Hi, drink lovers!

I hope you're all doing great 😁

How do you like your hot cocoa?

Hot cocoa is extremely popular around the world. At home, we have a cup of hot cocoa at least twice a month, I think. It's a weekend thing, when we feel ready to take a break and indulge in a comforting treat. And it's a must when the weather is rainy.

I use vegetable milks I make myself, mostly coconut milk; our guests always find it delicious and are happy to find a little jar with vegetable milk next to the coffee or tea pot, or chocolate pot. It's a nice twist. And today, I decided to give our hot cocoa an extra twist with a little peanut butter. If you're not allergic to peanuts, you may want to try it 😋

Flavonols and polyphenols in the cocoa powder we use to make this delicious soft drink benefit our bodies and souls, helping us keep our cholesterol and sugar under control, and making us feel in a good mood; they say chocolate makes you feel like you're in love. Just be sure to keep sugar to a minimum or you'll be working against those benefits.

INGREDIENTS

For the coconut milk

600 gr coconut flesh
700-800 ml all the coconut water + water
1-2 teaspoon salt

a yogurt bag or similar to drain and squeeze the coconut

For the hot cocoa:

300 ml homemade coconut milk
50 gr cocoa powder (no sugar)
50 gr peanut butter
2 egg yolks (M)

Make it sweet to your liking. I didn't add any sugar or sweeteners this time.

THE PROCESS

I started by making the coconut milk, obviously 😁 I burned the coconuts a little by placing them directly over the stove fire. I rotated them a couple of times with my kitchen tongs for 1 or 2 minutes, until I heared them crack.

This time I took the water out after I burned them. When I want immaculated milk, I do things differently (like here or here). Today, I just want enough milk to make cocoa today and tomorrow for my guests. I inserted the scissors in the soft pore of the coconut to open the hole where I took out all the water.

Then, with no feminine manners whatsoever, I put each empty coconut inside my old kitchen towel and hit it against the floor to get it open. I continue to be lazy to find my little hammer and keep it in the kitchen 🙈

I easily peeled the coconut meat from the husk and unlike other times, I did not remove the endocarp (since I was not going to use the coconut bagasse). I cut the coconut meat into pieces of about 1 cm wide, small enough so as not to make my blender work too hard.

I put the coconut in the blender glass and added the water, which I had heated a little previously.

When the water is warm to hot, the coconut blends more smoothly and you get the milk more easily.

Next thing was pouring the content of the blender glass in the yogurt dripping bag and squeeze! 😁

The milk comes out with just a little effort.

Soon you can see the pot filled with delicious and warm fresh coconut milk.

Then I added the salt and brought the pot to medium heat and let the milk cook a little, about 5 minutes, stirring constantly until it almost boils. It's important to stir and not let it boil, or the milk may curdle.

Once I saw the milk was about to boil, I removed the pot from the fire and continued to stir a little for about half a minute.

I made sure the milk was homogeneous.

At this point, I reached for the cocoa powder and the last bit of homemade coconut milk I had in the fridge to use it. I also poured half of the milk or so in a glass to store it a bit later when it cooled.

I added the cocoa and the rest of the milk and mixed well.

Then, the easy part: peanut butter.

I just added some to the cocoa and mixed it well. Easy.

I used a hand whisk.

Now, in my town, hot chocolate is drunk very hot and somewhat thick. This thickness is achieved with some cornstarch, usually. I sometimes make it this way, but today I decided to make it a little more flavorful and use egg yolks as a thickener. Besides, I'm collecting egg whites to make a white cake, so any chance to use up the yolks is welcome, haha.