Ingredients
250 mL nut milk, or dairy/soy
1 Tbsp cacao powder
1/2 small red chilli, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp maca powder (optional)
1 tsp – 1 Tbsp sweetener, to taste
ground cinnamon to sprinkle
Summary
It’s the first official week of winter, and right on cue, there’s snow on the hills and frost on the cauliflowers. And a lot of chilly fingers around town. That said, with a little of Loving Earth’s raw cacao powder and a few extras from the pantry, there’s now a warm cup of feel good hot chocolate in my cold hands. An afternoon pick me up and most definitely a warm me up.
It’s not hard, though deciding on your favourite flavour could be tricky. Fiery red chilli? Spicy ginger? Citrusy orange zest? Or perhaps straight up raw chocolate, laced with a knob of cacao butter or a teaspoon of maca powder for an extra afternoon mood-boosting cuppa. Here’s some simple quantities for a cinnamon and chilli hot chocolate – you can change your flavours easily from there.
Warm the nut milk in a small saucepan, keeping it on a low heat. Add a few slices of red chilli and a cinnamon stick. Allow them to steep for at least 5 minutes, then whisk in the cacao powder. Don’t let it get too hot or come to a boil. Stir in maca powder if using.
Take off the heat and strain. Stir in something sweet to your taste – if you’d like to steer clear of refined sugar you can add maple syrup, coconut sugar or honey.
Sprinkle with ground cinnamon.
