RECIPE | (Vegan!) Chocolate Espresso Pot de Creme In A Mug

It's summer. It's hot. I'm craving pot de creme but I don't want to turn on the oven in this sweltering weather. While I'm neither vegetarian nor vegan, I actually don't consume a lot of dairy in my house so I don't keep heavy cream on hand. I wasn't specifically looking for a vegan version, but a strategic web search yielded this awesome recipe, credited to the Detoxinista, that introduced me to the *magic* that is cashew cream! Since I'm pretty much the only one who eats sweets in my family, I opted to adapt this recipe for a single serving in a mug!

Ingredients

(Serves 2 in mugs, 2-4 in ramekins. Adapted from The Detoxinista)

(1) 1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked for 2+ hours
(2) 1/4 cup melted coconut oil (or butter is fine for de-veganizing)
(3) 1/4 cup cocoa powder
(4) 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
(5) 1/2 tsp sea salt
(6) 1/4 cup maple syrup, honey, or agave
(7) 1/2 cup almond or soy milk (I used chocolate milk for extra chocolatey flavor!)
(8) Optional: 1 tbsp espresso powder (not shown), dark chocolate shavings or fruit (for garnish)

Steps

1. Soak your cashews for two or more hours, until cloudy.

2. Drain and rinse your cashews, then throw them along with all the other ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth and creamy.

3. This step is optional, but I like to strain the mixture through a mesh sieve to create a smoother texture.

4. Pour into a mug or ramekin and refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours. Sprinkle on chocolate shavings or fruit as garnish.

I was sooo satisfied with how it turned out! It's super smooth and creamy with just the right about of richness, and its texture was very similar to real pot de creme! Best of all, no baking! I'm definitely going to play around with this recipe for different flavors, maybe vanilla bean, white chocolate, or mango?!

*Bonus: Action shot!