Rainy Day Hot Chocolate so Good, you'd swear it had Dairy and Sugar in It!

Because the cooler temperatures of Fall and all the Warmth they bring with them, can't come soon enough 

​Do you ever have those mornings where you wake up and hope it's raining? That when you crack your eyelids open, the room is just barely brighter than the inside of your eyelids? Those mornings that lead into guilt-free days of pure, pyjama-clad indulgence, where the simple fact that it's not 75 and sunny, is reason enough to dial it back for the day. (I'm aware that I may have lived in southern California for too long – I can feel an incredulous mob of damp-haired east coasters and northern Europeans rolling their eyes at me as they read this!)
I must admit I have them often – apparently you can take the girl out of her overcast, drizzly homeland, but you can't take that homeland out of the girl. There's just something about the half-light that makes my heart swell. When it's warmer inside than out and when a soft, electric bulb glows in harmony with a smattering of pooling wax candles, I'm taken straight back to short winter days in Denmark with my family, a good crime story to read and the sound of raindrops on the roof. Come to think of it, I'll take a torrential rainstorm in verdant Atlanta, GA, with the smell of something fragrant in the oven and the promise of a bath to round out the night, just as soon as I'd take a trip across the Atlantic. My childhood is rich with rain, and as an adult I crave not only precipitation, but also the nostalgia it drizzles down my window panes.
Cut to the end of October in Los Angeles, where the holiday season rapidly approaches and the temperature gauge still reads 90*F, despite the fact that persimmons, pears and pumpkins have hit every menu in town. Angelenos are being force-fed fall, even though we still find ourselves ordering our coffees iced and our toes painted pastel. Every day, with hope in our hearts, we preemptively don our sweaters, tights and jackets, in anticipation of a much longed-for dive into cooler temperatures, and every day we break a sweat, stripping back down to comfortable and barely decent.
I realize that, before I know it, the days will go from too hot to too cold, and the longing I have for long sleeves and a cold nose, will dissipate into a cold I can't shake from my bones – but, until then, I'll continue to keep my eyes shut for just a moment longer, hoping that maybe, just maybe, the clouds have descended upon this city of angels. (I'll also turn the air conditioning way down low, force myself into woolens, and perfect the perfect hot chocolate recipe in anticipation of a day so cold, I'll need it to warm my insides.)
This hot chocolate recipe is rich, comforting and totally vegan! (Not because I'm vegan, but because drinking a cup of hot dairy turns a cozy day in thick socks, into a day I'd rather not add to the memory bank.) For those of you lucky enough to bask comfortably in the delights of cow's milk, don't worry, you won't miss it – I promise.

Ingredients:

• 1 can coconut cream*
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cacao powder
• 3 Medjool dates (or 5 Deglet Noor dates), pitted
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• Raw, vegan dark chocolate for garnish**

In a Vitamix (or blender) combine the can of coconut cream (reserving about 2 tablespoons of the solid mass on top for garnish), cacao powder, dates, cinnamon and vanilla extract. Blend on high until the dates are completely incorporated and the mixture is smooth. 

Heat in a pan (unless using a Vitamix, in which case it's already hot), until it reaches your desired temperature for drinking. 

Pour the hot chocolate into two mugs, then whip the reserved coconut cream until light and fluffy. Top the hot chocolate with a tablespoon of the 'whipped cream' and some chocolate shavings. 

As I sit here with my warm cup, staring out at clear blue skies and the mild distortion of air so hot you could slow-cook with it, I can see, way off in the distance, the promise of cold, drizzly days that taste of cacao, coconut and sweet dates, and imagine the window panes fogging with the warmth of their steam.

Soon, I hope. 

*In order for the cream part of the coconut milk to really set up, store the can in the fridge over night. When you go to open the can, flip it first - then the creamy, solid part should be on top, ready to scoop out. If you live near a Trader Joe's, they sell cans of coconut cream that are perfect for this. 

**I simply use a vegetable peeler and shave along a chocolate bar to achieve these chocolate shavings.