Chanukah gelt hot chocolate (+ vegan option)

This creamy, indulgent Chanukah hot chocolate is a real treat. Thick and smooth, it’s made with Chanukah gelt for a rich chocolate flavour.

A while ago I got really excited to find a giant bag of Chanukah gelt with an OU hechsher in Costco, so of course I had to buy it. However, it turns out that a kilo of delicious Belgian chocolate coins is actually really rather a lot! Oy! I should always have such problems…

What is Chanukah gelt?

In my grandparents’ day, Chanukah gelt referred to the money that would be given to children as gifts on Chanukah. These days, we tend to give items rather than money, and the Chanukah gelt has transformed itself into chocolate coins.

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Chanukah hot chocolate is the answer!

Finding myself with rather a lot of chocolate coins, I needed to concoct some deliciously festive way to use them up.

My daughter Kipper loves hot chocolate – what kid doesn’t? – so this rich, creamy hot chocolate drink is a real Chanukah treat for her. It’s so thick and rich, you can almost eat it with a spoon!

Each mugful uses 4-5 large chocolate Chanukah gelt coins, so if you make it for a crowd you’ll soon get through your stash! Of course, if you haven’t massively overbought on the gelt, you can use squares of regular chocolate, or chocolate chips, and just use one coin per cup for decoration.

Festive spirit?

Maybe it was the delicious Belgian chocolate, maybe it’s the festive spirit, but this was the best hot chocolate I’ve ever made! It’s certainly about a million times better than ‘instant’ hot chocolate from powder.

And speaking of festive ‘spirit’, DH likes to add a dram of whisky to his! Strictly for the adults, that one.

Ingredients in Chanukah gelt hot chocolate

To make this deliciously creamy chocolate treat yourself, you will simply need:

• Milk – or a dairy-free alternative.
• Cocoa powder, for a rich chocolate flavour.
• Cornflour – also called cornstarch – to thicken the hot chocolate.
• Chanukah gelt – of course! Although you can use squares of chocolate instead.
• Whipped cream and more chocolate coins to decorate (optional).

Dairy-free and delicious – make it vegan!

It’s completely possible to make this indulgent Chanukah hot chocolate without any dairy ingredients. In fact the delicious-looking, cream-topped mugful in the photos is actually completely vegan!

I made it using oat milk, dark chocolate, and whipped coconut cream. So if you’re avoiding dairy for any reason you can still enjoy this festive chocolate treat. 

The recipe below makes 1 mugful, but is easily scaled up.

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📖 Recipe

Chanukah gelt hot chocolate

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This creamy, indulgent Chanukah hot chocolate is a real treat. Thick and smooth, it's made with Chanukah gelt for a rich chocolate flavour.

5 from 1 vote

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Course Drinks

Cuisine American, Jewish

Servings 1

Calories 238 kcal

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• 250 ml milk or dairy-free alternative
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon cornflour
• 3 large chocolate coins (or about 15g chocolate)
• Whipped cream or whipped coconut cream (optional)
• Extra chocolate coins for decoration (optional)

Instructions

 

• 250 ml (1 cup) milk or dairy-free alternative
  Pour almost all of the milk – save about 1 tablespoon – into a pan and heat gently over a low flame.
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon cornflour
  In a jug, mix the reserved milk with the cocoa powder and cornflour to give a smooth paste.
• Once the milk is just coming to the boil, pour it over the cocoa/cornflour/milk mixture, stirring continuously. Mix well, and return the mixture to the pan.
• 3 large chocolate coins
  Remove the foil from the 3 chocolate coins, and place in the jug. Heat the milk mixture in the pan over a medium heat, stirring constantly, until it comes to the boil and thickens slightly. Pour the hot liquid over the chocolate in the jug and leave to stand for a minute or two.
• Whisk the melted chocolate coins into the hot liquid and pour into a mug.
• Whipped cream or whipped coconut cream, Extra chocolate coins for decoration
  If liked, top with whipped cream and decorate with a chocolate coin. Enjoy!

Notes

The nutritional values are given for the hot chocolate only, without the optional whipped cream or decorative gelt. 

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Chanukah gelt hot chocolate

Amount per Serving

Calories

238

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

13

g

20

%

Saturated Fat

 

8

g

50

%

Polyunsaturated Fat

 

1

g

Monounsaturated Fat

 

4

g

Cholesterol

 

25

mg

8

%

Sodium

 

110

mg

5

%

Potassium

 

389

mg

11

%

Carbohydrates

 

23

g

8

%

Fiber

 

1

g

4

%

Sugar

 

20

g

22

%

Protein

 

9

g

18

%

Vitamin A

 

405

IU

8

%

Calcium

 

287

mg

29

%

Iron

 

1

mg

6

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Keyword chocolate

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More delicious hot drinks

Other wonderful winter warming drinks for Chanukah include this hot mulled apple juice with little fruit dreidels, and this creamy sahlab. You might also enjoy this lovely festive spiced tea blend, or this spiced hot chocolate with hawaij l’cafe, both of which make terrific homemade Chanukah gifts.

And if you still have some gelt to use, how about a (vegan) chocolate Chanukah gelt cupcake? Yum!