If you've ever been to Europe or a European style café, you know what I mean by hot chocolate. It involves a whole lot of actual chocolate, whipping cream(heavy cream) and whole fat milk....it's so decadent and wonderful. For those of us who are allergic to dairy, especially milk, cream or refined sugars, the traditional French version is sadly generally not something we can indulge in. No need to feel deprived, this version will have you feeling like you're not missing out. For the whipped topping I have included a link to my easy dairy free whipped topping recipe. If you don't wish to make your own, my personal favourite is "Coco Whip" by SOdelicious. You can find this at your local grocery stores in the freezer section. As for the non dairy milk and creamer, if you don't have access to macadamia nut milk, I suggest using cashew or almond milk as these tend to have a consistency more like whole milk.
Place the chocolate in a glass bowl. Fill a small saucepan with water about half way up. Place the bowl over the water. In this way you are creating a double boiler. If you are using finely chopped chocolate instead of chocolate chips you can skip this double boiler step. At the same time place the milk, creamer, maple syrup, espresso(if using) and sea salt in another saucepan and turn the heat to medium.
As you bring the water up to a boil, stir the chocolate with a heatproof spatula until it melts. Whisk the milk and heat it until the point just before boiling, but do not boil as this could burn the milk. You will know when the milk is hot enough because you will see small bubbles form around the edges of the pan.
Turn off the heat. Whisk the melted chocolate into the hot milk and keep whisking until the chocolate has fully incorporated and you have a smooth mixture. If you are using finely chopped chocolate instead of chips you can just whisk it into the hot milk until it has fully melted.
Pour the hot chocolate into 4 small cups and serve with a dollop of homemade(or store bought)dairy free whipped topping and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Ingredients
Directions
Place the chocolate in a glass bowl. Fill a small saucepan with water about half way up. Place the bowl over the water. In this way you are creating a double boiler. If you are using finely chopped chocolate instead of chocolate chips you can skip this double boiler step. At the same time place the milk, creamer, maple syrup, espresso(if using) and sea salt in another saucepan and turn the heat to medium.
As you bring the water up to a boil, stir the chocolate with a heatproof spatula until it melts. Whisk the milk and heat it until the point just before boiling, but do not boil as this could burn the milk. You will know when the milk is hot enough because you will see small bubbles form around the edges of the pan.
Turn off the heat. Whisk the melted chocolate into the hot milk and keep whisking until the chocolate has fully incorporated and you have a smooth mixture. If you are using finely chopped chocolate instead of chips you can just whisk it into the hot milk until it has fully melted.
Pour the hot chocolate into 4 small cups and serve with a dollop of homemade(or store bought)dairy free whipped topping and a sprinkle of cinnamon.