With Valentine’s Day around the corner I wanted to play around with a floral hot chocolate. While that may not sound like a great combination, you really have to trust me on this one.

I didn’t tell my unsuspecting testers what flavors I added to our dessert hot chocolate. My partner is not a fan of lavender and she really loved this one. They kept guessing that I put different spices in.

The trick is to just add a little. Too much and it will taste like you’re drinking your Grandmother’s soap. I also find that rose and lavender mellow each other out.

I used lavender extract, but if you can’t find any you could fill a muslin tea bag or tea ball with 1 to 2 teaspoons of culinary lavender and add this at the beginning of cooking. This will infuse the milk with a great lavender flavor too.

I do use real sugar in this recipe, because it is meant to replace the traditional decadent Valentine’s dessert. It also helps thicken it up. The longer you cook it the thicker it will be.

You can substitute your favorite sweetener, but the hot chocolate will be thinner. But either way you’ll make your sweetheart happy!

Slow Cooker Valentine Bouquet Hot Chocolate
(Lavender Rose Hot Chocolate)

**Uses a 1 1/2 to 2 quart slow cooker**

Serves 2 to 3

Ingredients:

• 3 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk, or other non-dairy milk
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 ounces semisweet baking chocolate, in disks or chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon lavender extract
• 1/4 teaspoon rose water

Preparation:

1. Add all the ingredients and cook on low for 2 to 3 hours or on high for 1 to 1 1/2 hour. Stirring once or twice during this time with a whisk to help the chocolate incorporate.
2. Whisk a final time and serve.