When I was a young’un, living my yogi dream of a life on Maui, my boyfriend at the time and I used to make these absurd raw hot chocolate drinks in the Vitamix he gave me for my birthday. We’d load the blender up with hot water, raw cacao, raw cocoa butter, the thick white meat of fresh coconuts, cashew butter, and every other superfood thing we could find. We’d sweeten and spice it to our liking, whip it up into a frothy chocolate swoon, and then pour it into a tall bottle topped off with whipped cream.
We took turns sipping out of that bottle like it was a flask, delirious with our creation. We were dopamined up on drinking chocolate of the highest and purest order.This raw, vegan Mexican hot chocolate is my homage to the unbridled purity and deliciousness of that drinking chocolate of long ago. And it’s here to usher in the best giveaway I’ve ever hosted on Kale & Caramel, in honor of Fair Trade Month. (Scroll to bottom of recipe to enter, and leave a comment confirming your entry, as directed!)
This version is made with a base of hemp seeds, coconut, and almond butter, all blended into a delicious nut and seed milk that graciously accepts the caresses of cacao, cinnamon, nutmeg, cayenne, and vanilla bean.
This is a light hot chocolate—not in flavor, but in that you can drink a lot of it without feeling guilty. It’s packed with healthy fats, omega fatty acids, supreme plant proteins, and dopamine-inducing raw chocolate. The spices are immune system boosters and also help to regulate metabolism. Total tastebud-health win-win situation.
And it’s topped with a simple coconut whipped cream that is melts dreamily down into your mug.
But enough about Mexican hot chocolate, let’s talk about this INCREDIBLE Fair Trade Cozy Package Giveaway!!! Here’s a peek at what’s inside:
The Fair Trade Cozy Package (valued at $200+) includes: The coziest organic, non-toxic Boll & Branch cotton cable knit throw, a copy of my exceptionally lovely friend Adrianna Adarme’s new cookbook The Year of Cozy, 2 tins of delicious Bhakti Chai, 2 boxes of nourishing Numi Tea, and 2 bars of sumptuous Vosges Haut Chocolate. U.S. residents only (but mad international love for all you out of the country!).
I think I might faint if I got this package—it’s almost everything I want in life, all in one place. Complete your entry below, and then make yourself some drinking chocolate, for gosh sakes. Mwah.
MEXICAN HOT CHOCOLATE (RAW & VEGAN) + FALL COZY FAIR TRADE GIVEAWAY!
Ingredients
- 3 ¾ cups pure hot water
- 2 tablespoons hemp seeds
- 2 tablespoons shredded raw coconut unsweetened
- 2 tablespoons almond butter
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/8 teaspoon ground vanilla bean or ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon + 2 healthy pinches sea salt
- 5 tablespoons raw cacao powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne more if you want it real spicy
- ¼ cup chilled coconut cream divided
Instructions
- Place hot water in blender with hemp seeds, coconut, almond butter, maple syrup, vanilla, and sea salt. Blend on high until completely smooth and creamy. Add half the coconut cream, reserving the rest to top the hot chocolate. Place remaining coconut cream in fridge to chill while you make the hot chocolate.
- Add cacao powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cayenne to the blender, and blend again until you reach your desired level of frothy perfection.
- Pour into mugs and serve with scoops of chilled coconut cream, sprinkled with an extra kick of cayenne.
