with alcohol-free chocolate syrup and use only 100 g instead of 200 g.
Gingerbread spice gives the Christmas character
Half a teaspoon of gingerbread spice sounds like very little, but it is enough. The spice blend contains cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom and sometimes ginger. Adding more would not make the punch taste more festive, it would simply taste of spice rather than chocolate.
If you do not have ready-made gingerbread spice: use 1/4 tsp ground cloves plus 1/4 tsp nutmeg as a substitute. The cinnamon stick already provides plenty of cinnamon; the rest is just nuance.
Serve immediately after the second heating step
Remove the cinnamon stick straight after the second round. It has done its job and would turn bitter if left any longer. Pour the punch hot into pre-warmed glasses (rinse briefly with hot water), otherwise it cools down too quickly.
Top with spray cream or freshly whipped cream, then add chocolate sprinkles. The cream melts slowly into the hot punch and adds an extra creaminess. Without cream the punch tastes flatter.
Best enjoyed fresh
Chocolate punch keeps in the fridge for 2 days. No longer, because fresh milk is the base. To serve again, heat gently back to 80°C and do not let it boil. Whip the cream separately and fresh each time, as cream that has been left to cool never becomes stiff again.
Freezing is technically possible, but we advise against it. The milk separates on thawing and becomes grainy. If you do want to freeze it: freeze without the cream and add freshly whipped cream when serving.
More punch recipes: Advocaat Punch, Snow Punch, Egg Punch.
