During winter, and in the lead up to Christmas, I just can’t resist a hot chocolate. It brings back so many childhood memories of comfort and indulgence, and really gets me in the festive mood. Of course you also know that I jump on any excuse to have chocolate! This Energising Vegan Christmas Spiced Hot Chocolate is thick, heart-warming and full of energising flavours and spices, perfect for the cold weather. It has the wintery spices cinnamon and nutmeg, with the extra kick of chilli (if you want!). It also happens to be the perfect Christmassy drink to sip when you're packing up all your presents (when you'll need lots of energy!)
Hot chocolate used to be one of those drinks that was considered very unhealthy, full of fat and sugar. While this drink still has some sugar in, we can fill it with delicious pure ingredients and spices which are good for us. I am a big fan of cacao over cocoa; cacao is the unprocessed pure form of chocolate. However, either will work fine for this drink.
The spices - the special bit! I love spiced hot chocolate; the spices contrast really well with the chocolate flavour, especially the chili. Of course you are welcome to leave the chili out, or use a bit less. The salt in the drink lightens the sweet taste of the drink, and is a perfect combination with chocolate. Maca is another optional ingredient; it is a vegetable from Peru, and the goodness is found in the root. It contains calcium, potassium and iron, and can have an energising effect. You can get this from any health food shop or online.
You can use any kind of non-dairy mylk you want in this drink. This really is up to you. Some people love oat mylk, others love soya or hemp mylk. Or just use whatever you have in your fridge or cupboard. I’m not one for sugary drinks, and we all have different taste preferences when it comes to sugar. I find if the non-dairy mylk is already sweetened (check the packet - I buy unsweetened) then you need less additional sugar. Any sugar or sweetener will work. I prefer to use coconut palm sugar, but the choice is yours.
I have also recently discovered some new drink and latte blends that you just add to non-dairy mylk. We were gifted some blends by Mawish Foods. This is quite a new company started by Caroline, who has a passion for superfoods, blends and high quality ingredients. She has created a range of blends that can be used in drinks, breakfasts and cooking. We had a go with her Liquid Metaboost (Cacao Latte Blend) made from cacao, cinnamon, vanilla and chili). You just add 1-2 tsp to your non-dairy mylk! What I also love about this is that it isn’t sweetened, so you can choose how sweet you make it. Many other blends already contain more sugar than I like so this is perfect for me. Mawish have other amazing blends like the Turmeric Latte Blend, which I used a lot when I had a cold (boohoo!!), but it is also great for using in curries!
Enjoy this delicious Energising Vegan Christmas Spiced Hot Chocolate by the fire when wrapping pressies or as a treat in a thermos flask on the go (perfect for wintery walks!). And this deliciously spiced chocolate drink isn't just for Christmas! I’ve been enjoying this over the winter period, but it is a fantastic energising drink that can be enjoyed all year round!
If you’d like to buy some of the ingredients we have in this recipe, we recommend Buy Wholefoods Online for which we are affiliates.
Energising Vegan Christmas Spiced Hot Chocolate
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp cacao or cocoa
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp coconut palm sugar (or any sugar, adjust amount if desired)
- 300 ml non-dairy mylk of choice (1 ¼ cup)
- ½ tsp chili flakes (optional or less)
- ½ tsp maca powder (optional)
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to a pan and bring to the boil on a medium heat, whisking to combine the ingredients.
- Once heated thoroughly, pour into a mug and enjoy in front of a roaring fire!
Sounds lovely