This vegan chocolate ganache frosting is the most silky smooth, velvety frosting ever. It’s so rich and decadent and really easy to make too!
Oh. My. Ganache! This vegan chocolate ganache frosting is soooo fab.
No wonder at all really considering the ingredients list.
With just 4-ingredients: dark chocolate, coconut cream, coconut oil and powdered sugar, this chocolate ganache frosting ticks all the boxes when it comes to rich, smooth, chocolate deliciousness.
You’ll love the way the dark chocolate richness comes through so decadently in this frosting and how it takes a chocolate cake from good to great.
I’ve made myself very popular by taking chocolate cake with this frosting to family occasions I can tell you.
What You’ll Need For This Recipe
How To Make Vegan Chocolate Ganache Frosting
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Break up the vegan chocolate into small pieces and place into a heat safe bowl.
- Place the coconut cream and coconut oil into a pot or saucepan and heat until it reaches a simmer. Don’t let it boil. Alternatively heat it in the microwave until just before it boils. Pour over the chocolate in the bowl, making sure that the chocolate is completely covered.
- Let it sit for a minute to let the chocolate melt and then whisk with a hand whisk until you have a completely smooth chocolate sauce.
- Add in 2 cups of powdered sugar and whisk it in with your electric mixer.
- Place into the refrigerator for an hour until completely cooled and thickened.
- Whisk again with the electric mixer.
- If the consistency is still a bit thin, add another ½ cup of powdered sugar and whisk again.
- It should be thick enough to spread on a cake without sliding.
- Perfect for use on cakes, cupcakes or cookies.
How Much Does It Make?
This recipe makes enough vegan chocolate ganache frosting to frost a 3-layer 7-inch cake, or do what I did and just frost a 2-layer 7-inch cake REALLY thick (better!).
It’s enough for a 2-layer 8-inch cake or a 2-layer 9-inch cake too, it will just be spread slightly thinner.
Storing and Freezing
This frosting keeps perfectly in the fridge for at least a week. It’s also freezer friendly if you’d like to freeze it. Thaw it in the fridge and then whisk it up again with your electric mixer to bring it back to perfect before using.
More Delicious Vegan Frosting Recipes
- Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
- Vegan Buttercream Frosting
- Vegan Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- Vegan Vanilla Frosting
- Vegan Chocolate Frosting
- Vegan Lemon Buttercream Frosting
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Chocolate Ganache Frosting
Ingredients
- 10.5 ounces Vegan Chocolate (300g)
- 1 cup Canned Coconut Cream (240ml) Unsweetened
- 2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil
- 2 ½ cups Powdered Sugar (300g) Divided
Instructions
- Break up the vegan chocolate into small pieces and place into a heat safe bowl.
- Place the coconut cream and coconut oil into a pot or saucepan and heat until it reaches a simmer. Don’t let it boil. Alternatively heat it in the microwave until just before it boils. Pour over the chocolate in the bowl, making sure that the chocolate is completely covered.
- Let it sit for a minute to let the chocolate melt and then whisk with a hand whisk until you have a completely smooth chocolate sauce.
- Add in 2 cups of powdered sugar and whisk it in with your electric mixer.
- Place into the refrigerator for an hour until completely cooled and thickened.
- Whisk again with the electric mixer.
- If the consistency is still a bit thin, add another ½ cup of powdered sugar and whisk again.
- It should be thick enough to spread on a cake without sliding.
- Perfect for use on cakes, cupcakes or cookies.
Notes
- You can use any vegan chocolate or good quality vegan chocolate chips.
- If you can’t get canned coconut cream then you can also use full fat, canned, unsweetened coconut milk.
- Prep time is for hands on time only and does not include time spent setting in the fridge.
Ah, this was excellent! I didn’t have a full 300g of chocolate available, so I subbed with some almond butter and it really enhanced the flavour. Thank you!!
Oh awesome, yes that’s a good flavor addition! 🙂
Hey,
Thanks for the recipe! I’m just about to make it, but want to use orange milk chocolate instead, partly because I’m making an orange chocolate cake, but also because I couldn’t get my hands on dark chocolate. Will it affect the texture or is it about the sweetness? Obviously my chocolate is naturally sweeter so I assume adding the required amount of icing sugar might be overpowering… thanks in advance!
That should work fine with the recipe as is. 🙂
Hi Alison, thank you so much for posting this recipe. The frosting on the cake looks so incredible! I would like to try it but I dont have an electric mixer to whip up the chocolate mixture. Will i still get the same results if i simply mix all the ingredients in a strong blender snd refrigerate it for a few hours? I would like to use it to frost a cake, just like how it’s shown in your pictures. Thanks in advance
Hi Neha! I don’t think it would work the same in a blender because a mixer incorporates air and ‘whips’ it in a way that a blender doesn’t. I think even a non-electric mixer could work though, it would just take more arm power! 🙂
Love this recipe! I’ve never made ganache frosting before and this turned out of perfectly. I don’t have a hand mixer so I actually used my vitamix to smooth out and “whisk” the frosting after it set — it turned out deliciously chocolate-y and smooth!
Oh awesome! So glad it worked out well! Thanks so much for the great review Sophie. 🙂
Hi, thanks for the lovely recipe. I wanted to know to make it sugar free, can I replace it with dates or jaggery or maltitol ? Please advise. Thanks a lot.
Hi there, I’m not sure how you would do that because even if you make it without the powdered sugar the chocolate still has sugar in it. Sugar-free isn’t really my area, but all the best with experimenting! 🙂
I love this recipe! How long does it last in a cool cupboard?
A few days, probably around 3 days. If it’s not on a cake yet, better to keep it stored in the fridge and then bring it to room temperature and then spread onto the cake.
Incredibly easy and incredibly delicious!!! Thank you!!!
Wonderful! Thanks so much Rozann! 🙂
can i use coconut sugar and maple syrup instead?
I somehow had frosting leftover after icing the cake (unheard of!) ? and thought to refrigerate overnight and make truffles the next day! Such a good idea, this recipe is brilliant! ❤️
Smart! ?? So glad you liked the recipe. ?
Fabulous recipe! Just wanted to check – I have a load of frosting left over. Can it be kept in the fridge or in the freezer. If so, for how long can I store it?
You could keep it in the fridge for a bit but you can absolutely also freeze it with no ill effects. Just place into a freezer bag and seal it tightly and when you want to use it let it thaw in the fridge. All the best! 🙂
Hi there. I was just wondering what percentage chocolate do you use? 70%, 80% or 90%?
Hi Hawa, I have used many different ones, but my favorite is actually the very mild dark chocolate, about 50% cacao. 🙂
Loved this recipe! Followed it exactly as is. You can deff taste the coconut flavour which i love. The frosting is not really ideal for piping. Maybe next time i will try refrigerating a second time in a piping bag to stiffen the mixture after fluffing. Will deff use again. Thank you! ?
Thanks for the great review Kayla! So glad you liked it. 🙂
Thank you so much for this great recipe! My boyfriend is allergic to dairy, soy, gluten, eggs, and peanuts, so I’m always looking for great cake recipes for him!
I noticed another commenter asked about coconut milk v. cream and mentioned his didn’t quite turn out as expected. The first time I made this, my grocery didn’t have a can of “coconut cream” so I bought a can of “coconut milk” and used the white, opaque, spreadable that congealed on the top of the can. Turned out phenomenally! This time, my grocer did have “cream of coconut” so I bought that. The solid at the top almost looked like a foggy gel, nothing like the white solid at the top of the coconut milk can. I did a brief google and it appears coconut cream and cream of coconut are not the same things…cream of coconut being a very sugary sweet substance usually added to cocktails. I heated it up with the coconut oil and it looked nothing like your picture, it was a slimy, grayish, almost translucent liquid, so I tossed it.
Fortunately I had almost enough of the coconut milk solid left over (FYI I make half batches and do them as cupcakes, they come out perfectly in about 15 minutes) so I used that and added a little more than the required coconut oil, and once again, amazing! I wonder of that commenter also used cream of coconut instead of coconut cream? Would you mind sharing the exact name of the product you use? Do you have any insight into the cream of coco v. coco cream mystery?
Thanks again for this really special recipe! I appreciate all the effort you put into it!
Hi Ariana! Yes definitely coconut cream and cream of coconut are totally different things! It’s pretty confusing when they’re named so similarly. Basically coconut cream should be right next to the coconut milk and is almost identical to coconut milk except that it’s a bit thicker/richer. But as long as you’re using a full fat version, coconut milk also works as you discovered! I have used so many different brands, because of moving around a bit, but Thai Choice is a good one that I’ve used. 🙂 Thanks for sharing your experience with this and glad the recipe worked out well! 🙂
Can you taste the coconut oil in it? Because I’m making it for a dinner party but few aren’t fan of the flavour of coconut in general
I don’t think you can – the overwhelming flavor is rich chocolate to me, but I also like coconut, so it’s hard to say if someone who doesn’t like it would still pick up that flavor. You can omit the coconut oil but you’re still using coconut cream, so it’s not like you can avoid coconut with this recipe.
I just made this for my son’s birthday and I couldn’t taste coconut at all. I did add a tiny bit of peppermint extract though just because I love peppermint and chocolate. This is an awesome recipe! It’s so rich and very easy to make. If you want it a bit more firm, just put it in the fridge for a while. It will soften a little at room temperature but still hold it’s shape.
Thanks Heidi, the addition of peppermint sounds like a fabulous idea! 🙂
I made this a couple of times and every time, the recipe turned out perfect! Thank you for this wonderful chocolate ganache recipe 🙂
That’s wonderful! Thanks for sharing! 🙂