Indulgence. That’s the word that came to me when I’m looking at these hot chocolate photos. Usually tea is my go to drink when I want comfort. On the contrary hot chocolate is my ultimate drink when I want something extra.
I will not share a recipe in this post because there is none. I just used a hot cocoa powder mix from Whittard: the one with the peanut butter they make for Halloween. It’s my all time hot chocolate mix favourite! I add a bit of whipped crème fraîche and I top everything with some toasted marshmallows. See? Fairly simple!
Also I like to whip my own cream and not buying some ready made chantilly bottle for 2 reasons: although it’s convenient and ready to use, it’s full of air and becomes flat (and ugly in photo) too quickly, and it is way too sweet for my taste. I love the tanginess of the crème fraîche (a bit like a sour cream)
BONUS POINT for the delightful smell of chocolate and burned marshmallows: it was a such a long time that I haven’t tasted any hot cocoa. What a treat it was!
Photoshoot
Remember this post? I shot a glass of Champagne where I originally intended to do a hot cocoa. Well this was what I had in mind when I did it!
I wanted to try a photoshoot with light props with a dramatic light. Have I ever told you how much I love the winter light in Scotland? It doesn’t last very long but to my opinion it is amazing: dramatic, deep, soft, warm (the light temperature, not the real one, it’s often very cold outside!)
My main inspiration for this session was to create something minimalist in the props and to focus mainly on the food styling. I wanted to create something warm, soft, with deep shadows and monochromatic. I chose to give it a matte look by making my shadows lighter. It’s not my usual style that is more frank and contrasty, but I like it!
All in all it was a simple setup: one light, no reflectors.
Here are some badly taken photo of the behind the scenes. Like I said it was a fairly simple setup!
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