Hi hot chocolate addicts,

This is is a follow-up to @vegan.niinja's post "Healthy caffeine-free latte and HOT CHOCOLATE recipe! 4 vegan hot drink recipes in one post!". In this posting she provides recipes for four delicious vegan drinks.

Guess what, I decided to make one of recipies, namely the HOT CHOCOLATE recipe! :)

But first, I would like to invite you all to the #DailyCupOfCoffee Challenge! I would love to receive your entry!

And here is the picture guide, hope you like it!

In the following, you find a step-for-step picture guide.

Step one: Get some dates!

You might want to use 2 big medjool dates or 5-6 smaller dates (e.g., deglet noor)

Step two: Soak them!

Put the dates into a glass of water and soak them over night. You will see that they will get a much smoother texture and that they will grow in size considerably.

Step three: Get all the other indredients

You will need the following other ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon of coconut oil
• 2 cups plant-based milk (I took soy milk)
• 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon of cinnamon (I took the Ceylon variant, not the Cassia one)
• 1/2 tablesspoon of powdered green cardamom
• 1/2 vanilla pod
• 40g of a vegan chocolate bar (I took a walnut fig dark chocolate variant)

Step four: Put the main ingredients into the blender

Take a blender and put the following ingredients in there:

• 5-6 soaked dates
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1/4 piece of a vanilla pod

Step five: Also add the plant milk and the spices into the blender:

• 1 1/2 cups plant-based milk
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tbsp powdered cardamom

Step six: Blend it!

Activate the blender. Blender the ingredients for at least 2-3 minutes until you cannot see any solid pieces. The smoother the resulting chocolate drink the better.

Step seven: Heat the chocolate drink

Pour the resulting chocolate drink into a small pan and heat it. Wait until the first bubbles shows up and then deactivate the heat. The secret is that the hot chocolate drink should only be heated but should not boil.
Pour the hot chocolate drink into 2 or three glasses. Make the glasses only half full.

Step eight: Let's froth the milk!

Put about 1/2 cup of milk into a mug and heat it in the microwave.

We will now need a milk frother. I used this one.

Put the heated milk into the milk frother and produce some plant milk foam.
Put it into the glasses on top of the hot chocolate drink.

You will now need the vegan chocolate bar.
Use a grater and produce some grated chocolate.
Put it on top of the milk foam.

Done!! There you have it, your delicious vegan hot chocolate drink!

Enjoy it! :D