This week I went to see Jon, manager at Urban Beach in Boscombe, making their signature Boutique Hot Chocolate...

What's so special about it? Well: it starts with four tablets of homemade 70 per cent cocoa ganache.

While that's mixing to a smooth paste with some water and hot chocolate powder, the hotel tackle the trickiest part of hot chocolate making.

"The trouble is," Jon said, "that by the time you've got all the cream and stuff on a hot chocolate and got it to the table, you have about 10 seconds to drink it before it gets cold."

So the team have come up with an ingenious solution.... the "tower of joy".

It's an espresso saucer holding a tower of cream topped with marshmallows, honeycomb and cocoa powder.

Top the cocoa paste with steamed milk, pour it into a prewarmed cup and there you have it!

You eat the tower with a spoon, in between (or on top of) sips of hot chocolate.

Here's Jon demonstrating how to make it... (there's no sound).

How do you make your hot chocolate?

PS: Jon will be back next week demonstrating how to make a fabulous seasonal cocktail...