I’ve always been fascinated by the process of making chocolate and whilst in my day job, I usually use already prepared chocolate covertiture, for this recipe I’ve decided to explore the world of actual chocolate making.
So, here is how to make a simple vegan chocolate bar with only three basic ingredients. This recipe is of course suitable for vegetarian and vegan diets, but this chocolate is also gluten free and wheat free and doesn’t contain any lactose (milk). So, this is as healthy as chocolate can get!
Making Vegan Chocolate Notes & Troubleshooting Tips
How do I make vegan chocolate without cocoa butter?
You can replace the cocoa butter with almond, coconut or similar plant based butter. Bear in mind that the flavour of chocolate will slightly change, depending on what type of butter you use. This might not be a bad thing, especially if you are thinking of adding other flavours in to compliment the chocolate, for instance whole almonds or other nuts or dried fruits.
Where do I buy vegan chocolate chips or buttons to make my chocolate?
The thing is – a proper quality dark couverture chocolate is always vegan! It doesn’t contain any dairy, gluten and because it has cocoa butter, it’s all plant based. Unfortunately, this type of chocolate is not really available in the supermarkets, so it’s best to order online. I’ve put together chocolate making resources and you can find them right here.
Do I need to temper my vegan chocolate?
For best results – and if you want your chocolate to withstand higher temperatures, it’s always best to temper your chocolate. If you replace your cocoa butter with other plant based butter or oils you might find that your chocolate can be quite soft (as oil usually melts at lower temperature than sturdy cocoa butter), so it’s even more important to temper your chocolate. If you are making just a chocolate ganache or chocolate sauce or desert (where the chocolate will stay slightly soft), it doesn’t need to be tempered.
More vegan recipes
I’m making vegan chocolate bars – can I flavour my chocolate?
Yes, of course – there are so many ingredients you can complement your chocolate with. If you are using flavour essences, they have to be ‘oil based’. If they are water based, they will split the chocolate and your chocolate won’t set. Check the labels to make sure you are using vegan friendly essences.
If you want to stay more in tune with the nature, I would recommend using various spices, which blend beautifully into chocolate and create a great flavour. I often use cinnamon, sweet chilli, mixed spice or pepper to compliment my chocolate. Always make sure it’s finely ground and add only a bit at the time. It’s easy to get carried away and your chocolate would be easily spoiled.
What about dried fruit – can I add it to my vegan chocolate?
Yes, absolutely – anything ‘dry’ can be used to topped your chocolate bar with. I love a mix of dried fruit, nuts and seeds, which really add an extra nutritional value to my chocolate. Just a piece of my chocolate bar is enough as a snack.
I don’t have a agave nectar, can I use something else?
If you want to keep your recipe vegan friendly, you can swap the agave nectar for maple syrup (which is also great if you are looking for a chocolate recipe suitable for IBS, as agave nectar is very high FODMAP, whereas maple syrup is low FODMAP). If you are not worried about keeping this recipe strictly vegan, you can also swap the agave nectar for honey or other suitable liquid sugar.
Can I use real sugar instead of the liquid sugar?
That’s a great question, but since we want to make our chocolate beautifully mellow and easily to eat, we are sticking with the liquid sugar. I’m also trying to keep this chocolate fairly healthy and that’s why I’ve chosen to use more natural sugar.
You could use any type of ‘real’ sugar, but the problem is that unless you can grind it very fine (even if you use icing sugar) you’ll always be able to fell the sugar crystals in your mouth. If you are not worried about it, go ahead and swap it and see how you get on.
Can you add coconut oil to melted chocolate?
Yes, you can add a small amount of coconut oil to your melted chocolate. This will slightly thin it, so either add more cocoa powder or less cocoa butter. Coconut oil is much lighter than cocoa butter or coconut butter, which means that it melts at lower temperature.
As coconut oil is slightly cheaper than cocoa butter, it means that you can make your own vegan chocolate on a budget.
I don’t have any cocoa powder, can I use something else?
The higher quality cocoa powder you use, the better your chocolate is going to taste. So, I would always use cocoa powder and not try to replace it with other substitutes. But if you’ve either run out of your cocoa powder or you just need few extra grams to top up your cocoa powder quantity, you can also add powdered chocolate drink (just check ingredients, as they might not be always vegan friendly).
How can I use this recipe to make vegan milk chocolate?
It’s possible to make vegan milk chocolate, but you would need one crutial ingredient – a milk powder. You can of course use a coconut milk instead of cow’s milk, but it does need to be in a powdered form.
Why not stay in touch…
I hope you enjoy making this recipe and if you do, I’d love to know what you think! Let me know in the comments below or find me on Instagram or Facebook and add the hashtag #cocoaandheart so that I can see your post.
Or why not subscribe to my weekly newsletter with new recipes and baking tips straight to your mailbox.
Magdalena
More chocolate inspiration
- Chocolate truffle making tips >>
- Raw chocolate recipe >>
- How to make chocolate from cocoa nibs >>
- The ultimate guide to ruby chocolate >>
The basic vegan chocolate recipe
Ingredients
- 170 g cacao butter melted
- 85 g agave nectar
- 170 g cacao powder
Optional
- 1/4 tsp vanilla powder
- pinch of salt finely ground
Instructions
- Melt cacao butter very gently in a bowl set over a saucepan with simmering water.
- Once the cacao butter has melted, take the bowl from the heat and add cacao powder. The best way to incorporate both ingredients is to use a whisk and just keep stirring until smooth.
- After that just add your sweetener and any flavourings you choose to use.
- To temper the chocolate (at least a little bit…) keep whisking the chocolate mixture until it thickens a little and the temperature goes down to about 30 -32 C.
- After that pour your chocolate into moulds or shallow tray.
- If you are adding any toppings, add them now and gently tap the tray to sink them in a little.
- Place into fridge for 30 min or until the chocolate is set.
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