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Think the best indulgent hot chocolates are made exclusively with dairy? Think again. We’re here to make luxurious, rich and creamy vegan hot chocolates easier than ever to achieve ☕
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It's no secret that the Vegan movement has taken the U.K. by storm🌱. In fact, reducing meat and dairy intakes has become a top priority for many U.K. foodies, with 35.5% of the population cutting down on (or entirely out) meat, and 15% limiting their dairy intake. Furthermore, around 3% of the British public are vegan, with 60% of vegans making the switch within the last five years!
To honour the populations changing food habits, we’ve dedicated this blog to all-things-vegan, and, using our premium vegan hot chocolate we've made sure you can perfect your choctastic hot drinks at home, with no dairy in sight 😊💕.
Below you'll find a list of our favourite Love Cocoa vegan hot chocolate accompaniments, a guide to making plant-based substitutes for your hot chocolates, and a recipe for creating your own vegan hazelnut dark hot chocolate 🍫
You can thank us later 😉
Love Cocoa vegan Sea-salt dark chocolate covered almonds
Love Cocoa organic dark chocolate vegan truffles
These delicious organic 72% Dark Peruvian Chocolate Truffles are covered in decadent flakes and are made with smooth and intense 72% dark chocolate from Peru. Filled with a velvety, mouth-watering ganache, these luxurious truffles would pair beautifully with a silky and rich cup of hot chocolate, which would compliment their smooth, "creamy" filling.
Maldon Sea-salt dark chocolate bar
H!P Oat M!lk chocolate salted caramel bar
Our top tips for making plant-based ingredient swaps
Of course, vegan versions of food and drink will require a few ingredient swaps here and there. For example, when we think of the typical hot chocolate, we think of milk, thick cream and milk chocolate. Basically a whole lot of dairy. Yet, thanks to today’s wealth of vegan innovations, and new kinds of plant-based milks, making amazing vegan hot chocolates at home is a pretty uncomplicated business 🥳
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Each type of alternative milk has its own unique taste and texture, and each one makes its own characteristic contributions to a hot drink 🥛☕. So, to help you decide on you vegan milk of choice, here is our brief guide to the best alternative milks for hot chocolate:
- Oat - Oat milk is known for its thick texture and creamy, satisfying flavour. This gives hot chocs a comforting thickness and a delightful indulgent heartiness.
- Coconut - Coconut milk offers a silky texture and a sweet, tropical coconut flavour. If you’re into it, this flavour makes a delicious pairing with chocolate.
- Cashew - Cashew milk has a very subtle cashew flavour, giving your hot chocolates a nutty aftertaste (not dissimilar to a nutty chocolate breakfast spread). Plus, its thick texture adds a luxurious and velvety feel to the drink.
- Almond - As with cashew, almond milk offers a subtle nuttyness. However, there are considerable differences between this alt milk variety and its cashew cousin. Almond milk has a much lighter texture and a sweeter flavour.
The other main swap that you’ll be making in a vegan hot choc is the chocolate itself 🍫.
Most vegan chocolates use strong dark chocolate (although you can buy vegan milk chocolate, made with alt milks, such as H!P's oat-milk chocolate bars). So, if you’re using dark chocolate, you may want to create a sweeter drink by offsetting its strong, bitter flavour. Our recommended sweetener would be Maple Syrup, a delicious natural sweetener, which brings a whole new dimension to a hot chocolate 🍁🍯. Just stir in half a teaspoon before serving.
However, you might adore the taste of dark chocolate in drink-form, and won't want an added sweetness. If so, you’ll love the flavour profile that Love Cocoa's (vegan) Peruvian 70% Dark Chocolate brings to the table (or mug, we should say).
Our recipe for a vegan dark chocolate and hazelnut hot chocolate
Flavoured hot chocolates have been all the rage lately, and it’s easy to see why. These spiced, warming drinks taste like winter in a mug ❄🌲, and, they’re surprisingly easy to make!
This vegan hot chocolate recipe is a Love Cocoa favourite, and an absolute game-changer 🥰
Ingredients:
● Oat milk, 240 ml (or any plant-based milk of your choice)
● Coconut cream (from a can), 2 tbsp
● Cornflour, ¼ tsp
● Love Cocoa 40% drinking chocolate (vegan), 1 tsp
● Brown sugar, 1 tsp
● Salt, a pinch
● Love Cocoa Peruvian 70% Dark Chocolate Bar, 50g, finely chopped
● Hazelnut extract, ½ tsp (or 1 tsp of hazelnut syrup)
● Amaretto, 1 tbsp (optional)
Method:
- Add the milk to a small saucepan on a medium heat. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut cream with the corn-starch until fully combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the cocoa powder, sugar and salt with a fork.
- Once the milk starts to boil, whisk in the bowl of coconut cream. Once fully combined, add in the bowl of the cocoa mixture and continue whisking.
- After a couple of minutes, fold in the chocolate and keep stirring until fully combined.
- Stir in the hazelnut extract and amaretto (if using). Serve in your favourite mug.
And there you have it - the only guide you’ll ever need to make top-notch vegan hot chocolates at home ☕🥛🍫
We love the way that all of these vegan ingredients work together, to create a thick and silky hot chocolate, without any need for dairy. The coconut cream and oat milk provides a creaminess, while the cornflour thickens the mixture. The hazelnut give the drink a depth of flavour, and the top quality chocolate (courtesy of yours truly), provides a rich body to the drink. Cheers ✌💖
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At Love Cocoa, we include a wide variety of premium vegan chocolates in our range. Have a scroll through our online shop and explore our collection of vegan chocolate and luxury hot chocolate gift sets, including knock-out hot chocolate vegan gifts 🌱🌍😍
