A HUG IN A MUG - VEGAN HOT CHOCOLATE
Sometimes you just have to cosy up on the sofa, wearing your favourite wooly socks, with a big mug of hot cocoa! My latest recipe is flavoured with my pumpkin spice (check out last week’s pancake recipe which includes a recipe for your own pumpkin spice), is smooth and velvety, and rich in cacao!
I’m not a coffee drinker but I LOVE (like seriously love) Hot Chocolate! However, until this weekend, I’ve never actually tried creating my own recipe at home. This recipe changes everything - honestly I am so pleased with it. It’s also super versatile, check out my different variations below:
Hazelnut Hot Chocolate: Sub out the almond milk and almond butter for hazelnut milk and butter, omit the pumpkin spice
Creamy Coconut Hot Chocolate: Sub out the almond milk for coconut milk, omit the pumpkin spice
Cinnamon Spiced Hot Chocolate: Sub out the pumpkin spice for cinnamon
The recipe is for one, but I advise multiplying it several times. By the time your household smells the warm spiced cacao, they will be queuing up!
Servings: 1
Time to create: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
150ml almond milk
1 tbsp cacao powder
1 date
1 tsp almond butter
1/4 tsp vanilla essence
1/4 tsp of pumpkin spice
1 large cube of dark chocolate (approx 15g)
Toppings: grated dark chocolate, desiccated coconut and pumpkin spice
Method
Add all of the ingredients apart from the dark chocolate into a blender, and blend until smooth.
Pour the mixture into a pan over a low heat and add the dark chocolate (broken into smaller pieces).
Using a whisk continue to stir the mixture for approximately 5 minutes (ensuring the chocolate does not stick to the bottom of the pan) - take it off before it starts to boil.
Carefully pour into a mug and top with grated dark chocolate, desiccated coconut and a dusting of pumpkin spice.
Top tip: Serve with energy balls for the perfect wintery treat! Just search ‘energy balls’ on the Balanced Life Blog for lots of recipes!
