Vegan chocolate desserts are one of the food groups of plant-based eaters.
Not only are they delicious, but as we’ve come to learn, chocolate in its pure form is a good-for-you food. Chocolate’s caffeine-like components contribute to quick energy bursts, perfect for athletic and intellectual effort.
It’s encouraging to learn about the virtues of chocolate, but wise to be choosy about what kind you consume. Dairy-free dark chocolate is the way to go, whether in bars for snacking on, or for chips or cocoa powder (or raw cacao) for baked or unbaked treats.
It’s important to choose fair trade chocolate in any form. Many major chocolate companies will not confirm that they comply with fair trade laws. These protect against unethical growing and harvesting practices, child labor, and even child slave labor (which has been documented in Ivory Coast, a major exporter of cocoa). Pleasing your palate should not come at the cost of human suffering.
So please consider fair trade chocolate both for all of the types of chocolate — chips, cocoa powder, etc., in the following recipes.
Unbaked Fudgy Vegan Chocolate Brownies
You won’t believe how easy it is to make these unbaked vegan chocolate brownies (just above and at top), rich with nuts and sweetened with dates. There’s no need for added sugar, and these treats are flourless, gluten-free, and altogether rich and yummy. There’s no need to blather on and on here. Just make these chocolate treats; you won’t regret it!
Triple Seed Chocolate Energy Bars
You can make your own homemade chocolate energy bars in minutes using seeds, pureed dates, and dark chocolate — no baking required! If you’re tired of overpriced energy bars that taste like cardboard, these are a great alternative.
The trio of seeds — hemp, chia, and sunflower — provide a nice dose of protein and good fats, and the sweetness is provided by dates and vegan chocolate chips (please choose fair trade!).
Vegan Lace Florentine Cookies
Here’s a simple recipe for vegan lace Florentine cookies from Sweet Vegan Treats by Hannah Kaminsky, who says: “Simple, sweet, and shatteringly crisp, each elegant caramelized cookie could make a gorgeous accompaniment to fresh berry parfaits or scoops of ice cream. Smear a thick layer of chocolate between two of those dainty disks, and now you’ve suddenly got a solo showstopper on your hands.”
Vegan Black Bottom Cupcakes
Fran Costigan’s vegan black bottom cupcakes are, like all her sweet treats, lovingly crafted, and tested and retested, to yield the best results. It’s not for nothing that Fran Costigan has been crowned “The Queen of Vegan Desserts.” Fran says: “The following easy vegan version of the beloved retro recipe for Black Bottom Cupcakes is from Vegan Chocolate. It is irresistible!”
Vegan Black Bottom Blondies
Another black-bottom treat, these luscious two-tone blondies speak to what Hannah Kaminsky’s recipes are all about: easy, approachable, and irresistible. Black-Bottom Blondies turned out perfectly both times I made them. And I’m sure my sweets-loving family will be enjoying many more of Hannah’s recipes from Sweet Vegan Treats.
Mini Unbaked Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
When you crave a sweet homemade treat but don’t feel like turning on the oven, these little unbaked vegan chocolate oatmeal cookies might just be the thing. With just five ingredients (plus optional sesame seeds), these come together in a flash. You can also vary this recipe by rolling into round truffles.
No-Bake Chocolate-Dipped Figs
There are few desserts that are more sensuous than chocolate-dipped figs. And they take almost no time to make, need no baking, and are 100% vegan. Ilene Godofsky Moreno, who created this recipe, writes:
“Is there anything more delicious than summer’s first fresh figs? Maybe a fresh fig dipped in chocolate! This recipe keeps things simple by using my three-ingredient no-bake chocolate, so it’s a breeze to put together.
Vanilla Cream – Chocolate Pudding Parfaits
These simple but elegant vegan parfaits by Laura Theodore are beautiful to look at and lovely to eat. They’re designed to please vanilla and chocolate lovers alike. These creamy treats make and excellent close to a fancy dinner party, or a yummy dessert for weeknight family fare. This is so easy to make, and chances are you may already have the common ingredients on hand for this uncommonly good dessert treat.
Silken Tofu and Avocado Chocolate Mousse
Another chocolate dessert in a glass, this luscious and easy silken tofu chocolate mousse and avocado chocolate pudding is a mash-up of two contemporary classics.
Isn’t it nice when a vegan dessert recipe becomes a classic? Avocado chocolate pudding is usually made with dry cocoa or cacao, and is a staple in the raw vegan repertoire. Here we use dairy-free dark chocolate chips, making an extra-rich chocolate pudding.
Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream Shell
Looking toward warm weather treats, Fran Costigan’s vegan chocolate ice cream shell couldn’t be easier to make, and it’s a delicious way to embellish your favorite kind of store-bought or homemade nondairy ice cream.
This magic shell is super simple to make, and requires only three ingredients — chocolate, vanilla extract, and olive or coconut oil. Use good chocolate for the best-tasting topping. But after that, the flavor possibilities are endless. You’ll find a mint variation at the end of the recipe, for example.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles
Chef Sara Boan of Catskill Animal Sanctuary writes: “Whether at a special event, staff lunch, or cooking class, these vegan chocolate chip cookie dough truffles have always been a crowd-pleasing and compassionate indulgence that are deceptively simple to make.
They’ll remind you of sneaking bites of raw cookie dough from the bowl as a kid, but because they’re egg-free, they’re completely safe to eat without any baking.
If you’re too busy to make your own vegan, fair trade chocolate treats …
Order some goodies online! Here’s my personal favorite:
Lagusta’s Luscious, with its flagship store in New Paltz, NY, is just one company representing a growing concern about the ethical sourcing of chocolate.
Lagusta’s Luscious chocolates are not only divinely decadent, but also beautiful to behold. The barks look like miniature abstract artworks, dotted with dried fruits and bursts of sweet, smoky, and savory flavors. My personal favorite is the strawberries and cream bark (above), with swirls of homemade white chocolate — something nearly nonexistent in the plant-based realm.
Read more about Lagusta’s Luscious.
See lots more vegan desserts & sweets
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