Nothing warms you up like a hot chocolate, especially when it is made with raw cacao rather than the sweetened powder from the shop. Here the velvety texture comes simply from cashews blended with dates: no milk, no cream, no saucepan. The blender runs for two minutes and the friction of the blades is enough to give you a warm, comforting drink. Serve it in a large mug, with a fresh strawberry perched on the rim, and the whole thing is settled in five minutes.
Raw hot chocolate with cashew cream and cacao
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Ingredients
- 70 g cashews (soaked for 1 to 2 hours, optional)
- 3 pitted medjool dates, about 70 g
- 3 tsp raw cacao powder
- 1 pinch of vanilla powder
- 250 ml filtered water
- 1 strawberry, to garnish
Method
- If you have time, soak the cashews for 1 to 2 hours in filtered water, then drain and rinse them.
- Put all the ingredients in the blender, except the strawberry.
- Blend for 1 to 2 minutes at full speed, until the mixture is perfectly smooth and slightly warm.
- Pour into a large mug, decorate with a fresh strawberry and drink without waiting.
Tip
Soaking the cashews is not compulsory, but it makes all the difference on a mid-power blender: two hours are enough for the drink to become perfectly smooth instead of staying grainy. If your blender heats up very little, start with already lukewarm water rather than extending the blending time, which would eventually raise the temperature of the mixture and cost it its point. A pinch of cinnamon or a spoonful of maca powder added before blending gives a spiced, lightly caramelised note. The drink is best straight away, it separates as it cools.
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FAQ: your questions about raw hot chocolate
What is the recipe for a good hot chocolate?
A good hot chocolate rests on three elements: quality cacao, a fat that gives it velvet and a discreet sweetener. In the classic version the fat comes from whole milk or cream; here it comes from blended cashews, which gives exactly the same roundness in the mouth. The sweetener is the dates, which also bring a caramelised note. The rest is a matter of dosing: three teaspoons of cacao for 250 ml give a frank drink without bitterness.
Can I drink cacao powder with water?
Yes, and it is the basis of many cacao drinks. The result is lighter and more bitter than with a plant milk, because the fat that rounds out the cacao is missing. To compensate, you add a nut butter or, as here, cashews blended directly into the water, which amounts to making an instant plant milk. A pinch of salt always improves the perception of chocolate, whatever the liquid base.
What is the best vegan chocolate?
The most successful plant-based chocolates replace milk powder with rice, oat or hazelnut powder, which avoids the dry mouthfeel of the first generations. A dark chocolate above 70 % is in any case plant-based by nature, since it contains only cacao mass, cacao butter and sugar. For a raw recipe like this one, you do not use a chocolate bar but cacao powder, which leaves you full control over the sugar and the fat.
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