The Ingredient Swap For Vegan Chocolate Ganache

Ganache has a variety of uses, according to MasterClass. It makes a great sauce for ice cream and other desserts. For cakes, ganache can be used to coat the entire outside in place of frosting, or turned into a mousse to fill in between layers. And if you want your dessert to focus more on the ganache as its own element, it can be a great tart filling or turned into truffles once it's cooled.

A typical ganache recipe uses chocolate and heavy cream to create the dessert, though its creation may have been an accident, according to Bakepedia. The story goes that sometime in the 1800s, an apprentice working in a pâtisserie in France accidentally spilled hot cream into a bowl of chocolate. Though his supervisor was initially displeased, the happy accident birthed a brand-new dessert. 

Cream isn't exactly vegan-friendly, but fortunately, there is a simple swap for those who prefer a non-dairy alternative.

Vegan chocolate chips can often be found in grocery store baking aisles — Nestlé Toll House even makes an allergen-free and vegan version of their chips, according to VegOut. But while this is an easy swap, finding an equal substitute for heavy cream may be a bit trickier. MasterClass notes that vegan ganache can be a little more complex than its dairy counterpart, but with a little bit of work, coconut cream can make a great substitute.

Canned coconut cream separates into liquid on the bottom, and a solid cream on top (via America's Test Kitchen). The solid coconut cream can be scooped out of the can and swapped in the place of the heavy cream, as it is in Loving It Vegan's ganache recipe. The cream can be softened in short microwave intervals or on the stovetop. After it's lightly simmered, the mixture can be poured over the chocolate and stirred until smooth. 

Once your ganache is ready, it can be cooled and used for a variety of desserts.