Hazelnut Hot Chocolate
A simple and delicious dairy-free hot chocolate with hazelnut butter. This recipe is vegan, refined sugar-free, and oil-free.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 1 serving
- Category: Drinks
- Method: Stove-Top
- Cuisine: Vegan
Ingredients
Hazelnut Hot Chocolate
- 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 2 tbsp smooth natural hazelnut butter (or almond hazelnut*)
- 1 tbsp dark maple syrup
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Optional Toppings
- vegan whipped cream**
- dried edible rose petals
- a tiny bit of shaved dark chocolate
Instructions
1. Place all hot chocolate ingredients into a small sauce pan and use an immersion blender to blend everything into a smooth and uniform consistency. If you don't have an immersion blender, you can also put everything through a mini blender first (like the magic bullet) instead, and then transfer into a sauce pan for step 2. Note that if your nut butter is not super smooth and runny to begin with (especially if it has any graininess to it), you'll need to put the mixture through a power blender first in order to get a smooth final drink consistency.***
2. Bring the mixture to a light simmer on medium heat, stirring occasionally. Allow the mixture to warm through lightly to your desired drinking temperature. Remove from heat and pour into a mug.
3. Optional: top with any desired toppings, such as vegan whipped cream, or just rose petals or chocolate shavings. Enjoy!
Notes
*I prefer this with straight hazelnut butter for a silkier and more flavorful drink, but sometimes in a pinch almond hazelnut butter is more accessible around here (from Nuts to You Nut Butter, or Justin's). So can go with something like that if you prefer, or even just plain almond butter if you like. For best results use a fresh nut butter that's runny and smooth.
** I used coconut whipped cream here, but for a coconut-free option feel free to use an aquafaba or cashew based whipped cream if you prefer. Coconut whipped cream can be made at home from a can of full fat coconut milk — I like the Thai Kitchen brand best for this purpose (the “premium” milk, and not the “lite”). For a single serve recipe like this you can just use a small (160ml) can (you'll have some whipped cream left over). Chill the can in the fridge overnight, which will cause the cream to separate in the can and firm up near the top (when you open the can you’ll see firm white stuff gathered at the top — you should get about 3/4 cup of it). You want to scoop out this solid white cream only into a mixing bowl, taking care not to scoop any of the coconut water along with it (as it will make your whip runny and not stiff). Whip that mixture with a hand mixed until fluffy, then add in a tbsp of maple syrup and a tsp of pure vanilla extract and whip again to create the whipped cream. Note that it’s very important for the full fat coconut milk can to be chilled first so it separates. If the solids aren’t this thick when you open the can, the whip isn’t going to work as well and will be too liquid:
*** Note that if your power blender pitcher is very large, you might need to triple the recipe for things to catch and blend properly.