I still remember the time I fell in love with haroupi, better known as the carob plant. I was fascinated not only by the seeds, but also by its amazing aroma. I immediately knew this would become one of my favorite ingredients for cooking and adding to recipes. If you’ve never tried carob before, it really does taste like chocolate.

The carob plant grows all over Crete, and I’ve even found some plants in Mani. Now I’ve also discovered that it’s popular in Cyprus as well. A few years ago, I tried making my own carob powder and syrup after bringing some pods back from Crete. Later, my mom brought back tons of them, and she would constantly snack on the seeds.

Carob is packed with fiber and iron, making it both delicious and nutritious. If you’re looking for something naturally sweet and healthy to snack on, this is definitely for you. Luckily, I recently stumbled across some carob powder at the Mart in Thessaloniki, and I immediately grabbed it. I absolutely love carob powder because you can use it in so many different recipes.

This creamy chocolate haroupi shake is incredibly tasty, and if you love chocolate shakes, you need to try this recipe. It’s super easy to make and absolutely delicious!

Creamy Haroupi Chocolate Shake

(1 large serving)

A deliciously creamy chocolate shake made with haroupi powder, cocoa powder, and your choice of dairy or non-dairy milk. This shake is naturally sweetened with a frozen banana and contains no added sugar.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons of carob powder
• 1 teaspoon of Ghirardelli cocoa powder
• 1 frozen banana peeled, cut into 2 inch pieces
• 1 cup of non dairy or dairy milk ( see notes)
• Tools used: Magic Bullet

Method:

1. Add all ingredients into a blender.
2. Blend on high until fully combined.
3. Stir if needed and blend again.
4. Serve plain or with a dash of cinnamon powder or cold cream.

Notes:

• You can use any dairy-free milk you like. So far, I’ve used oat, almond, and soy milk, but full-fat dairy milk works just as well.
• Adding cinnamon powder to the mix is also a great option, especially because of its health benefits.
• This recipe makes one large serving, but you can easily divide it into two smaller cups to share.
• I like using vanilla-flavored dairy-free milk because the vanilla really enhances the flavor.
• Carob naturally resembles cocoa powder, so you don’t need to add cocoa unless you want an extra chocolate boost.