These vegan vanilla buttercream chocolates are delightfully rich. A crisp chocolate coating gives way to a fluffy, almost whipped vegan buttercream filling made from a combination of raw cashews, almond milk, coconut butter, pure maple syrup, coconut flour, vanilla, and sea salt. Feel free to dress these vegan buttercreams up with a sprinkle of crushed freeze-dried raspberries or fancy sea salt, or keep things simple with a bare chocolate coating. Your pick!
Of all the chocolates in a box full of chocolates, the buttercream variety were always my favorite. Preferably milk chocolate coated, but I'd happily reach for those dressed in a semi-sweet ensemble on occasion, too.
These vegan vanilla buttercream chocolates are a riff on those classic buttercream candies.
A crisp chocolate coating gives way to a fluffy vanilla buttercream filling. To make these beauties photo-shoot ready, I sprinkled them with crushed freeze-dried raspberries. Feel free to do the same if you're up for decorating, or keep things simple with a pure and beautifully bare chocolate coating.
To make these treats, you'll start by preparing the filling. It's a subtle twist on the buttercream frosting from this cookie recipe with the only difference being that there's a bit more coconut butter in this variation (to help thicken, firm, and set it).
Add raw cashews and almond milk to a high-speed blender, and blend until you have a super thick and very smooth cream.
Then, add melted coconut butter, pure maple syrup, coconut flour (naturally thickens), vanilla, and sea salt. Give it all another blend until smooth.
Then, transfer the filling, which will be quite soft and runny, to a shallow bowl, and chill it in the freezer for 2 hours, or until it sets into a scoop-able texture. For the first hour, you'll want to whisk the filling every 15 minutes or so to help create a fluffy, almost whipped texture.
Once the filling is thick enough to be scooped, use a cookie scoop or small ice cream scoop to scoop out rounded mounds, and drop onto a lined baking pan (they should look like little scoops of vanilla ice cream—see photo below).
Transfer the pan to the freezer for about 20 minutes to chill and firm the rounded little mounds of filling.
Meanwhile, prepare the chocolate coating.
In a bain marie or double boiler, melt chopped dark chocolate or vegan chocolate chips with a bit of virgin coconut oil (to thin) until smooth and glossy.
Then, one at a time, dip each mound of filling into the chocolate and use a spoon to evenly coat. Return each to the lined pan and sprinkle with toppings, if desired. Crushed freeze-dried raspberries, fancy sea salt, and vegan sprinkles all work great.
Repeat until each and every mound of buttercream is coated. Then, return the pan to the freezer for a brief 10 minutes to set the chocolate.
Then, serve, savor, repeat.
These vegan vanilla buttercream chocolates can be frozen for up to one month or refrigerated for up to 1 week.
That being said, their texture is best when refrigerated so if you opt for the freezer, be sure to pull them out about 15 to 20 minutes before serving to let them thaw/soften a bit.
📖 Recipe
Vegan Vanilla Buttercream Chocolates
Ingredients
Vanilla Buttercream Filling
- ¾ cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours (preferably overnight) and drained
- ½ to ¾ cup unsweetened almond milk or cashew milk
- ¾ cup melted coconut butter (it should be runny and pourable—see note*)
- ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon coconut flour**
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract or ½ teaspoon vanilla bean powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
Chocolate Coating
- 1 cup vegan chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate
- 1 to 2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil, as needed to thin the chocolate
Optional Toppings
- Crushed freeze-dried raspberries (pictured)
- Vegan Sprinkles
- Pretty sea salt
Instructions
For the Vanilla Buttercream Filling
- Add the soaked cashews and ½ cup of the almond milk to a high-speed blender, and blend on high until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides as often as needed. If absolutely necessary, add as much of the remaining almond milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed to blend the cashews until smooth. The texture should resemble a very thick cream.
- Add the remaining ingredients and blend for 30 seconds, or until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed.
- Scoop the filling into a shallow bowl and chill in the freezer for about 2 hours to thicken into a scoop-able texture. During the first hour of chilling, vigorously whisk every 15 minutes to create a thick, fluffy buttercream texture.
- Line a small baking tray with parchment paper.
- Use a cookie scoop*** (or small ice cream scoop) to scoop out 1 ½ tablespoon mounds of buttercream. Drop on the lined tray. You should have approximately 18 mounds, and they should resemble small scoops of vanilla ice cream. Freeze for 20 minutes to firm and set.
For the Chocolate Coating
- Meanwhile, prepare the chocolate coating. Whisk together the chocolate and coconut oil over low heat in a double-boiler or ban marie until melted, smooth, and glossy. Be careful not to overheat (or splash water into the mixture) or the chocolate will seize and take on a gritty texture.
To Assemble
- One at a time, use a fork to lower the buttercream balls into the chocolate and use a spoon to drizzle the chocolate over top and evenly coat. Shake off any excess chocolate, return to the lined tray, and sprinkle with toppings, if desired.
- Return the tray to the freezer and chill for 10 minutes, or until the chocolate sets.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 1 month. If you freeze these, be sure to pull them out about 15 to 20 minutes before serving to allow them to thaw and soften.
Jeff stroud says
Yummy, I may go broke making these but it will be well worth it. The photography is amazing! Thank you for sharing this desert!
Ashley says
Thanks for the kind words, Jeff! And just be sure to use homemade coconut butter, and they should easily cost you under $10 to make. Store-bought coconut butter, on the other hand, will skyrocket the price.
Jeff stroud says
Ashley,
Yes I looked researched a coconut butter recipe, just have to get the coconut flakes, and some coconut flour for the recipe. I make my own almond and cashew milk already, I just like to know what is in my products... Thank you for your response!
Norma says
Hi! Do you have a recipe for coconut butter?
Ashley says
Hi, Norma! Just add a bag of unsweetened shredded coconut (about 3–4 cups) to a food processor and process for 6–8 minutes, or until smooth and liquidy. Just be very careful about the coconut you choose—you want to avoid desiccated coconut, because it's very dry and will not turn into coconut butter. Enjoy!
Joanne says
These look amazing!! I love vanilla-y creamy sweets and can't wait to make them :)
Celeste Jackson says
Once again I had the privilege of tasting these special treats! I can attest to the satisfying flavor and richness....one was certainly enough to please my sweet tooth! I got to share the leftovers with friends too. They held up well refrigerated till the end of the week....they might have lasted longer I just didn't give them that chance. Thanks again for a wonderful treat!
Hanne says
Thankk you for your magical and utterly delicious contribution to my Fairy Tea Party Round up.
Mike says
I was wondering if there is any place to buy these? I may try to make them but I want to try and surprise my wife with these for valentines day and if I make them there will be no surprise. Thank you!
Ashley says
Hi, Mike! Unfortunately, there isn't a place to buy these. Although there are vegan chocolates and things of that variety for sale in stores and online, I don't know of any companies that are making vegan buttercream candies specifically. If I come across any, I'll be sure to report back. :)
Jaclyn Webb says
These are amazing. I make them every Valentine’s Day. I will just say that I can’t follow the recipe on my phone because the page ads keep pushing it back to the top of the page. Maybe you want to address that because it’s like impossible to keep the recipe in view on my phone.
Ashley says
So glad you're enjoying the recipe, Jaclyn! And ugh, that is terribly frustrating about the ads and very problematic. Thank you for letting me know—I'll reach out to the company that manages ad placements for the site and let me know.