Warm Up with a Vegan Dark Hot Chocolate
While some folks prefer a good mulled wine and others choose to indulge in a Chai Spiced White Hot Chocolate recipe, pretty much everyone loves a cup of hot chocolate during the winter. However, not everyone can drink standard hot chocolate recipes, as some can’t or don’t consume dairy products.
The good news is that whipping up a vegan hot chocolate recipe is super simple.
Just as warm, cozy, and delicious as you would expect, this vegan dark hot chocolate recipe is a rich, decadent, and slightly healthier delight that both vegans and non-vegans are sure to adore.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened raw cacao powder
- 3 - 4 tablespoons dairy-free dark chocolate bar (70% or higher), chopped
- 1 - 2 teaspoons coconut sugar (optional)
- Pinch of cinnamon (optional)
- Shaved chocolate, for topping (optional)
Directions
- Pour the almond milk into a saucepan over medium heat.
- Once steaming, add in the cacao powder, cinnamon, and chopped chocolate. Incorporate until all lumps have dissolved.
- Taste. Add coconut sugar until the desired level of sweetness is reached.
- Pour into an Ember Mug², top with shaved chocolate (if desired), and enjoy!
Ember Tips
Use Your Favorite Milk Alternative
There are lots of great non-dairy milk alternatives to choose from, which means that you can use whichever is your favorite when making this vegan dark hot chocolate recipe. While the instructions call for almond milk, this can easily be substituted with:
- Oat milk
- Cashew milk
- Coconut milk
- Hemp milk
- Hazelnut milk
Additionally, you can even try out milk alternative combinations like coconut and almond to achieve a unique flavor profile.
However, whichever non-dairy milk alternative you choose, be sure that it is unsweetened so that you can control the sweetness of your homemade vegan dark hot chocolate recipe.
Make Up a Large Batch
If you want to make up this vegan hot chocolate recipe for a party or get-together, simply double or triple the ingredients above and mix everything in a crockpot, keeping it on low heat throughout the evening. Make things easy by keeping a ladle nearby so that guests can serve themselves.
Put a Twist on It
Want to spice up your vegan hot chocolate recipe? There are plenty of variations you can try, including:
- Caramel dark hot chocolate for vegans: When mixing in ingredients, stir in a bit of vegan caramel. Drizzle more on top, if desired.
- Orange vegan dark hot chocolate: Mix in the zest and 1 tbsp of juice from a fresh orange.
- Vegan peanut butter hot chocolate: Stir in 1 – 2 tbsp of peanut butter while mixing the ingredients over medium heat.
- Mexican vegan dark hot chocolate: Add ½ tsp of ground cinnamon, a pinch of cayenne pepper, and a pinch of chili powder to turn your vegan hot chocolate into a vegan version of a Mexican hot chocolate recipe
- Gingerbread vegan hot chocolate: Add a pinch of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Sweeten with blackstrap or regular molasses.
No matter if you are making up a large batch of vegan dark hot chocolate for a crowd or a single serving for a cozy night in, be sure to keep your beverage warm by serving it in an Ember Mug² or Ember Cup.
Because, when it comes to hot chocolate, temperature matters.
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