We at zChocolat.com asked our guest blogger for tips on the most satisfying, delicious hot chocolate.

When there’s a chill in the air, nothing tastes better than a cup of steaming hot cocoa. Unfortunately, nearly all store-bought mixes result in bland and watery cocoa. If you want a rich, creamy version with deep chocolate flavor, try making your own from scratch — you’ll never go back to a premade mix again! We have two easy recipes for you to try, one for hot cocoa, and one for hot chocolate. Hot cocoa is the more traditional beverage, while true hot chocolate is even thicker and richer — almost like drinking melted chocolate or chocolate pudding. Try them both and see which version you prefer. This is not the time to skimp on ingredients or fret about calories — use real sugar and high-quality cocoa and chocolate, and don’t use nonfat versions of milk or half-and-half. The resulting taste and enjoyment will be well worth the calories!

Hot Cocoa

1/2 cup best-quality unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup superfine white sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup half-and-half

1. Combine the cocoa, sugar, and salt in a saucepan. Blend in the boiling water and stir until combined and smooth.
2. Bring to a low boil over medium heat, whisking constantly, then reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes.
3. Whisk in the milk, cream and vanilla and simmer until heated to desired temperature, being careful not to scorch the mixture.
4. Serve in mugs, garnished with cinnamon or peppermint sticks, shaved chocolate, lightly sweetened real whipped cream, or marshmallows. Makes four servings.

Invite your friends over for a cup, served with some seasonal treats.

Hot Chocolate

3 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup half-and-half
8 ounces best-quality dark chocolate
3 Tbsp real maple syrup (you can substitute Demerara sugar or superfine white sugar, although you may want to reduce the amount slightly, depending on taste)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt

1. Finely chop the chocolate.
2. In a saucepan over medium heat, bring the milk and half and half to a simmer, stirring occasionally and being careful not to scorch.
3. Add the chocolate, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt, whisking the mixture until all of the chocolate has melted. Continue to cook for 4 minutes, whisking constantly.
4. Serve small portions in elegant china coffee cups, or use espresso or demitasse cups, perhaps topped with a small dollop of unsweetened whipped cream. Makes six to eight servings.

Serve this instead of dessert for a decadent after-dinner treat. For the adults, try adding a touch of liqueur such as Kahlua, Amaretto, or Frangelico.

What are you planning on serving for your Thanksgiving celebration this year? Do you have a set menu of tried-and-true family classics that you serve without fail, or do you like to mix things up and surprise your guests with new recipes each year? Do you look forward to spending hours preparing a feast or are you looking for ways to reduce your time in the kitchen? Or are you planning to contribute a special dish to a potluck? To give you inspiration as you plan your own holiday meals this year, we’ve compiled some menus that will fit any entertaining style — traditional, modern, or quick and easy. Simply choose one of these recipes to add a new dish to your repertoire, replicate one of the menus in its entirety, or mix and match from each menu to create your own unique feast.

Traditional Favorites

• Butternut squash soup with cider cream
• Salted roast turkey with herb and shallot gravy
• Farmhouse herb stuffing
• Fresh cranberry sauce
• Perfect mashed potatoes
• Baby brussels sprouts with buttered pecans
• Bourbon pecan tart

A Modern Twist

• Arugula and roasted pear salad
• Brined and barbecued turkey
• Chanterelle mushroom gravy
• Chestnut, prune and pancetta stuffing
• Quince and cranberry sauce
• Braised Belgian endive gratin
• Wildflower honey and whiskey glazed sweet potatoes
• Apple galettes with caramel sauce

Simple, Quick and Easy

• Spinach pomegranate salad
• Roasted turkey breast with corn bread–sage stuffing and brandy gravy
• Cranberry, apple and walnut conserve
• Root vegetable and squash purée
• Green beans with lemon and pine nuts
• Pumpkin bread pudding

For hosts who would like to offer a vegetarian main course option, consider a whole pumpkin stuffed with a savory vegetable stew as an alternative or addition to the turkey. Another idea appreciated by anyone cutting sweets is a low-carb dessert; perhaps a low-carb pumpkin cheesecake?

A festive champagne cocktail with a Thanksgiving twist is a perfect start to any holiday gathering. Fill champagne flutes with 1 ounce of cranberry juice, top off with champagne, and garnish with a few whole cranberries. And for those who are fortunate enough to be a guest at someone else’s home for Thanksgiving, why not show your appreciation with a gift from zChocolat.com? You will be guaranteed to be invited back next year!

We hope you’ll share some of your own favorite Thanksgiving traditions or tips for successful holiday entertaining. We wish you a memorable holiday filled with the joys of family, friends, and good food.

A Perfectly Wicked Dessert for Halloween

Here’s a showstopping classic chocolate cake perfect for Halloween — devil’s food cake. Named thus because its sinfully decadent flavor was the complete opposite of its counterpart, the virtuously light angel food cake, this dessert is a chocolate lover’s fantasy. You won’t find a better way to satisfy your sweet tooth than this moist, dark chocolate cake with an incredibly rich flavor intensified by both chocolate and cocoa. To put this dessert completely over the top, we’ve surrounded the three layers with a creamy fudge frosting, which also adds a delightful texture contrast. You can leave the cake unadorned in its elegant simplicity, or add some seasonal accents to fit the occasion — perhaps some fondant cutouts in holiday shapes and colors, edible flowers in fall colors, chocolate molded from waxy fall leaves, or even some real fall leaves?

For optimal results, use the best-quality chocolate and cocoa powder you can find — you’ll taste the difference. Also, be sure to read through the recipe and note the different stages of preparation before you start. While this is not an especially complicated recipe, several components of the cake batter must be prepared separately before they are combined at the end. You’ll be rewarded for your attention to detail when you sink your fork into the finished product!

Devil’s Food Cake

1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp unsweetened best-quality American-style cocoa powder (not Dutch process), plus additional cocoa for dusting pans
2/3 cup boiling water
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
4 oz best-quality unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 cups plus 2 Tbsp cake flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, slightly softened
2 1/2 cups sugar, divided
1 large whole egg
5 large egg yolks
1 cup sour cream (not light or nonfat)
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
4 large egg whites

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. If your oven can fit three round pans on one rack, position the rack in the center of the oven. Otherwise, position one rack about 1/3 of the way from the top of the oven, and a second rack 1/3 of the way from the bottom.
2. Grease three 9-inch round cake pans very generously. Cut out circles of waxed paper or parchment paper to fit the cake pans, and line the bottoms of the pans with the paper. Grease the paper as well. Dust the pans generously with cocoa powder, tapping out any excess.
3. In a medium bowl, pour the boiling water over the 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp of cocoa powder and stir until completely smooth. Stir in the baking soda until well blended (it will bubble up and then deflate gradually, so make sure your bowl is large enough to prevent overflow). Set the mixture aside to cool.
4. In a double boiler or saucepan set over another pot with one or two inches of boiling water, slowly warm the chocolate, stirring occasionally until completely melted. Make sure that the bottom of the top pan does not touch the boiling water in the pan below. Once the chocolate is melted, remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
5. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
6. In a separate bowl, combine the sour cream and vanilla. Set aside.
7. Put the butter in a large bowl (preferably of a standing electric mixer) and beat at medium speed until very light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add 2 1/4 cups of the sugar and beat until well blended, about 3 minutes.
8. Beat in the whole egg and the egg yolks, one at a time. Then beat in the cooled cocoa mixture until very smooth. Beat in the slightly warm melted chocolate until evenly incorporated.
9. At low speed, slowly mix in 1/2 of the dry ingredients, then the sour cream and vanilla mixture, then the remaining 1/2 of the dry ingredients, mixing just until evenly incorporated and smooth. Do not overmix after adding the flour or your cake will be tough.
10. In a clean bowl that is completely grease-free and dry, using clean beaters, beat the egg whites at medium speed until foamy and opaque. Increase the speed to high and continue beating until soft peaks begin to form. Gradually beat in the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and beat until the peaks are stiff but not dry.
11. Using a rubber spatula, fold about 1 cup of the chocolate batter into the whites. Then gently fold the whites into the remaining batter until thoroughly incorporated. Do not overmix.
12. Divide the batter equally among the prepared pans, spreading it to the edges with a rubber spatula.
13. Bake for 30–35 minutes, just until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Be careful not to overbake. The cake tops should spring back slightly when lightly pressed and the sides of the cakes should be just pulling away from the sides of the pans.
14. Transfer the pans to racks and let cool for 15 minutes. Carefully run a thin knife around the edges of the pans to loosen the cake layers. Rap the pans sharply and repeatedly against the counter top until the layers loosen. Invert each layer onto a flat plate or board. Peel off the waxed paper from the bottoms of the cake layers. Lay a cooling rack on each cake bottom and invert so that cakes are right side up.

Fudge Frosting

1 1/4 cups unsweetened heavy cream
1 2/3 cups sugar
6 1/2 oz best-quality unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
1 1/2 sticks cold, unsalted butter, cut into approximately 12 tablespoon-sized pieces
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Ice water

1. In a medium saucepan, stir together the heavy cream and the sugar. Bring to a boil over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to moderately low and maintain a simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Continue cooking at a simmer for 2 more minutes, stirring more frequently. Remove from heat.
2. In a large bowl, combine the chocolate and the butter. Pour in the hot cream and sugar mixture, stirring carefully with a wooden spoon until completely melted. Stir in the vanilla just until blended.
3. Place the bowl with the chocolate and cream mixture inside another larger bowl filled about 1/3 full of ice water. Using a hand-held mixer, beat the frosting at high speed until shiny and thick enough to hold a shape, about 5-10 minutes, depending on the speed of your mixer. Watch carefully as you beat. If the frosting near the side of the bowl becomes very stiff, immediately remove the bowl of frosting from the ice bath and continue beating until it regains the desired consistency.
4. To frost the cake, place one completely cooled cake layer on a serving platter. Using an icing spatula or a table knife, spread 1/4 of the frosting on the first cake layer. Place another cake layer on top and spread on another 1/4 of the frosting. Add the final layer. Cover the top and sides of the cake evenly with the remaining frosting, smoothing or swirling it attractively. Let stand a few minutes until frosting firms slightly, then serve and enjoy!