OH. OH. OHHHH. I am still tingly from this liquid-chocolate-magical experience. Basically I just let Willy Wonka’s river flow right into my mouth! Before we jump into the treat frenzy, let’s learn a few foodie-nerd facts.

So, have you ever tried an egg cream soda? It’s an American classic! (You can usually find them in dinners). Funny enough, there’s no egg in the original recipe! Who knows why they named it that way. There is however, whole milk, along with chocolate syrup (usually hershey’s), and bubbly seltzer (club soda). It’s a frothy chocolate-y dense cold drink that is just sublime.

Since I cannot enjoy the virtues of dairy anymore (a.k.a. a sign of getting old!), I decided to give it a go with coconut milk instead of regular whole milk. I also made the chocolate syrup at home since that Hershey’s stuff is kinda obscure. The result was SO GOOD. It’s like a melted milkshake with fizz.

Mind you, it could be something odd to try for the first time since you expect a “chocolate milk” taste but then BAM! You get the bubbles right after. Now that the sun is coming out, you should definitely give it a go.

Alrighty, shall we let the chocolate rivers flow?

FULL RECIPE AND STEPS AFTER THE JUMP

Vegan Chocolate Cream Soda

Makes 5 and a half cups (a bit over a litre)

Notes:
– You can play around with the ratio of coconut milk and chocolate syrup, add it little by little until you’re ok with the taste. The amounts in this recipe make a really rich soda. Mmmh chocolate *drool*
– Make sure the club soda, chocolate syrup, and coconut milk are super cold, also, serve in a chilled glass if possible.
– The syrup I made is quite tamed and lets the bitterness of the cocoa come through, if you want a sweeter mix, add more agave syrup.
– If you don’t have vanilla pods, use 1/4 teaspoon (not full) of real vanilla extract.

Ingredients

For the chocolate syrup:
– 2 cups water
– 1/2 cup cocoa powder
– 1/3 cup agave syrup
– Scraped seeds from 1/3 of a vanilla pod

For the soda:
– 3 cups cold club soda (seltzer)
– 1/2 cup cold coconut milk

Instructions

Make the chocolate syrup:
1. Place all chocolate syrup ingredients in a pot over medium heat. Use a whisk to dissolve the cocoa. Let it gently simmer for about 5-10 minutes until it turns darker and gets a bit thicker (careful it doesn’t boil over!).

2. Once it’s ready, let it cool completely and place it in the fridge.

Make the soda:
1. Place a few glasses in the freezer to get them nice and frosty.

2. Get a jug that’s big enough to fit at least 6 cups (you can use a big bowl too and then you can scoop it out, though it might be messy). Let the pouring begin!

3. Pour the club soda, coconut milk, and 2 cups of the cold chocolate syrup. Give it a gentle stir, serve in a frosty chilled glass and you’re done!

For food-porn purposes, I gave my first stab at creating a culinary gif of the pouring process:

Please note I made a fucking mess all over my white table cloth, HA! Thank god for oxiclean.

So, fellas – I can see this becoming a little bit of an addiction! Or maybe you’ll be all like “wtf?? bubbles?” haha, either way, you gotta try it. Enjoy!

PHOTOS AND STYLING: Artful Desperado
Recipe adapted from Mast Brothers’ chocolate cookbook