Vegan Champurrado {Mexican Hot Chocolate Atole}

In this dairy-free version of champurrado, almond milk forms the base for spiced hot chocolate thickened with masa harina, all decked out in coconut whipped cream and hella chocolate. 

What is Champurrado?

Champurrado is a chocolate-flavored version of atole – a warm, drinkable pudding of sorts made from sweetened milk and corn flour. The corn flour adds a surprisingly pleasant thickness to the drink while maintaining little nubs of texture. Some champurrado is thin enough to sip, while others are thick enough to eat with a spoon.

Atole and champurrado date back to the Mayans, who famously spiked their hot chocolate with sweet spices and chili. This version tastes a bit like chocolate pudding that you've just made and are surreptitiously spooning, warm out of the pan, straight into your mouth, while hoping that no one is looking. (Not that I would ever do that...) This is hot chocolate pudding that you're allowed to drink without looking like a pig. In fact, you're even supposed to drink it for breakfast WITH CHURROS.

Champurrado is genius.

Falling in Love with Champurrado

I first became champurrado curious during a stint as a pastry chef at a Peruvian restaurant, when I tried a version from Dulce: Desserts in the Latin-American Tradition, the book that served as my bible during that time. I tweaked the champurrado to my liking, and shared it among my co-workers who went wild for the spiced, warm chocolate drink. (I may or may not have spiked it with rum...) I planned to put in on the menu straight away. Sadly, my dessert never saw the light of day due to an owner who disliked a) chocolate and b) printing new menus. Thus we happily hoarded the goodness all to ourselves.

I wasn't sad to leave that job, especially since doing so left me more time to focus on this space which has led to many wonderful things, including writing and photographing a cookbook all about desserts made from alternative grains. I was, however, devastated when I realized that I'd left my champurrado recipe tucked into the restaurant's copy of Dulce, probably to be found by my successor (who I pray had better luck implementing interesting recipes than I did). So when I got a hankering for the drink the other day, I cobbled together a recipe based on my memory and a few online sources.

How to Make Champurrado

Many chocolate atole recipes start with disks of Mexican chocolate, but I always find these to be overly sweet and lacking in chocolate flavor. I prefer to use good bittersweet chocolate, deep, dark muscovado sugar, cinnamon sticks, chili powder for a little kick, and cocoa powder for extra chocolatey richness.

To start, you'll want a saucepan with a heavy base the will protect the champurrado from scorching as it cooks. Whisk together the masa harina or corn flour, muscovado or brown sugar, cocoa, chili, and salt. Then add water, plant milk, cinnamon sticks, and chocolate. Bring to a simmer and whisk frequently until thick and luscious. Garnish with whipped cream or whipped coconut cream and chocolate curls, and sip away!

Champurrado > Vegan Hot Chocolate

If you wish your hot chocolate were thick enough to eat with a spoon, but not overly rich, then you'll love champurrado. The thickness comes from the starches in the corn flour. Unlike European hot chocolate which gets its thickness from cornstarch and takes on a gelatinous texture, champurrado has a more wholesome thickness from finely ground corn.

Best of all, champurrado is easily made vegan; in fact, I like this version better than my original dairy-full version. Almond milk creates a light base that allows the flavors of chocolate and spice to come through cleanly, and a plume of coconut cream adds its subtly tropical flavor.

The Zen of Champurrado

I find the act of champurrado-making to be nearly as soothing as sipping a warm mugful. As you stand by the stove slowly stirring, notes of chocolate and spice fill your senses. When it's finally done, serve mugs topped with whipped coconut cream and chocolate shavings. Try not to drink the whole pot all by yourself. Leftovers reheat beautifully.

Cups of this stuff are addictive: spicy, a little sweet, deep and rich, but light enough to drink any time of day.

More Cozy Drinks Recipes:

• creamy cashew gingersnap lattes {vegan}
• fresh mint hot cocoa with matcha marshmallows
• homemade horchata with pumpkin seeds, maple & ginger {vegan & naturally sweetened}
• homemade irish cream liqueur
• homemade eggnog

*Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram,  Facebook, or Pinterest, purchase my gluten-free cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this vegan champurrado, I’d love to see. Tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet  and  #bojongourmet.*

5 from 1 vote

Vegan Champurrado {Mexican Hot Chocolate Atole}

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In this dairy-free version of champurrado, almond milk forms the base for spiced hot chocolate thickened with masa harina, all decked out in coconut whipped cream and hella chocolate. 

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total: 20 minutes

Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients

• ¼ cup masa harina (or corn flour [NOT cornstarch]) (30 g)
• ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons packed muscovado sugar (or grated pilconcillo or dark brown sugar) (60 g)
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder (I like natural) (10 g)
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne or dried chipotle powder (more to taste)
• 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2 cups water (475 ml)
• 2 cups almond milk (475 ml)
• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (I like 65-72% cacao mass), roughly chopped
• 4 (3”) cinnamon sticks

Whipped Coconut Cream

• 2 small cans unsweetened coconut cream (such as Native Forest Organic brand), chilled at least 2 hours and up to 1 day (5.4 ounces each / 160 ml)
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar (12 g)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• chocolate shavings, for garnish

Instructions

• In a medium saucepan with a heavy bottom, whisk together the masa harina, muscovado sugar, cocoa powder, chili powder and salt. Whisk in the water until fairly smooth, then add the almond milk, cinnamon sticks and chocolate.
• Place the pan over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue simmering and stirring until the mixture is smooth and thickened to your liking, 10-15 more minutes. Taste, adding more spice if you like. Serve immediately, or remove from the heat and let stand until ready to serve; the champurrado will continue to thicken as it stands and the flavor of the cinnamon will deepen. Thin with almond milk or water if needed.
• Meanwhile, make the whipped coconut cream. Without tipping or shaking the cans, remove the coconut cream from the refrigerator, open the cans, and scrape the thick cream from the top of the cans. Place in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer with the powdered sugar and vanilla. Whip until soft peaks form, 2-3 minutes on medium-high. Taste, adding more sugar or vanilla if you like.
• Ladle the champurrado into cups, top with a dollop of cream, a sprinkle of chocolate shavings, and serve immediately.

Notes

With inspiration from The View From Great Island and Serious Eats, this thickened Mexican hot chocolate goes down easy.

If you don't have access to masa harina, this works equally well with corn flour, such as Bob's Red Mill brand (not to be confused with cornstarch).

The coconut cream is a must; it provides a cool, mild contrast and richness to the deep chocolate drink, so do be sure to chill your coconut cream for at least 2 hours (or full-fat coconut milk such as Thai Kitchen brand) for at least 12 hours before making.

Extra champurrado can be chilled for up to several days and reheated with a little extra almond milk if needed to thin the drink.

If dairy isn't an issue, this can be made with cow's milk and regular whipped cream.

If you want to booze it up, add a splash of dark or spiced rum to the champurrado or coconut cream.

To make the chocolate shavings, start with a bar of good chocolate. Scrape a side with a vegetable peeler (I like the T-shaped kind) to make tiny curls. Chill until needed.

Nutritional values are based on one of six servings.

Nutrition

Calories: 376kcalCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 4gFat: 27gSaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 169mgPotassium: 330mgFiber: 5gSugar: 19gVitamin A: 25IUVitamin C: 1.4mgCalcium: 153mgIron: 3mg

Making this? I'd love to see!Tag your snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet!