Homemade Vegan Strawberry Flavored Chocolates
We have chocolate, we have white chocolate (which is basically vanilla chocolate), so why don’t we have strawberry flavored chocolates? Well, now we can, thanks to a technology originally invented for the military but now can be used to make all sorts of things fruity that were hard to make fruity before. It’s freeze dried fruit! As well as these strawberry chocolates, I’ve made a set of mango chocolates, and I’m sure you could use a similar technique with any freeze-dried fruits. But I’m not sure there’s a fruit more classic and deserving of the my first fruit-flavored chocolate recipe than strawberry. Onwards to strawberry chocolate goodness!
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Chocolate, Strawberry, or Vanilla?
When I was younger I would for sure have gone strawberry- all day every day! Now a days I would probably choose chocolate- unless I know what I’m getting is flavored with real strawberries. Then I’m still all about the strawberry! The most popular ice cream flavors in the United States are chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry, and the three of them make up the classic Neapolitan ice cream. In fact, strawberry was one of the first ice cream flavors in the United States! And in a way, this recipe has all three- a little vanilla extract for it’s classic vanilla background notes, the chocolate from the cocoa butter, and of course the powdered strawberry flavoring the whole thing.
Looking for Chocolate? Try one of these chocolate recipes!
- Gluten-Free Vegan Bars with Teff and Chocolate
- Chocolate Beet Muffins (Vegan, Gluten-Free, Oil-Free)
- Vegan Kumquat Cake with Chocolate Ganache
- Classic Vegan Chocolate Ganache Truffles
- White Chocolate Maple Walnut Vegan Biscotti
Making Strawberry Flavored Chocolates
I struggle a little with chocolate- I find the whole precise temperatures business a little tough (somehow my candy thermometer is never working properly), but I got pretty good at this one. Start with some food-grade cocoa butter, and here’s my big trick for this recipe- don’t ever melt it all the way. Melt it in quick increments in the microwave, stirring between, and stop while there are still some chunks. Let the immersion blender to the rest. Push the powdered ingredients through a sieve to remove any chunks, and then throw all the ingredients in with the cocoa butter. Use an immersion blender to blend them smooth, and then let set in molds- I used these silicone heart molds. Let them sit in the fridge until they’re hard, and you’re all done! Let the strawberry chocolate fest commence!
Strawberry Flavored Chocolates Ingredients
This recipe is simple in that it uses only 5 ingredients, but some of them are a little more unusual so let’s go through them together! To make strawberry flavored chocolates you will need:
- Food-Grade Cocoa Butter: Cocoa butter is the fat component of chocolate, and is a white-ish color. I most reliably get my cocoa butter online- since it’s shelf-stable, shipping is easy. Make sure it is marked as being food-grade, as cocoa butter is often also used in beauty products.
- Powdered Coconut Milk: This is used to add a creaminess to our chocolates. It is another ingredient I get online (Anthony’s Goods sells it). I imagine that other vegan powdered milk options would work too, but I have not tested them in this recipe.
- Freeze Dried Strawberries: You can find these in many grocery stores, often in the “healthy snack” section. Trader Joe’s has a great selection of freeze-dried fruit. I make a strawberry powder from freeze-dried strawberries by throwing them all in my food processor and blending until powdered. It allows you to get a strawberry flavor without adding moisture to a recipe.
- Vanilla Extract: Nothing fancy here!
- Powdered Sugar: Because not all sugar is vegan (animal bones are sometimes added to bleach sugar white), look for organic varieties.
Homemade Vegan Flavored Strawberry Chocolates
Ingredients
- 75g. cocoa butter (food grade!)
- 1 tbsp. powdered coconut milk
- ¼ tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp. powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp. freeze dried strawberries, powdered (you can do this by using a spice grinder, food processor, or blender to crush freeze fried strawberries into a powder)
Instructions
- Place the cocoa butter in a microwave-safe container, and microwave for 15 seconds at a time, stirring between, until it is mostly melted. Do not melt all the way, as you risk losing the chocolates temper.
- Sift the powdered coconut milk, powdered sugar, and powdered freeze-dried strawberries through a fine metal sieve, pushing as much of it through as possible. Add to the cocoa butter, along with the vanilla extract.
- Use an immersion blender to combine the ingredients, blending for 5 minutes so that the chocolate doesn’t separate when it hardens. Pour your mixture into silicone molds and allow to cool fully in the refrigerator. Remove from the molds and store in an air-tight container.
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