Vegan Recipes: Chocolate

Showing posts with label Chocolate. Show all posts

Saturday, May 10, 2025

After dinner chocolate kawakawa

This is better than after dinner chocolate mints, and very much a New Zealand foraging option! Kawakawa abounds in the 'bush' (forest) where I live and it is by far my favourite NZ foraged leaf. I often make tea, use it for custards instead of vanilla, and in other recipes.

But these chocolates are my best creation to date, or so I think - so if you copy them please credit me ;-) (I had far too many recipes from this and my other blogs taken without credits, a bit cheeky really, especially if Kiwis do it: New Zealand is a small place, too small to do this!!).

Melt a block of dark chocolate in a deep plate or terrine (not in a bowl - you want something with more surface than deepness) over a pot of hot water. Forage your kawakawa leaves, wash them well and pat them dry. Holding the stem place them shiny side down onto the chocolate, and then on a tray lined with cooking paper, chocolate side facing up. Add a little chocolate with a teaspoon if you missed a bit - you want to cover the whole surface of the leaf. Don't make it too thick though, thin after-dinner chocolates are more 'rstylish'.

Refrigerate until set, then turn upside down and gently peel the leaves off the chocolate (they will come out easily). Keep in the fridge until serving time. One side will be darker, while the other (the one that touched the leaf) shiny. The chocolate will be coated with the scent and mild peppery taste of kawakawa. I prefer them to chocolate mints, and so did my family, plus they look so cool!

A part from being served as an option to after dinner mints, they are also great with ice cream and to decorate cakes, cupcakes and desserts.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Sunday, April 27, 2025

Vegan and sugar free chocolate mousse

I have decided to resurrect this Vegan recipe blog. I am not sure if it will go well or not.

Why did I stop? I am certainly not making money since I only have google ads on so I make zero dollars! Nor I ask companies to sponsor me with products.

And I got a bit tired of seeing my recipes copied here and there, often full text and photos (and spelling mistakes) without credits. Ok, when something is on the net you should let it go ... and things are going to get worse with rise in spambot traffic ... but somehow I felt that even if one more vegan recipe gets shared it is good for the world.

Nope. Most of the vegans I seem to meet can't be bothered with cooking. Some even expect pre-pacaked ready to eat vegan meals, everywhere.

Ok, it is fun to have a veggie burger now and then, but this thing of 'industrial food' is not exactly environmently friendly! I try not to buy process food, I make my own food. From scartch.

And I hope that there are still vegans who cook out there.

Raw, low carb and healthy. This dessert is so easy and delicious that I made it two days in a row, once with hazelnuts and once without. I'll share the basic recipe:

12 dates

a little water to cover the dates

1 heap tsp cocoa (I used Dutch cocoa)

half tsp vanilla essence

1 firm avocado

berries to decorate

Remove the stones from the dates and place in a nutribullet or blender and add enough water just to cover them. Soak for 20 minutes, then add cocoa (a real heap tsp of it) and vanilla. Blend. Add the avocado, sliced, and blend again. Divide into three serving bowls or glasses, top with berries (frozen ok) and refrigerate until serving time. Decorate with edible flowers if you like, I used Alyssum here. If you want to add hazelnuts you will need about 8, toasted and grounded, to add to the date mixture.

My husband couldn't believe that it was made with avocado and no sugar! The texture is just like a mousse, you can increase lightly the cocoa for a more bitter-chocolate flavour, increasing the dates (or using dates that are too big) will make it sweeter but may give out more of a date rather than cocoa flavour. If the mousse is too thick add a drop of water and mix again.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Two layers Vegan Chocolate Soy Cream Pudding

In Italy I found a really delicious soy cream which inspired me to make a rich chocolate pudding.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp flour

2 tbsp raw sugar

500ml soy milk

120 g best quality dark chocolate

(plus some to grate)

200ml soy cream

Mix the flour and sugar, add the soy milk slowly and then bring to the boil. Add the dark chocolate and stir until thick. Pour half of the mixture into the bottom of for dessert bowl (better if glass, so you will be able to see the two different chocolate layers - alternatively you can use some pretty glasses).

Let the chocolate pudding in the bowl cool down and set, in the meantime stir the remaining chocolate (still in the pot) until cool, then add 3/4 of the soy cream and mix well. Divide between the 4 serving bowls, then top with a dollop of cream, swirl it with a spoon or a toothpick and finish with grated chocolate.

Can you see the two layers in the last photos? Still intense chocolate, but with a creamy heart! Refrigerate and serve, everyone will love it!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Tuesday, January 8, 2019

Vegan chocolate semifreddo, two ingredients only

This is intense and delicious, and yes, only two ingredients are required (well, plus water...). It tastes quite a bit like nama choco, an amazing Japanese chocolate which is made with cream, but there is no cream here, and it is also incredibly easy to make.

Inredients

200 g dark chocolate (dairy free, and the best you can find)

100ml water

the liquid from a can of chickpeas (aquafaba)

Break the chocolate and place into a bowl with the water, and then onto a pot of boiling water to melt at bain marie. If you heat the water and the chocolate together they will mix perfectly.

In the meantime beat the aquafaba until you get stiff peaks.

When the chocolate is melted beat it with an electric beater until it cools down.

Add a spoon or two of aquafaba to soften, and then, spoon by spoon, add the chocolate to the aquafaba mixutre, folding well.

Pour into an ice cream container. It will look quite pale and have the consistency of a 'runny' mousse, but it will turn back into a strong dark chocolate colour while freezing.

Freeze for a few hours, then remove from the freezer 10 minutes before serving, wait for the edges to melt a little and then cut into slices and serve. This is really, really good!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Vegan Monte Bianco

This is my home recipe for a Vegan Monte Bianco so easy, (plus no cooking required) and one of my favourite desserts. Chestnuts are in my DNA, as they were the staple food of my ancestors, and mine to when I was little (we still have a chestnut wood in Italy). They are naturally sweet, low in fat and high in protein, but they are so difficult to find in NZ (please write to me if you have some!!). The original recipe calls for cream, but it seems that coconut cream goes really well with chestnuts too! Here are the ingredients:

1x 400ml can coconut cream, refrigerated for at least one day
1 drop vanilla
1 tbsp sugar
1 x439g Clement Faugier chestnut puree
1x 250g Clement Faugier Sweet chestnut spread
Dark chocolate to grate (I used dark vegan Mexican chocolate)

You can add a few drops of rum or Frangelico if you like.

Scoop the coconut cream out of the tin (leave the water at the bottom) and beat until soft and foamy. Add sugar and vanilla. Set aside. Beat the two chestnut purees together (I added the coconut water to make them softer). Add some grated chocolate (about 2-3 tbsp, or to taste) and if you like a little alcohol. Spoon the chestnut mixture over a plate and shape like a peak. Then cover with the coconut cream.

Grate some more chocolate on top and refrigerate until serving.

Well, your Vegan and non-vegan friends alike will be surely impressed: this is sooooo good, full of proteins, and gluten free too!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Friday, January 13, 2017

Vegan chocolate and coconut cream puddings with edible flowers

1 can coconut cream

1 l oragnic soy milk (I use Vitasoy, either Original, Milky or Calci Plus)

4 tbsp raw sugar

2 heap tbsp cocoa (the better the cocoa the better the flavour, so don't go for cheap baking cocoa, but for 'hot chocolate' quality)

2 tbsp cornflour

Natural Vanilla essence

1 tbsp icing sugar

Edible flowers to decorate

Place the can of coconut cream in the fridge (possibly one day ahead). Dissolve the dried ingredients with a little soy milk to make a paste, then add the rest of the milk and mix well. Put on the stove on low and, always stirring, bring to simmering point. Make sure that you stir well, especially around the borders and bottom of the pot, so that the pudding has a smooth consistency. As soon as it start thickening turn the element off, add the vanilla essence (if using) and keep stirring until it has cooled down a bit. Divide into 8 dessert ramekins or small bowls and refrigerate. When the pudding is set open the can of coconut cream and scoop out the cream top, leaving the water at the bottom of the can (this can be added to other dishes, like curry or rice. Whip the coconut cream with a drop of vanilla essence and the icing sugar. Top the chocolate puddings with the whipped coconut cream.

And now for the flower decorations: choose only organic flowers, here we have borage, rose petals, violets, diantus petals (small carnations), calendula petals (pot marigold). Wash the flowers and petals with water, I let mine soak for white a while and shake them gently to make sure that there are no insects (this is a Vegan dish after all!). A few flowers or petals will suffice, as they are only decorations, although to be eaten. Refrigerate again so that the coconut cream set, and then serve.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Thursday, August 11, 2016

Easy to make hazelnut milk and instant vegan Nutella

Now that I have a nutribullet I am trying all sort of experiments, and this is my first nut milk.

I used toasted hazelnut, but I guess that if you are into raw food you can use raw hazelnuts. I like toasted hazelnuts though, and a rinsed mine with water to remove as much as i could of the brown skin.

Then I added a bit of water, about twice the amount of the nuts. A quick blend and here is the result!

I passed the milk through a sieve, it tasted great but a bit grainy, so I passed it again using a fine cotton cloth (a clean handkerchief would work).

The ring from the nutribullet jag is ideal to keep the cotton in place while the milk is filtering though!

I got one glass, but where is the photo? Ops, Arantxa drunk it all at once! Max and I just had a taste. The hazelnut taste was great! Plus there was quite a bit of hazelnut paste left over.

Instant Vegan Nutella

Place the hazelnut paste in a bowl or jug with a few block of dark chocolate, place into a saucepan with some water and bring to the boil to melt the chocolate. Stir. Done.

The resulting chocolate spread has a lovely gianduia flavour (cocoa and hazelnut) but it definitely feels low fat, and it is not too sweet either. Really lovely, and so easy to make!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Mandarin and blueberry chocolates

I made these with my daughter, we used Fresh As freeze dried mandarins and blueberries, plus some dark chocolate (the darkest the better for me, and chose a non-dairy one for vegan chocolate). Just need to melt the chocolate and then half dip the mandarin slices. The freeze dried blueberries… sorry but you cannot see them… but we just added a few to the remaining chocolate (after we used all the mandarin slices) and then poured the mixture in chocolate molds. So easy, quick, and petty too!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Monday, February 1, 2016

Vegan chocolate pudding with strawberries and edible flowers

Arantxa picked flowers from the garden: roses, lavender, sage, violets and nasturtiums

I made my trusted vegan chocolate pudding, and since we are in season I wanted to top it with some strawberries, and maybe some flowers too? So I asked Arantxa to look after this.

For 4 puddings:

500 ml oragnic soy milk (I use Vitasoy, either Original, Milky or Calci Plus)

2 tbsp raw sugar

1 heap tbsp cocoa (the better the cocoa the better the flavour, so don't go for cheap baking cocoa, but for 'hot chocolate' quality)

1 tbsp cornflour

Natural Vanilla essence (or a little cinnamon if you prefer)

Strawberries and edible flowers to finish (I have lots of strawberries and edible flowers in the garden now!)

Dissolve the dried ingredients with a little soy milk to make a paste, then add the rest of the milk and mix well. Put on the stove on low and, always stirring, bring to simmering point. Make sure that you stir well, especially around the borders and bottom of the pot, so that the pudding has a smooth consistency. As soon as it start thickening turn the element off, add the vanilla essence (if using) and keep stirring until it has cooled down a bit. Divide into 4 dessert ramekins or small bowls (or teacups) and refrigerate. Cut the strawberries and place over the puddings, then add the petals of edible flowers (I think that maybe there was a bit much here, with lots of lavender, rose and sage aromas… but it was definitely a very perfumed dessert!).

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Vegan and gluten free chocolate pudding

This is sooooo yummy, it reminds me of those soy chocolate puddings that you can buy in the fridge compartment of many organic-vegetarian stores (and now in some supermarkets too) but it is homemade and therefore even tastier.

For 4 puddings:

500 ml oragnic soy milk (I use Vitasoy, either Original, Milky or Calci Plus)

2 tbsp raw sugar

1 heap tbsp cocoa (the better the cocoa the better the flavour, so don't go for cheap baking cocoa, but for 'hot chocolate' quality)

1 tbsp cornflour

Natural Vanilla essence (or a little cinnamon if you prefer)

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Raw, vegan, sugar free and gluten free chocolate truffles

Yes these are raw, vegan, sugar free and gluten free chocolate truffles, but what's more they are made using only 4 Fair Trade ingredients: Trade Aid Palestinian almonds, Trade Aid cinnamon, Trade Aid Madjoul dates, and Trade Aid baking cocoa, plus one local ingredient, Hazelz hazelnut flour from Canterbury. There is no sugar, no dairy product, and no need for cooking.

I like using Fair Trade products because they are in line with the Slow Food principles of Good, Clean and Fair food. And with my philosophy. Furthermore the quality is really good! Take the Medjoul dates for example, they are so sweet and delicious, they can substitute sugar in many preparations. The baking cocoa is so good that you don't need to use it just for baking, it is perfect for puddings and hot chocolate too. The Palestinian almonds are different from my favourite Italian almonds, but they are quite unique, a bit spicy in fact. The cinnamon really aromatic, you need just a tiny bit, I like to say 'a hint' :-). And the hazelnut flour is what's keep everything together so nicely!

Ingredients:

4 Trade Aid Madjoul dates

20 Trade Aid Palestinian almonds

50 ml water

1 hint (i.e. a tiny pinch) Trade Aid cinnamon

1 tbsp Trade Aid baking cocoa, plus more to dust

2 tbsp Hazelz hazelnut powder, plus more to dust

Makes 12 truffles

Remove the stone from the dates and break up in rough pieces. Place in a cup with the almonds and 50 ml of water. Wait for 30 minutes to let the fruit soften a little and then blend with an immersion blender.

Add the cinnamon, cocoa and hazelnut powder and mix with a spoon. Shape into 12 balls and roll half in cocoa and half in hazelnut flour. The best way to do this is roll the truffles first in cocoa or hazelnut flour, and then pass them between the palms of your hands quickly a few times so that you will get an even coating, and not too much of it, just the right amount. No need to refrigerate, just let them dry a bit on a tray before piling them into a serving bowl or glass.

Monday, June 3, 2013

Freeze dried raspberries, lychees and feijoas dipped in dark chocolate

I like dried apricots, nuts and other dried fruit dipped in dark chocolate, but this time I used Fresh As freeze dried fruit. The flavour is really intense, and the texture completely different, crispy and fresh! I used dried raspberries, dried lychees and dried feijoas. I had friends around and everything disappeared in no time. Most people preferred the raspberries, but I preferred the lychees and Max the feijoas. I did the mandarins already here, and I am pondering about the next fruit to try!

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Vegan chocolate-hazelnut spread and Vegan chocolate brownie

This didn't start as a brownie, it started as a vegan chocolate-hazelnut spread. I had some hazelnuts to roast, and after doing that I decided to use a few for a nutella like spread, but vegan... and more chocolaty :-).

Vegan chocolate-hazelnut spread

5 tbps roasted hazelnuts (remove all skin too!)

3 tbps rice bran oil

100 gr dark chocolate (72% and dairy free)

50 ml hot water

Blend the hazelnuts and oil with an immersion blender until you get a cream. In the meantime melt the chocolate with hot water at bain-marie (nothing bad will happen, just keep stirring!). Mix everything together. If the hazelnuts are not fresh or oily enough you may need a bit more oil.

But my problem is that when I have a chocolate spread I don't spread it, I eat it all with a spoon! Too dangerous, I had to make something with it. What about a Vegan chocolate slice, a bit like a Vegan chocolate brownie...

Vegan chocolate brownie

6 tbsp of Vegan chocolate-hazelnut spread (recipe above)

100 g ground almonds

2 tbsp sugar

100 g self rising flour

200 ml soy milk

100 g dark chocolate broken into small pieces with a knife

Icing sugar to dust (optional)

Gently heat the chocolate-hazelnut spread until is soft (not melted) enough to make it easier to fold in the rest of the ingredients. Start with the ground almonds first, then add the sugar, half of the soy milk and half of the flour. Fold in the rest of the ingredients (if it looks too thick add a bit more soy milk) and the chocolate, then pour into a square or rectangular baking tin lined with baking paper. Bake at 160 C for about 30 minutes, or until the surface looks cooked but the centre is still a little soft. Dust with icing sugar (optional) and set aside to cool down. Cut only when completely cold and set (in fact wait for a day if you can!).

It is yummy and delicately nutty with lovely pieces of dark chocolate melting into every bite.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Mandarin Chocolates

This is too easy! I just used some Fresh As mandarin segments (they are freeze dried) and dipped them in melted dark chocolate (I used Whittaker's 72% Dark Ghana). That's all.

I am entering this super easy and almost "not even a recipe" in Sweet New Zealand, the blogging monthly events for Kiwis.

Vegan Recipes

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Saturday, May 10, 2025

After dinner chocolate kawakawa

Sunday, April 27, 2025

Vegan and sugar free chocolate mousse

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Two layers Vegan Chocolate Soy Cream Pudding

Tuesday, January 8, 2019

Vegan chocolate semifreddo, two ingredients only

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Vegan Monte Bianco

Friday, January 13, 2017

Vegan chocolate and coconut cream puddings with edible flowers

Thursday, August 11, 2016

Easy to make hazelnut milk and instant vegan Nutella

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Mandarin and blueberry chocolates

Monday, February 1, 2016

Vegan chocolate pudding with strawberries and edible flowers

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Vegan and gluten free chocolate pudding

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Raw, vegan, sugar free and gluten free chocolate truffles

Monday, June 3, 2013

Freeze dried raspberries, lychees and feijoas dipped in dark chocolate

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Vegan chocolate-hazelnut spread and Vegan chocolate brownie

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Mandarin Chocolates

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