RECIPE OF THE WEEK: Hot Chocolate Float

People think of sipping ice cream floats in the middle of summer when temperatures are soaring. Ice cream floating in a bubbling base of cola or root beer can be a welcome treat on a hot day. However, floats can be just as delicious when the weather chills, particularly when ice cream enhances rich and decadent hot chocolate.

For this Hot Chocolate Float from Chocolate: Over 100 Temptingly-Tasty Dishes (Love Food) by the Love Food editors, coconut- and chocolate-flavored scoops of ice cream bob and melt in creamy hot chocolate. Feel free to use your favorite ice cream flavors to make this recipe your own, and you can even make this drink a boozy version with the inclusion of a shot of flavored vodka. This recipe serves four.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups milk

8 ounces semisweet chocolate

2 Tablespoons superfine sugar

8 scoops coconut ice cream

8 scoops semisweet chocolate ice cream

Whipped cream to decorate

DIRECTIONS:

Pour the milk into a saucepan. Break the chocolate into pieces and add to the saucepan with the sugar. Stir over low heat until the chocolate has melted, the sugar has dissolved, and the mixture is smooth. Remove the saucepan from the heat.

Put one scoop of coconut ice cream into each of 4 heatproof glasses, top with a scoop of chocolate ice cream, then repeat the layers.

Pour the chocolate-flavored milk into the glasses, top with whipped cream, and serve immediately.