When I arrived in the Netherlands one of the first things that caught my attention was, in the refrigerated section, an area near the yogurts and milk dedicated to 1-liter tetra-paks containing a sort of chocolate sauce. On the label it said: Chocolade Vla. Well, it wasn’t only chocolate but also other flavors, however my eye always falls, alas, on chocolate! To be fair, many of the tetra-paks also said “skimmed” or “0% fat”: very interesting!
Of course I bought it and, while eating it, I discovered I was facing a very nice cream that is a bit “pudding-like” and a bit “yogurty”. In fact it is a fresh milk-based product that is used a lot here in the Netherlands, eaten by adults and children as a snack or even as an end-of-dinner dessert. Besides chocolate it exists in many flavors: vanilla, fruit and caramel.
If you want to stray from a diet there’s the version with cream (slagroomvla) and even the dubbelvla version, that is double vla: two flavors in the same package that when poured mix together creating beautiful colors! They are all good, I can say from experience!
I am quite stubborn by nature and I set my mind on recreating this chocolate sauce to make it even lighter than the light commercial version but above all to avoid preservatives, thickeners and other junk always present in supermarket products. I made some tests and one day I put this chocolate sauce in front of my son without telling him what it was. He tasted it and said to me: “but it’s the chocolade vla“. Hooray: experiment successful! And the Dutchman approved the result 100%…
Update June 6, 2022: after 10 years I rewrote the recipe and retook the photos because the 2012 ones were really awful. This time I also made the vla in a vegan version. I personally don’t notice the difference, but if you prefer you can use, as in the old recipe, cow’s milk and honey instead of almond milk and maple syrup.
Other light sweet creams are here:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Budget-friendly
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Cooking time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 2
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
As explained in the introduction, I rewrote this recipe making it vegan. If you prefer to use cow’s milk and honey it will no longer be vegan but it will still be delicious and the Weight Watchers points don’t change!
- 1/2 cup plant-based milk (unsweetened)
- 2 tsp cornstarch (or potato starch)
- 1 oz 70% dark chocolate (vegan)
- 2 tsp maple syrup
- Total points = 6 WW points
- Points per serving = 3 WW points
Tools
- Small saucepans
- Hand whisk
- Spatulas
- Plastic wrap
Steps
The first thing to do is prepare and measure the ingredients. In particular, cut the chocolate with a knife so it is finely chopped.
Dissolve the starch well with 1 tablespoon of cold milk, then add the chopped chocolate and stir. In a separate saucepan pour the remaining milk together with the maple syrup and bring to a boil, then turn off the heat. Immediately pour it into the bowl with the cornstarch and chocolate mixture: whisk quickly to melt the chocolate thoroughly.
Return everything to the saucepan and bring back to a boil, stirring continuously. As soon as the sauce begins to thicken give it one last stir and turn off the heat. It really takes only a few minutes—more to explain than to do!
Pour the chocolate sauce into a cold container, place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the cream to prevent a skin from forming and let it cool. It can be stored in the fridge for 2 or 3 days. But if you can’t resist, our chocolate vla is also delicious served warm…
This chocolate sauce is truly very low in calories and can be served with fruit or with a dry biscuit without feeling guilty! Or, as I did in the photo, with chopped hazelnuts and a few strawberries, or banana slices.
And by now it’s a tried-and-true recipe, much loved by all my readers who have tasted it. I’m sure this vegan version will be very welcomed by everyone as well. Leave me a comment to let me know if you tried it too!
Enjoy!
by Giovanna Buono
