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If you’re looking for the hot chocolate of your childhood before they added a bunch of wonky ingredients and made things either too sweet or too chemical, then this recipe is for you!
Just three ingredients!
If you’re getting deja-vu from that headline, you’re not seeing things: I’ve written that before. And I’ll probably write it again.
I’m not a fan of large ingredient lists with complex steps and tools and cooking times and yadda yadda. Nope – I like to keep it simple here.
Although…this recipe itself was birthed because of a Tiktok video…and circumstance.
The Tiktok video:
@bearenger Any excuse to drink hot chocolate 👀🍫☕️ #healthyrecipes #foodasmr #easyrecipe #holistichealth ♬ son original – Science_cast
Who WOULDN’T want to add in some more hot chocolate to their lives after seeing that? I was totally on board with giving it a try. It’s usually something I stay away from because the commercial stuff is packed with terrible things, and my other recipe that uses coconut water wasn’t quite the same taste that I grew up with and missed. So I just…rarely made it.
But heck yeah – stem cells.
The circumstance:
I was in a health food store that happens to sell Raw Honey, Cacao Powder, and a2 Milk. I was browsing for something else originally…when I came across the a2 milk. Usually I stay away from dairy, but the box said that it’s easier on digestion…and it has a bunch of calcium. I’m sure it’s not as good as raw milk, but it sounded like the next best thing (since raw milk is illegal in Canada).
I was intrigued. It’s been about 6 years since I last had milk. Maybe longer. No ice cream, either.
When I remembered the Tiktok about the hot chocolate…I got the typical “heck yes” that manifesting generators are prone to getting, and bought the milk and the cacao. I already had the raw honey. I made it that same night with dinner.
So far: I haven’t been disappointed with the milk. No discomfort; no digestion issues; no extra mucus; no off-putting smell. All of that is kind of amazing for someone who has not had milk in such a long time.
UPDATE 03/28/24 – I noticed some issues with even the a2 milk over time, so I’ve switched to goat milk (which is also missing the a1 protein). It tastes a bit different, so I’ll have to figure out an entirely new recipe for that. But if you tolerate cow milk, then this recipe could still be great for you!
Anyways.
In terms of ingredients…
Amazon offers the same cacao powder I’m using, and also some great raw honey options.
The a2 Milk, however, does not seem to have any online options and might need to be sourced at a local health food store.
If you’re looking for it, though, this company – the a2 milk company – seems to operate in both Canada and the USA. This is what I bought. If you really can’t do dairy: I’ll post my alternative dairy-free recipe in the near future.
And for the raw Honey: I want to stress a few things.
- Raw honey can sometimes be bad for people who are allergic to bees. ONLY consume it if you’re not allergic to bees.
- Raw honey typically has the special healing enzymes intact. If you heat it too much, THIS WILL DESTROY THOSE and turn it into a regular sugar. This is why this recipe does NOT make the hot chocolate super hot. Just….warmish.
As for the cacao:
- I heard that it’s more nutrient rich than cocoa, so always try to use this instead of cocoa if you can.
- It clumps like nothing else and is annoying to mix in. But if you did hot chocolate as a kid, and ever experienced that rush of excitement when there was leftover powder that wouldn’t mix in…this is just like that, except bitter instead of sweet.
The Recipe
So I told you my story. But the experience of this recipe itself…it brought me back to my childhood. The taste was almost the exact same as those prepackaged ones (maybe a little less sweet). It was instantly something that felt luxurious, and made me feel that old…”ah, this is what the holiday’s are all about.”
It was perfect. I don’t know what ingredient it was that made it taste that way, or if all of them just work together exceptionally well, but it’s something I’m adding into my day every day with no regrets. Plus, apparently there’s a study saying it’s good for you. So…why not.
I’ve also experimented with adding some cayenne pepper powder. It gives it a little extra kick, but doesn’t overpower the flavour. Basically it lets you pretend that you heated the mixture up a little hotter than you did. I haven’t tried the cinnamon, yet, but it’s on the to-do list.
I’ll update this post later to get a proper and printable recipe card up. I’ll also try to get a few pictures of it in my cup but…y’know, it’s so good that it’s gone before I can remember to take a picture. For now, here’s the short and sweet recipe:
