Candy cane hot chocolate is my favorite festive drink. It’s easy to make with the right ingredients and looks stunning in a photo. Unlike other holiday drinks, you can’t make ingredient substitutions.

If you collect Christmas coffee mugs, this is the drink you’ll want to make! I like using oversized coffee mugs for Christmas drinks because they have a lot of space for toppings.

Making an oversized hot chocolate

Here’s what you need:

• 16-oz cup

• Milk frother

• Whipping cream

• Candy toppings (mini candy canes, marshmallows)

To get an Insta-worthy cup of hot chocolate, you need a lot of marshmallows. If you’re using an oversized coffee mug, there’s no need to limit yourself to mini marshmallows. Full-sized marshmallows will give your drink a festive and over-the-top appearance. I also like to keep snowflake-shaped marshmallows on hand during the holidays.

Start by heating at least half the milk with a milk frother and use a cup large enough to only fill half the cup with milk. Fill the bottom of the cup with your hot chocolate mix, fully blended into a small amount of hot milk.

Layer on the hot foam from the milk frother, followed by enough whipped cream to reach the top of the cup. Cover the whipped cream in marshmallows first, then sprinkle on crushed candy cane. You can garnish the drink with an additional mini candy cane.

Candy cane hot chocolate recipe

• Hot chocolate shavings (milk or white)

• 2 to 3 drops of peppermint extract

• 8 to 12 ounces of milk

• 2 mini candy canes (one crushed and one whole)

Be careful with ingredient substitutions. If you use a cacao powder-based mix or a hot chocolate with cinnamon in it, you will not get the full, rich flavour that makes a great cup of candy cane hot chocolate. For this recipe you need to use a hot chocolate mix made with actual chocolate. If you have the patience to whisk your hot chocolate on the stove, you can achieve an especially luscious texture using hot chocolate shavings.

For candy cane hot chocolate, 2 to 3 drops of peppermint extract should be enough. You can always add more peppermint to taste. If you start with too much mint, the flavour is hard to dilute. I would also suggest not adding coffee or using any kind of mint other than peppermint. If you use spearmint, your hot chocolate will taste more like toothpaste than candy.

You’ll need to serve this cup of hot chocolate with a spoon and have fun drinking it!

Learn how to make an Insta-worthy gingerbread latte here.