Chocolat à l’ancienne (with dairy-free option)

by sparkle | Oct 2, 2025 | Breakfast Recipes, Snack and Dessert Recipes

French hot chocolate. Amazingly decadent, surprisingly simple. French has the perfect word to describe this delicious treat: onctueux – a word that means rich, smooth, and creamy all at the same time.

Chocolat à l’ancienne, which could translate to “old-fashioned chocolate,” is served in famous Parisian cafés. It is a special treat, but it can be made at home quite easily, with a few simple ingredients.

Are you ready to enjoy it? Let’s make chocolat à l’ancienne.

Ingredients:

Ingredients (for 2 small cups of hot chocolate):

12 ounces (1.5 cups) whole milk*

3 ounces dark chocolate (60% – 90%) – broken into pieces

½ tsp vanilla extract or one cinnamon stick

*For dairy-free version, use 1 cup coconut milk from a carton and 1/2 cup canned coconut milk, in place of whole milk.

1 1/2 cups whole milk

Chocolat à l’ancienne is rich and creamy. You can use 1.5 cups whole milk, or for an even creamier version, consider using 1 1/4 cups whole milk and 1/4 cup heavy cream.

OR: For a dairy-free version, use 1 cup coconut milk from a carton, and 1/2 cup canned coconut milk

If you would like to make a dairy free version, use 1 cup coconut milk from a carton and 1/2 cup coconut milk from a can. Canned coconut milk has a higher fat content than coconut milk from a carton. This proportion of canned and carton coconut milk gives the right balance to be similar to whole milk.

3 oz. dark chocolate, broken into small pieces

Chocolat à l’ancienne is mean to be rich and not overly sweet. You can use dark chocolate from 60% to 90%. The lower the percent, the sweeter your drink will be. (You can always add extra sweetener to each cup to your taste.)

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract or a cinnamon stick

Add a flavor of your choice to your hot chocolat. 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, or a cinnamon stick. (Be sure to remove the cinnamon stick before serving.)

Instructions:

Pour milk into saucepan. Turn burner to medium heat. Add chocolate pieces and vanilla extract (or cinnamon stick). Wisk continually until a thick and creamy mixture forms. Pour into a small pitcher. Serve on a tray with two cups. Add sweetener as desired.

Watch our video to see how easy it is to make chocolat à l’ancienne.

Enjoy!

Simple Salade Niçoise

by sparkle | Sep 20, 2025 | Lunch and Dinner Recipes

Bring a little southern French sunshine to your day with this simple salade Niçoise. Salade Niçoise is a traditional salad that one can find in restaurants all over France, but especially in the south. There are many variations of the salad. The recipe in this post is especially made so that children can easily make the salad. Our recipe is inspired by a wonderful recipe in The Best Ever French Cooking Course book.

The salad could be made on one large platter, but in this recipe, we suggest making individual plates of salad. This way each plate on the table can look pretty. This recipe serves 4 people, but it is easy to adapt the recipe for fewer or additional servings.

Let’s make Salade Niçoise…

Ingredients for the salad:

Bag of salad greens (pre-washed to save time)
3-4 small tomatoes
1 cucumber
4 handfuls green beans (pre-washed and cut to save time)
several black olives
4 hardboiled eggs
2 cans tuna

Ingredients for the dressing:

1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp. crushed garlic (pre-crushed in a jar to save time)
juice of 1 large lemon
1/2 cup olive oil
dash of black pepper

Supplies:

cutting board
knife
peeler
spoon
tablespoon
1/2 cup measuring cup
juicer
jar and cover
4 dinner plates

To make the salad, lay 4 plates on the counter. Add ingredients to the plates in the way shown below to arrange a beautiful salad on each plate.

Step 1

Place a handful of pre-washed salad greens on each plate.

Step 2

Wash and slice tomatoes.

Step 3

Place a handful of sliced tomatoes over the salad greens on each plate.

Step 4

Peel and slice the cucumber.

Step 5

Place a handful of sliced cucumbers on each plate.

Step 6

Steam the green beans (ask a adult for help with steaming). Cool the green beans with cold water, then place them in a wreath shape on top of the salad.