Old Fashioned Low Carb Hot Chocolate (based on Tasha Tudor’s recipe)

Before the invention of processed hot cocoa powder mix in a box, when you wanted hot chocolate, you got out your saucepan! Sadly, hardly anyone makes real hot chocolate from scratch anymore, which is too bad because the powdered mix is a pale comparison to the real thing! Recently, I was reading my first edition copy of Take Joy! by Tasha Tudor, one of my favorite holiday books since childhood, and her book The Tasha Tudor Cookbook. Her recipe for hot chocolate, made the old fashioned way, inspired this sugar free, low carb version. This hot chocolate is so rich, creamy and decadent, you’ll never guess it is sugar free and only 3g net carbs per serving. (I prefer using a combination of sweeteners in this recipe, but feel free to use whatever zero carb sweetener you like and have on hand equivalent to 6-8 tablespoons, or to taste.) Add some of this hot chocolate to your coffee for a mocha that is out of this world!

Old Fashioned Low Carb Hot Chocolate

Makes 4 servings

2½ cups low carb milk of choice

½ cup heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum

2 ounces unsweetened baker’s chocolate, chopped

2 tablespoons allulose

2 tablespoons powdered erythritol sweetener 

½ teaspoon stevia powder (or add an additional tablespoon erythritol)

A pinch of salt

1 cup boiling water

1½ tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

10 drops monkfruit extract or stevia drops, to taste

1. Place the milk and cream into a sauce pan and scald over medium low heat. Add the xanthan gum and whisk until combined. Set aside and keep warm.

2. Meanwhile, pour 1 cup of water into a sauce pan and bring to a boil, then remove from heat. Place the chopped chocolate in a heat proof bowl and set it over the hot water until the chocolate has melted. (You can use a double boiler for this step, if you have one.)

3. Stir the sweeteners, salt and cocoa powder into the melted chocolate. Slowly whisk in the boiling water until the sweeteners and cocoa powder have dissolved. Pour the chocolate mixture back into the sauce pan. Boil the chocolate mixture for five minutes over low heat, stirring frequently.

4. Add the chocolate mixture to the hot milk and whisk until combined. Add the vanilla and monkfruit extract (or stevia drops). Whisk again until frothy and taste. Adjust sweetness to your liking. Serve warm topped with whip cream, if desired. (If you have any leftover, it can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat to serve.)

Nutritional Information per 1 cup serving: 212 calories, 8 g carbohydrate (2.8 g dietary fiber, 0.2 g sugars, 2 g sugar alcohols), 18.7 g total fat (11.8 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat), 39 mg cholesterol, 163 mg sodium, 284 mg calcium, 33 mg potassium, 2 mg iron, 118 IU Vit A, 5 mg caffeine, 3 g protein. Net carbs per serving: 3.2 grams

Recipe and photo by Kathy Sheehan, copyright 2022

All rights reserved. Please do not duplicate without the author’s permission.