Pots de Creme is an easy, vegan version of traditional pots de creme. They are made with few ingredients, rich in flavor, and can be enjoyed by everyone as dessert with toppings of choice.

I am not into fancy Valentine’s day celebration but I love the idea of dedicating a day to someone special – be it your significant other, parents, friend, fur baby, stranger. It’s a day to spread love, which this world needs a lot of right now and of course eat copious amount of chocolate. I have no plans, like last year but I am going to try layered chocolate cake of some sort over the weekend because the boyfriend’s birthday is one day before the Valentine’s day. I find Pots de Creme to be simply elegant for any occasion and here is a vegan take on it with minimal ingredients and few simple steps.

Pots de Creme is a loose French custard dessert dating back to the 17th century. Traditionally, it is made with eggs, heavy cream like I did here. It is luscious with chocolate forward flavor, which I personally really enjoy. There is nothing wrong with the traditional Pots de Creme nor I am trying to promote veganism here. This vegan pots de creme is just another version made with coconut milk, meant to be enjoyed by everyone.

You can customize vegan pots de creme with toppings of your choice, such as cocoa powder, marshmallow, peanut butter, strawberries, or whipped cream. Do whatever makes you happy.

Some thoughts on coconut milk:

Coconut milk is a very popular ingredient – naturally dairy-free, soy-free, vegan, and paleo-approved. It is getting a lot of attention due to many health claims such as helping with weight loss, better immune function, healthier skin, nail, and good for heart health. Like heavy cream, coconut milk is very high in fat (44 grams in heavy cream and 58 grams in coconut milk per cup) but there is an ongoing debate about whether the type of fats in coconut milk is actually better for us.

Coconut milk is mostly saturated fat called medium chain triglycerides (lauric acid), structurally different than animal based saturated fats. They are absorbed and digested easily by the body and some limited studies have found that it does not negatively impact cholesterol levels despite being very high in saturated fats. In my opinion, coconut milk and it’s impact on our health needs further research but it does not hurt to enjoy them as a part of balanced diet with dessert or curry based recipes such as Restaurant Style Red Thai Curry. Just be mindful that just like heavy cream, coconut milk is caloric-rich and should not be treated as a miracle ingredient.

If you follow a vegan diet, be mindful that not all chocolate chips are vegan. It depends on the type of chocolate chips and the brand as majority of the widely-available, well-known brands contain some sort of milk product. Vegan chocolate typically contains three ingredients; sugar, chocolate, and cocoa butter. If those are the only ingredients on the label, and you’re good with sugar, then you are good to go. Here are some ingredients to keep you eyes out for when trying to figure out if your chocolate chips are vegan:

• Milkfat

• Butterfat

• Cream

• Butter

• Casein

• Whey protein

• Whole milk powder

Easy Pots de Creme (vegan)

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt salt

• 2 tablespoons sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder or instant coffee powder

• 1 cup coconut milk (from a can and shake it vigorously before using)

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Put chocolate chips, sea salt, sugar, and espresso powder in a blender or food processor and pulse until finely ground.

2. Heat the coconut milk to just below a boil, with small bubbles forming around the edge of the saucepan.

3. Turn on the blender or processor, and slowly add the cream. Scrape down the sides if necessary. Add vanilla extract and pulse until smooth.

4. Divide into 4 individual serving cups. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.

5. Serve with unsweetened cocoa powder sliced strawberries, confectioners sugar, marshmallows, peanut butter or whatever you desire.

If you make these Easy, Pots de Creme (vegan), I’d love for you to share on instagram by tagging @foodpleasurehealth  or pin it for later.