The best hot chocolate in NYC

It looks like magic but really, it’s just dessert-world ingenuity—pastry maestro Dominique Ansel crowns his rich cup of hot cocoa with a marshmallow flower that’s wrapped in a band of chocolate. When the chocolate hits the warm liquid, it melts and the flower “blooms” and reveals a chocolate truffle in the middle. $4.25 

The team at the Lower East Side luncheonette stirs their hot cocoa with egg-less brownie batter and a sprinkle of sea salt for a decadent, salty-sweet rebuttal to winter's chill. $4

You'll have to wait until February to try the myriad incarnations presented during the bakery's annual Hot Chocolate Festival; for now, sate your sweet tooth with an oversize serving of the traditional version. Thick and potent, the cult favorite can be ordered with a dense, gooey, housemade marshmallow that bobs at the bubbly surface. $5, with marshmallow $5.50.

Steamed to order, this indulgent version of the wintry classic gets a distinctive essence  from Venezuelan gianduja milk chocolate and Tonda Gentile hazelnut chips. Cut only with a hint of white cane sugar and whole milk, the nutty flavors from the chocolate and the chips come through very clearly without being cloyingly sweet. Westfield World Trade Center, 185 Greenwich St (212-931-0663) * 1796 Broadway at 59th St (212-974-3444) * 233 Bleecker St at Carmine St (212-206-1738) *grom.it. Medium $5.50, large $6.50.

What better accompaniment for the bakery's exceptional chocolate-chip cookies than a steamy mug of creamy hot cocoa made with melted dark chocolate and infused with dried lavender. $3.50

This pared-down cup brims with a ganache made of artisanal chocolates that's whipped with milk until smooth and creamy. A big ol' house-made marshmallow is plopped on top for even more sweetness. $4.95