Warming Winter Spiced Chocolate (DEGF)

Warming Winter Spiced Chocolate

Oh My Gosh! 🙂 It was so cold yesterday I thought my fingers would drop off! I needed something to warm me up without making me (more!) lazy and lethargic and this… this was amazing! Don’t think ‘hot chocolate’ as this is most definitely not! Don’t think ‘creamy & calorific’ as there’s no cream or no dairy in here! Think ‘warming’ and ‘dreamy’ with ‘spicy notes’ and ‘winter tones’. This. This is the ultimate winter warming soothing satiating delightful blend of goodness in a mug!

The taste is faintly reminiscent of a Turkish hot drink called ‘sahlep’ which is made from the tubers of Orchids, I assume from my inclusion of lucuma powder. If you’ve not tried it (or heard of it), Lucuma powder is the freeze dried flesh of the Peruvian fruit Lucuma which is full of potassium, iron and zinc giving a sweet caramel taste. The chocolatey ingredient in my drink is raw cacao powder (not cocoa). Cacao is one of the highest antioxidant containing foods and as it also contains calcium, iron and magnesium, makes cacao a superfood in its own right. To make my warming drink thicker (as well as using the lucuma), I have added chia seeds – another superfood! Chia are known for their protein content as well as Omega-3, fibre and antioxidants. How can something so healthy taste so good? Lots of sampling 🙂 to make it perfect to print! Try it for yourself!!! 🙂

Gather

300ml + 30ml coconut milk (unsweetened fresh or longlife)
3cm cinnamon stick
1 heaped teaspoon raw cacao powder
2 domed teaspoons of lucuma powder
2 level teaspoons of coconut sugar
pinch of mixed spice
pinch of salt (I used sea salt)
1 level teaspoon chia seeds

Prepare

Put 300ml of milk in a pan with the cinnamon stick and gently bring to the boil.
In a cup, mix the cacao, lucuma, sugar, spice and salt with the 30ml of milk to make a paste.
Pour half of the heated milk onto the cacao mix (mind the cinnamon doesn’t splash). Stir.
Return the chocolate to the pan with the rest of the milk and bring back to the boil whilst stirring.
Once bubbles start to appear immediately turn the heat down and sprinkle the chia seeds over the top.
Simmer for about ten minutes. Taste check (add more sugar if you like a sweeter drink).
Remove the cinnamon. Pour into your favourite mug.
Enjoy!

Serving

To be extra indulgent sprinkle with cacao and serve with something healthy & yummy on the side! Try Healthy Chocolate Protein Truffles
My something yummy was a choco-coco fudge ball (recipe to follow soon)!