The complete step by step guide to making the best vegan chocolate ganache. This vegan ganache is made with two easy ingredients and there are so many delicious ways to use it!
When you realize how easy it is to make vegan chocolate ganache you’ll want to make it all the time!
It’s amazingly delicious and so versatile. It can be used as a sauce or dip or drizzle or a frosting or filling for cakes or cupcakes. It can even be eaten with a spoon just like chocolate mousse or chocolate pudding.
Use it as a topping for some delicious vegan ice cream or as a dip for strawberries or other fresh fruit, or drizzle it over some fabulous vegan pancakes. Pipe it onto cupcakes or whip it to make a wonderful whipped topping or frosting that can be spread onto cakes or piped onto cupcakes. Ganache also makes a wonderful filling for vegan chocolate truffles.
This recipe is really a classic vegan ganache recipe that can be used in a number of ways.
We also have another recipe for vegan chocolate ganache frosting that adds powdered sugar. It is therefore sweeter and closer to a traditional buttercream frosting recipe than it is to the classic ganache recipe we have here.
How To Make Vegan Ganache
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.
- Chop up vegan chocolate and add it to a bowl.
- Scoop the hardened cream from a can of chilled coconut cream into a microwave safe measuring jug. Microwave in intervals until it reaches a gentle simmer. Don’t let it come to a boil, just a gentle simmer.
- Pour it over the top of the chopped chocolate in the bowl, making sure that all the chocolate is covered with the hot coconut cream. Put a tea towel over the bowl to trap the heat and let it sit for 1 minute. Then remove the tea towel and use a hand whisk to whisk it into a smooth chocolate sauce.
- Let it cool on the counter until room temperature and then use right away as a chocolate sauce or dip or drizzle.
- If you want to use it as a frosting or something else that requires a firm ganache then place it into the fridge for two hours until thickened and cool. It will become the consistency of nutella.
- Stir it up and then use immediately to pipe onto cupcakes or spread onto cakes.
Ingredient Tips
Use a high quality vegan chocolate. Chopping up a high quality bar of vegan chocolate generally works better than using chocolate chips. If you do use chocolate chips then make sure it’s a high quality brand that melts down very well.
Chopping up the chocolate helps it to melt easier. If the blocks of chocolate are too big then they won’t melt easily, so it’s better to chop it up.
The chocolate should be good tasting. Since there is no added sugar in this recipe, it’s a good idea to use a chocolate that is good tasting. If you choose a very dark chocolate that is fairly bitter then your ganache will taste the same. So just make sure you love the taste of the chocolate you are using.
The coconut cream should be canned and unsweetened. It’s ideal to use a chilled can of coconut cream where the cream part has separated from the water. This way you scoop off only the cream part and use that in this ganache. We found this resulted in a slightly sturdier ganache once whipped. If you’re not planning to whip it then you don’t have to worry about using separated cream. In that case you can just shake up the can of coconut cream and use 1 and ¼ cups (300ml) of it as per the recipe.
Chocolate Sauce or Dip or Drizzle
When the ganache has just been made and has cooled to room temperature on the countertop it can be used immediately as a dip or drizzle or chocolate sauce. It’s really delicious as a dip for fresh fruits like strawberries. It’s also amazing on pancakes or drizzled over ice cream.
Vegan Ganache Frosting
To use it as a frosting, let it chill in the fridge until it’s the consistency of nutella. Then stir it well. At this point you can go ahead and pipe it onto cupcakes or spread it onto cake.
It is a little difficult to pipe in the sense that it doesn’t come out of the piping bag really easily. In this way it won’t work well to use a delicate or small piping tip. We used the Wilton 1M piping tip for the frosting that you see below and that works great for this.
Whipped Ganache
Once the frosting has reached nutella consistency in the fridge you can use it right away (as above) OR you can whip it!
Whipping it lightens the color and makes it look more like a classic buttercream. It also makes it a little easier to spread onto cakes. We used this whipped ganache on our vegan gluten free chocolate cake. It can also be piped once whipped (see below).
Just bring out your electric mixer and whip the ganache until the color has lightened and the texture is fluffy.
At this point it also works great to put it into dessert glasses, let it set and enjoy as chocolate mousse!
More Vegan Chocolate Recipes
- Vegan Chocolate Pie
- Vegan Chocolate Tart
- Vegan Chocolate Brownies
- Vegan Chocolate Fudge Cake
- Homemade Vegan Chocolate
- Vegan Hot Chocolate
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Chocolate Ganache
Ingredients
- 12 ounces Chopped Vegan Chocolate (340g)
- 1 ¼ cups Canned Coconut Cream (300ml) chilled, separated cream part only*
Instructions
- Chop up vegan chocolate and add it to a bowl.
- Scoop the hardened cream from a can of chilled coconut cream into a microwave safe measuring jug. Microwave in intervals until it reaches a gentle simmer. Don’t let it come to a boil, just a gentle simmer. If you don’t have a microwave then bring it to a simmer on the stovetop.
- Pour it over the top of the chopped chocolate in the bowl, making sure that all the chocolate is covered with the hot coconut cream. Put a tea towel over the bowl to trap the heat and let it sit for 1 minute. Then remove the tea towel and use a hand whisk to whisk it into a smooth chocolate sauce.
- Let it cool on the counter until room temperature and then use right away as a chocolate sauce or dip or drizzle.
- If you want to use it as a frosting or something else that requires a firm ganache then place it into the fridge for two hours until thickened and cool. It will become the consistency of nutella.
- Stir it up and then use immediately to pipe onto cupcakes or spread onto cakes.
Notes
- Use a high quality vegan chocolate. Chopping up a high quality bar of vegan chocolate generally works better than using chocolate chips. If you do use chocolate chips then make sure it’s a high quality brand that does melt down very well.
- Chopping up the chocolate helps it to melt easier. If the blocks of chocolate are too big then they won’t melt easily, so it’s better to chop it up.
- The chocolate should be good tasting. Since there is no added sugar in this recipe, it’s a good idea to use a chocolate that is good tasting. If you choose a very dark chocolate that is fairly bitter then your ganache will taste the same. So just make sure you love the taste of the chocolate you are using.
- The coconut cream should be canned and unsweetened. It’s ideal to use a chilled can of coconut cream where the cream part has separated from the water. This way you scoop off only the cream part and use that in this ganache. We found this resulted in a slightly sturdier ganache once whipped. If you’re not planning to whip it then you don’t have to worry about using separated cream. In that case you can just shake up the can of coconut cream and use 1 and ¼ cups (300ml) of it as per the recipe. Even if you are planning to whip it, if you don’t have enough separated cream part in one 14 ounce (400ml) can of coconut cream then you can use a little of the watery part as well. There is no need to open two cans.
- Sauce, dip or drizzle: To use this as a sauce, dip or drizzle, just let it cool to room temperature and then use immediately. It makes a great dip for fresh fruits like strawberries and a great drizzle for ice cream or pancakes.
- Frosting: To use it as a frosting, let it chill in the fridge until it’s the consistency of nutella. Then stir it well. Then you can go ahead and pipe it onto cupcakes or spread it onto cake. It is a little difficult to pipe in the sense that it doesn’t come out of the piping bag really easily. In this way it won’t work well to use a delicate or small piping tip. We used the Wilton 1M piping tip for piping the frosting and that worked really well.
- Whipped Ganache: Once the frosting has reached nutella consistency in the fridge you can use it right away OR you can whip it. Whipping it lightens the color and makes it look more like a classic buttercream. It also makes it a little easier to spread onto cakes and it can also be piped once whipped. Just bring out your electric mixer and whip the ganache for a few minutes until the color has lightened and the texture is fluffy. At this point it also works great to put it into dessert glasses, let it set and enjoy as chocolate mousse.
- This recipe makes enough to frost a 2-layer 8-inch or 9-inch cake or to frost 12 cupcakes. Whipping it increases the volume and will make it go further allowing for a more generous volume of frosting for your cakes or cupcakes.
- Storing: Leftover ganache will keep in the fridge (covered) for around 5 days. If you want to return it to the consistency of a sauce/drizzle then you can reheat it in the microwave for 30-seconds to a minute until it reaches the right consistency.
- Freezing: You can also freeze it for up to 3 months. Allow to cool completely before covering tightly and freezing. Thaw overnight in the fridge and then you can whip it right away or if you want it the consistency of a dip or sauce again then reheat it in the microwave for 30-seconds to 1 minute. Alternatively heat it gently on the stove by placing it in a heatproof bowl over a pot of boiling water. The bottom of the heatproof bowl should not touch the water.
Hi! Does it have a coconut taste?
I don’t think so at all. It’s entirely masked by the chocolate.
Hi, thank you for sharing.
Just a couple of questions – can the whipped icing be coloured with gel ?
Will it be stable enough to pipe using a ‘Grass ‘ style tip ? ( making a monster cake for my little fellas 2nd birthday )
If it’s not quite stable enough – is there something I could add to give it some structure ? Or could I just alter the chocolate to cream ratio ? Ie – add more chocolate !
Thank you ☺️
Hi Christine, the frosting does have a lot of structure and pipes really well, I’m not sure about coloring it with gel but provided you don’t need to add too much I don’t think it would change anything. And then, I am not experienced with that particular piping tip so I’m not sure. It would be good to do a trial run with it and just see how it goes.
Oh wonderful. Thank you so much Alison.
I’m going to do a trial batch first and see how the colour goes ☺️ Going for yellow, so shouldn’t need much colour to achieve. I will add an update on how the ganache handled the colour and how the piping tip went. !
Will this frosting stay stable for a couple of days if I make in advance ?
My thinking is that I should be able to just pull from the fridge and quickly whip to combine and pipe straight onto the cake !!
Yes it can store in the fridge up to 5 days, so it should be fine to make a couple days in advance and then whip it again. All the best!
This looks amazing. I don’t have a microwave: is it possible to make this on a stovetop?
Yes definitely, you would just heat the coconut cream to a simmer on the stovetop.
I’m hoping to make the whipped version to use on my son’s birthday cake. Will this hold up if I assemble the cake the day before serving? Looks delicious!
Hi Emily, it should hold up great! If the weather is warm though I would store the frosted cake in the fridge (covered) and bring it to room temperature on the counter an hour or two before serving.
Will this have the shiny sheen on it once set? I want to pour over choc cake( like choc ganache with gelatine ).
Will it give the similar look without gelatine?
I’m not sure really!
Thanks for the recipe, it turned out very tasty. I ate all the ganache
Awesome! Thanks Tiam!
Hi, I made this but cut the recipe down because I didn’t need so much. I wanted it to cover and drip off the cake. Unfortunately it seized; what can I do to save it next time or prevent it?
Hi Vanessa, oh no, sorry to hear that! Chocolate can seize when it comes into contact with water. Make sure there is not even a drop of water in the bowl with your chopped chocolate before you add the hot coconut cream. Also the coconut cream must be very hot but not boiling. If the chocolate burns that also causes issues.
Can you use the coconut butter recipe on this site as a substitution for the coconut cream?
Hi Angela, no coconut butter is very different so wouldn’t work for ganache.
Mouthwateringly delicious and so useful as a topping for absolutely anything!
Thanks Anna!
I loved so much this presentation, as I got the diversity I was looking for and much more!! thanks a lot!
You’re so welcome Sebastián! 🙂