The Best Vegetarian Chocolates Recipe You Can Make At Home

The base recipe here is a dark chocolate shell with a ganache filling. It works with milk chocolate too, though dark gives you more control over sweetness.

I've kept it vegetarian throughout, which means watching your cream and checking that your chocolate doesn't contain any animal-derived additives. More on that in a minute.

What makes a chocolate vegetarian (and why it's not always obvious)

Most plain dark chocolate is vegetarian by default. The issues tend to come from the fillings. Classic ganache uses double cream, which is fine for vegetarians but not vegans. Some milk chocolates use whey powder or other dairy derivatives, which are still vegetarian. The ones to watch out for are chocolates that contain shellac (sometimes listed as E904), which is a resin secreted by the lac insect. Since 2022, the Vegetarian Society of the UK no longer certifies products containing it, so most vegetarians now treat it as something to avoid.

It's used occasionally as a glazing agent on finished chocolates. Another to dodge is cochineal (E120), an insect-derived red colouring used in some confectionery.

For this recipe, check two things: that your chocolate lists no E904 or E120 in the ingredients, and that your cream is standard dairy double cream. If you want to make the recipe vegan, swap the double cream for full-fat coconut cream from a tin, not the drinking kind. It works well in ganache, though you may notice a very faint coconut flavour alongside the chocolate.

What you'll need

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This makes around 24 chocolates, depending on the size of your moulds.

For the shells: 300g good-quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids works well), broken into pieces.

For the ganache filling: 150ml double cream, 150g dark chocolate (the same one you're using for the shells is fine), and one tablespoon of unsalted butter. From there you can add flavourings. A teaspoon of vanilla extract gives you a clean, straightforward ganache.

A tablespoon of smooth peanut butter gives you something nuttier, and you'll need to mix it in thoroughly. A pinch of flaked sea salt goes on top of the filled shells rather than into the ganache itself.

You'll also need a silicone chocolate mould with standard truffle-sized cavities, a heatproof bowl, a saucepan, and a small palette knife or the back of a spoon for spreading. Silicone moulds release cleanly and you don't need to grease them, which makes the whole process simpler.

Making the ganache filling

Bring the double cream to a simmer in a small saucepan, then pour it over the 150g of chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Leave it for 90 seconds without stirring, then stir slowly from the centre outwards until the chocolate is fully combined and the mixture is glossy. Add the butter and stir it in. This adds a slight sheen and keeps the ganache looser at room temperature, which makes it more pleasant to eat.

If you're adding a flavouring, do it now. Vanilla extract goes in with a stir. Peanut butter needs a proper mix to fully incorporate. Sea salt goes on top rather than in, after you've piped or spooned the ganache into the shells.

Leave the ganache to cool at room temperature for 30 to 45 minutes until it's thick enough to pipe or spoon without running everywhere. You want it to hold its shape but still have a little give.

Fill each chocolate shell to about 1mm below the rim. Don't overfill, or the base won't sit flat when you seal it. Put the filled mould back in the fridge for another 15 minutes.

Sealing and finishing

Pour the remaining tempered chocolate over the filled moulds to seal the bases. If your tempered chocolate has cooled too much by now, you can warm it back up over the hot water pan for 30 seconds. Scrape the surface flat with your palette knife, then refrigerate the whole mould for at least 20 minutes.

When you turn the mould out, the chocolates should pop free cleanly. If they don't, give it another 5 minutes in the fridge. Forcing them will crack the shells.

A few variations that actually work

Raspberry ganache: add a tablespoon of seedless raspberry jam to the cream before heating. It gives you a fruity, slightly sharp ganache that goes well with 70% dark chocolate.

Mint: use half a teaspoon of peppermint extract rather than vanilla. Go carefully, because peppermint is strong and a full teaspoon will be overpowering.

Salted caramel: buy a good-quality ready-made salted caramel sauce and use it as the filling on its own instead of ganache. It needs to be thick enough not to run, so test it before you fill. If it's too loose, put it in the fridge for an hour first.

White chocolate shells with a milk chocolate ganache filling also work well if you prefer a sweeter result. The tempering process is the same, though white chocolate is more sensitive to heat than dark, so keep the temperature lower when you melt it.

Storing and eating them

These keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. Take them out 10 to 15 minutes before you want to eat them so the ganache has time to come back to room temperature. Chocolate that's too cold doesn't taste of much, which is one of the main reasons shop-bought chocolates kept in the fridge often disappoint.

Don't freeze them. The ganache doesn't survive it well and the shells can crack when they thaw.

Enjoy your chocolates!

Disclaimer

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