Raw Food Recipes: Warm Cacao with Cinnamon
One of my favorite winter treats that I used to drink every day is Hot Chocolate. I used to make it with whole milk and sugar, often topping it with a huge dollop of whipped cream. Makes me shudder just to think about it! I still enjoy my favorite drink, but now I reap the benefits of this raw food recipe of the healthier version. Made from almond milk, cacao and agave, it is delicious and healthy. I keep the heat under 116 degrees, so I can maintain all the wonderful nutrients. It is warm and very satisfying! Yay for vegan cocoa!
Warm Cacao with Cinnamon
Warm Cacao with Cinnamon
- 1 cup almond milk (see below)
- 1-2 tablespoons cacao (to taste)
- 1 tablespoon agave or liquid sweetener of your choice (or more to taste)
- sprinkle of cinnamon
- Combine all ingredients in a blender or with an immersion blender. The blender will thicken it nicely.
- Warm to 116. You can do this in the Vitamix or VERY carefully on the stove. If you use the stove, you need to stop heating before it gets to temp as it will continue to heat even after the heat source is removed. You can use a candy thermometer to check temp.
Almond Milk
- 1 cup almonds, soaked at least 6 hours
- 4 cups filtered water
- 2 dates
- 1 vanilla bean
- Drain almonds from soaking water. Add to Vitamix with 4 cups of the filtered water, dates and vanilla bean. Process for 2 minutes.
- Strain through nutmilk bag. You can save the remaining pulp, dehydrate it and use it as flour for other recipes.
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Sandy wrote on January 2, 2012
This is so delicious! I love your site and the recipes. I have been “cooking” like a banshee the past few weeks and trying all kinds of things. So yummy! Thanks for the inspiration. My husband is raw as well so it makes life easier for me. He loves everything I make and is starting to get the hang of preparing stuff too. My college boys are eating healthier though not all raw, there’s nothing but fruit, veggies, nuts and seeds in the house so they’re kind of forced to, haha.
Milla wrote on November 18, 2011
how long the almond milk can stay in a fridge after you make it?
Susan wrote on November 18, 2011
It turns pretty quickly. I would use it in 3-4 days.
Jennifer Minar-Jaynes wrote on September 15, 2011
There’s a lot of controversy these days concerning agave nectar. Is it still a healthy raw sweetener? (I’m pretty confused; I stopped using it a year ago and now use maple and date sugar exclusively. Oh, and Stevia, too.)
If it IS a healthy sweetener, what do you look for when deciding on what product to buy? The word “raw” on the label?
Btw, this looks DELICIOUS. Love your photos as well. Such a beautiful & informative site. =)
Thanks!
Jennifer
Nae wrote on October 25, 2010
I took your recipe above and changed it a little..which then led to me having something like 4 huge cups of this stuff over the weekend. I used Almond mylk, agave syrup (as the sweetener), vanilla bean scrapings, cacao, cinnamon, and a about 1/4 of a teaspoon of coconut oil. All I can say is …WOW! Thank you, it was soooo delicious and too tempting!
Rick wrote on February 14, 2010
How do you know when the cacao reaches near 116F in the vitamix? The warm Cacao taste great! thanks for recipe.
Susan wrote on February 14, 2010
I actually use a kitchen thermometer. They are inexpensive and work great.
Lori wrote on November 3, 2009
Oh my, that cacao drink looks GOOOOOOOD. I may have to try this tonight.. along with a couple other of your recipes for dinner! Yum! Thank you!
joanna wrote on November 3, 2009
Mmm… I’ll have to make some of this today!
xoxo
Eco Mama wrote on October 31, 2009
Nice post. Thank you for sharing.
xo
Eco Mama
El wrote on October 31, 2009
It’s so much easier to eat raw in the summer. We have so many great New England farms we hardly even need to cook. But now that winters coming we’re going to be forced back to tasteless fruits and vegetables that have traveled the globe to make it to our plate. Fortunately we did some preserving but it’s never enough for every meal. I look forward to seeing what you do with food in the colder months. The hot cocoa looks great. Have you tried sweetening with Agave nectar? I love it!
Susan wrote on October 31, 2009
Yes..I use agave…it is in the recipe! 🙂 Thanks for all your kind words. I froze what ever I could to get through the winter. I do know what you mean. But it is also a good time to eat the denser foods that we associate with winter. I love eating with the seasons!