Old-Fashioned Hot Chocolate - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 1/4 teaspoons cornstarch
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1 pinch chili powder or 1 pinch cayenne, for mystery
4 tablespoons skim milk
4 semi-sweet chocolate baking squares, grated or 9 tablespoons dark cocoa
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
sugar, to taste
OPTIONS
1 -2 teaspoon of a sweet liqueur, adding it with the vanilla (such as dark rum or Grand Marnier) (optional)
2 tablespoons ginger syrup (optional)
unsweetened whipped cream (optional) or lightly sweetened whipped cream, as a garnish (optional)

Preparation

IF USING CHOCOLATE:
Grate chocolate (manually or in food processor fitted with steel blades). Add in corn starch, sugar, and salt.
IF USING COCOA:
Mix solid ingredients, butter, and a little warmed milk to make a smooth paste; add remaining milk.
In a one-quart, heavy-bottomed, non-aluminum saucepan, heat milk over medium low heat, stirring often with small whisk, until it is steaming hot. Carefully add chocolate mixture.
Continue cooking mixture, stirring almost constantly with whisk and scraping bottom and sides of pot with heat resistant spatula frequently. Mixture will steam for several (15-20) minutes before coming to a boil, and will thicken slightly.
When mixture boils, continue cooking and stirring for only 30 to 45 seconds.
Remove from heat; whisk in vanilla, sugar (as much as you want) and any optional ingredients.
TO SERVE:
Divide among small 4 cups or mugs, and mix 1 tablespoon of skim milk in each mug to achieve desired consistency; you may need to warm in microwave once skim is added.