Cacao Recipes
Every recipe here is built on unsweetened, non-alkalized cocoa powder — the kind with one ingredient on the label. Holiday drinks, American classics, and two Vietnamese cocoa drinks that have never really been written down in English.
☕ Hot drinks
- Classic hot chocolate — The base recipe everything else is built on.
- Mexican hot chocolate — Cinnamon, a whisper of chilli, and why it is frothed.
- Peppermint hot chocolate — How much extract is too much.
- Pumpkin spice hot chocolate — With real pumpkin, not just the spice.
- Cacao trứng — Hanoi egg cocoa — Whipped yolk cream floated on hot cocoa.
- Cacao muối — Vietnamese salted cocoa — Salt does not make it salty. It removes the bitterness.
- Choosing cocoa for hot chocolate — Why some cocoas taste thin in milk.
🥤 Cold drinks & shakes
- Cacao smoothies — How to blend it so it does not clump.
- Mocha at home — Cocoa in coffee, without syrup.
- When to drink cacao — Morning, pre-workout or evening.
🍰 Baking & desserts
- Chocolate lava cake — Molten centre, two ramekins, 12 minutes.
- Cocoa powder brownies — Fudgy, without melting a chocolate bar.
- Chocolate mug cake — One mug, 90 seconds, no eggs.
- Baking with cocoa powder — Ratios, substitutions, and what alkalinity changes.
- Choosing cocoa for baking — What separates a flat bake from a deep one.
🎄 Holiday & seasonal
- Hot cocoa bombs — Christmas gifting, and the tempering shortcut.
- Peppermint hot chocolate — The December classic, done properly.
- Pumpkin spice hot chocolate — Fall and Thanksgiving.
- Chocolate lava cake — Valentine's dessert for two.
- Mexican hot chocolate — Warm spice for cold months.
🍪 Everyday
- Making unsweetened cocoa taste good — What to add when there is no sugar in the bag.
- Is there sugar in cocoa powder? — Reading the label before you sweeten anything.
The cocoa these recipes were written for. Single-origin Vietnamese Trinitario — unsweetened, non-alkalized, independently tested for heavy metals, with every report published in full on our Lab Results & Awards page. Shop on Amazon →
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.