Pirate Hot Chocolate Ice Cubes

For my daughter's pirate-themed birthday party, I adapted a coffee ice cube recipe to make hot chocolate ice cubes using pirate skull trays from Amazon. These super cool ice cubes decorated our root beer floats and were a hit with everyone. 

Overall, this is a very easy project and my toddler was able to help me in the kitchen. We used an eye dropper to fill the trays, and she was thrilled to squeeze the liquid in. Its the simple joys in life.

Ingredients

• Room-Temperature Hot Chocolate: 2 ¼ cups (Prepare according to package instructions)
• Unsweetened Almond Milk: 1 cup
• Heavy Cream: 1 cup
• Xanthan Gum: ½ teaspoon (optional, for a creamier texture)

Instructions

1. Prepare Hot Chocolate
   • Begin by preparing 2 ¼ cups of hot chocolate using your favorite mix or recipe. Let the hot chocolate cool down to room temperature before proceeding.
2. Combine Ingredients
   • In a mixing bowl, combine the cooled hot chocolate, 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk, and 1 cup of heavy cream. Stir until the mixture is well-blended.
3. Add Xanthan Gum (Optional)
   • For an extra creamy texture, stir in ½ teaspoon of xanthan gum. This will help the mixture freeze with a smoother, less icy texture, similar to ice cream. If you don't have xanthan gum, you can skip this step and still enjoy delicious ice cubes.
4. Pour into Molds
   • Carefully pour the mixture into ice cube trays or silicone molds of your choice. For a pirate-themed touch, consider using skull-shaped molds.
5. Freeze
   • Place the filled trays in the freezer and allow the hot chocolate cubes to freeze completely. This will typically take several hours. 
   • The smaller the ice cube tray - the faster it will freeze. With these mini skull trays, I was able to work through a few batches quickly. 
6. Serve!