It hasn’t actually got that cold yet. Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t it meant to be a lot chillier by now? I haven’t got my big scarfs out. I’m in no need of gloves and I haven’t even swung my full coat collection into action. My real, big, winter coats are still safely in storage and I haven’t come anywhere near close to pulling them out yet.

That said, it is getting much, much darker (sob) and so cosying up in the evenings is still entirely necessary. Warm drinks are essential for this. I’m being slightly contradictory here though, as I’m not much a warm-drinks-drinker. I don’t like coffee and I’d say I am a ‘social tea drinker’ – I will if you will, but never on my own. So standing in line at a coffee shop with my coffee-obsessed boyfriend the other day, I had my usual tussle over what I wanted (the real answer – nothing). Then I noticed they had hot chocolate…

I’m finding myself craving hot chocolate more and more these days. I love chocolate (who doesn’t…) – I’d happily give up sweets, crisps, cake etc etc but I could never let go of chocolate. So hot chocolates feel like the ultimate treat, especially as the days are getting darker (if not colder).

It turns out that making your own is ridiculously easy and it tastes so much better. Yes, stirring powder into hot milk is hardly strenuous in the first place, but just put in a little extra effort and it’s entirely worth it. Melted chocolate is better than powder any day.

I got the original recipe from here, but really you can add or take away anything you want (that’s part of the fun!) and the measurements don’t need to be precise. And the method is essentially chuck it in a saucepan and stir.

You will need – 100g of your favourite chocolate (I mixed milk and dark), 2 cups of water, 2 cups of milk and 2 cinnamon sticks. Put everything but the milk in the saucepan. When the chocolate has entirely melted, add the milk and keep stirring until it’s warm and ready to drink (this takes a little longer than you’d expect). Add whipped cream, cocoa powder, marshmallows, an extra cinnamon stick and whatever else takes your fancy and enjoy! Easy.