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If there is one snack that you want to have during these cold winter afternoons, it is hot chocolate, right? Well, here is a very simple recipe that you can make at home and even can customize it by giving it the touch that you like the most: orange, cinnamon, coffee …
In addition, you can avoid flours and thickeners that are often found in the processed supermarket version of hot chocolates.
Choosing a good cocoa, the most important thing
The main problem with hot chocolate is that we confuse cocoa and chocolate–they are not the same. The benefits are found only in the cocoa and it must have a series of characteristics:
Natural cocoa: avoid alkalized cocoas. In the alkalization process, cocoa dissolves better, darkens and becomes less acidic on the palate, but it also loses an average of 60% of its antioxidants, according to the Observatory of Cocoa.
Sugar free: A 250 ml glass of milk with 25 grams of traditional soluble chocolate has almost 30 grams of sugar per glass, almost the total of the total recommendation for the day. Natural cocoa has no sugar, read the label carefully!
Unprocessed: Natural cocoa does not have milk, oils or cocoa butter either. These ingredients are common in traditional chocolate bars that have more fat and thus become a caloric product, unlike natural cocoa.
If you want to start including a good cocoa in your diet, you cannot miss these two basics:
- Soluble Cocoa: natural, gluten-free, lactose-free, it also contains less than 75% sugar than other brands and is sweetened with coconut sugar.
- Chocolicius chocolate bars: the only chocolate bar on the market without sugars or sweeteners. They are sweetened with chicory fiber to be 100% healthy and natural. For this recipe I used our Chocolicious Raspberry flavor with Cocoa Nibs, but you can use any kind depending on the touch you want to achieve: milk, dark or Orange and Ginger.
Backed by science
Regular consumption of cocoa has been attributed countless benefits: it increases energy, preserves youth, puts you in a good mood, avoids snacking, reduces the risk of heart disease …
And there’s even more: Did you know that a revealing study published in the journal Neurology suggests that drinking two cups of hot chocolate daily for a month improves cognitive test scores and increases blood flow to the brain?
Well, there are no excuses, let’s go with the recipe!
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Guilt-free hot chocolate
Ingredients
- 1/2 chocolate tablet Chocolicius Raspberry and Cocoa Nibs
- 1/2 cup of milk or vegetable drink
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1/2 cup of cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup of sweetener (dates, syrup, honey ...) (optional
Instructions
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Cut the chocolate bar into pieces.
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Placing a pot with boiling water over medium low heat would be the best option. On top of this pot (make a water bath) place another container - without the bottom of it touching the boiling water -. In this container add the milk, the coconut oil and the chocolate bar in pieces.
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Once the mixture is melted, add the cocoa powder and dissolve.
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Remove the chocolate from the water bath and add the sweetener if it is to your liking. Beat well.
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Let it rest a little so that it thickens a little
Notes
Final touch to personalize your chocolate: I propose several options because it’s hard to decide on just one ?
- You can add a splash of vanilla extract.
- Grate a spice on top such as cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger.
- Add orange zest to the mixture when doing the double boiler.
- Pour a splash of coffee
And if you are one of those people who simply cannot imagine drinking this without dipping some churros or a piece of roscón in it, I recommend one of these recipes for you to accompany your guilt-free hot chocolate:
