You can make easy vegan hot chocolate in your high-speed blender that is so rich and creamy, you'd never know it was dairy-free, gluten-free, and paleo-friendly.
Throw all of the ingredients (including any optional boosters) into your high-speed blender, and blast on high for 5 to 7 minutes, until piping hot.
Alternatively, throw the ingredients into a conventional blender, and blast on high for 60 seconds, until smooth. Then transfer the ingredients to a small saucepan, and warm gently over a low to medium-low heat for 1 to 2 minutes, until piping hot.
CASHEWS: Read here for soaking instructions to neutralize the enzyme inhibitors to make the cashews more digestible. Substitute with blanched slivered almonds. If you don't want to use whole nuts, substitute the filtered water and raw cashews in the recipe with 2 cups of unsweetened homemade almond milk (for the creamiest texture) OR use commercial unsweetened almond milk or other plant milk such as boxed coconut milk or oat milk.
CACAO POWDER: Substitute with unsweetened cocoa powder.
DATES: Substitute withy 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup, plus more to taste. Or, to make this diabetic-friendly, use 3 tablespoons of a sugar substitute with a 1:1 substitution ratio for cane sugar.