These vegan chocolate caramels are rich and decadent and so easy to make! Totally divine and perfect for a special occasion.
With Valentine’s Day coming up, it’s the perfect time for some vegan chocolate caramels!
And since we made these in heart shaped molds it’s totally perfect.
They are deliciously rich with a caramel fudge center surrounded by dark chocolate. And they’re really so easy to make.
How To Make Vegan Chocolate Caramels
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.
The most wonderful thing about these chocolate caramels is that the caramel center takes about 5 minutes to make! We use the caramel from our vegan caramel sauce which just happens to harden into a caramel fudge when refrigerated, so it’s completely divine.
You simply melt some vegan chocolate and place some melted chocolate into the bottoms of a silicon mold tray and use a teaspoon or brush to gently coat the bottoms and sides of the molds. Place into the freezer to set.
Then add some melted coconut butter to a mixing bowl and add in maple syrup and vanilla extract and mix into a thick caramel.
Spoon the caramel out over the set chocolate in the mold. Place into the freezer again for the caramel to set.
Melt some more chocolate and spoon this out over the top of the caramel to seal off the chocolates and then return to the freezer to set. When completely set just pop the chocolates out of the mold and they’re ready!
Silicon Molds
The amount of chocolate caramels you’ll get will depend on the silicon mold you use. Our mold made 10 heart shaped chocolates. The mold is pretty deep though, and you can see my chocolates are pretty tall! If your mold is more shallow, then you would likely make more than 10 chocolates with this recipe.
I found this heart-shaped silicon mold on Amazon that makes 15 chocolates. It’s very similar to mine, but the molds are slightly shallower, so you’d get 15 chocolates instead of 10 if you get this one, which is nothing but awesome.
How To Melt Coconut Butter
The main ingredient in the caramel center is coconut butter. This has to be coconut butter, it can’t be cacao butter or coconut oil, so make sure it says coconut butter on the jar. You can get coconut butter on Amazon.
If the weather is cooler then the coconut butter will usually be in a solid form. It’s important that you melt it all together and stir it well so that the ingredients are well mixed, because otherwise it separates and if you just take some off the top you won’t have a proper coconut butter and may just have oil that has risen to the top.
So take the whole jar and place it into a bowl and then pour hot water from the kettle into the bowl and let the jar stand in the hot water for a few minutes and then stir it. If it’s not completely melted then return it to the bowl of hot water for a few more minutes and then stir up again before using.
Storing and Freezing
These vegan chocolate caramels will stay good in the fridge for a week or more! They are also freezer friendly if you’d like to freeze them.
They are best stored in the fridge though because unless the weather is really cool, they will tend to become melty if they’re out of the fridge for too long.
More Delicious Vegan Chocolates
- Vegan White Chocolate
- Homemade Vegan Chocolate
- Vegan Chocolate Covered Strawberries
- Vegan Chocolate Truffles
- Vegan Oreo Truffles
- Vegan Coconut Truffles
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Chocolate Caramels
Ingredients
For the Caramel Center:
- ¼ cup Coconut Butter (60ml) Melted
- ¼ cup Maple Syrup (60ml) or Golden Syrup
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
For the Chocolate:
- 1 ½ cups Chopped Vegan Chocolate (262g) or Vegan Chocolate Chips
Instructions
- Melt half the chocolate by placing it into a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals bringing it out to stir every 30-seconds.
- In a heart-shaped silicon mold, spoon in the melted chocolate using a teaspoon or brush to gently nudge the chocolate up the sides of the mold as much as you can. When the bottom and sides are coated as well as possible, place the mold into the freezer to allow the chocolate to set.
- Prepare the caramel centers. Melt the coconut butter by placing the whole jar (sealed) into a bowl of very hot water. After a few minutes, take it out and stir the coconut butter very well. This is because it usually separates when cold, so you need to get it all well mixed again.
- Measure out a quarter cup of melted coconut butter into a bowl. Add the maple syrup or golden syrup and vanilla and mix into a thick caramel.
- Bring out the silicon mold when the chocolate is set and place a spoonful of the caramel into the center of each chocolate. Return to the freezer to set.
- Melt the rest of the chocolate and then spoon it out on top of each chocolate to close it off completely. Return the chocolates to the freezer to set.
- Once set, pop the chocolates out from the molds and serve. Keep leftover chocolates stored in the fridge.
Notes
- It must be coconut butter, not cocoa butter and not coconut oil.
- My favorite is to use a high quality vegan chocolate for this and just melt that down rather than chocolate chips. But chocolate chips will also work in a pinch.
Great recipe! Enjoyed every bite!
Thanks Eden!
This looks divine and I can’t wait to try! Can you use your coconut butter recipe instead of store bought?
YES! I should have linked to it. 🙂 You can definitely use the homemade version in the exact same way. It will be good to blend the homemade version as well so that it’s really smooth for this dessert.
I just made these and they were delicious!
The recipe was so simple to follow too.
My only tip would be to use a thin amount of chocolate on the base as it does take a way from the caramel flavour if there’s too much.
Oh and the caramel… wow! Again, so simple and tasty.
Thank you Alison for yet another great recipe
Thanks so much Lucy! 🙂
This recipe is absolitely delicious. I felt that it needed some salt, so I added a pinch of sea salt and it was perfect. I also found that too much chocolate on the outside overpowered the amazing caramel flavor, so I made sure to make the chocolate nice and thin. I used Lyle’s golden syrup. Perfection! Oh – and one more thing – if you stir it too much it causes the caramel to “break” – the fat to separate, so don’t over stir it. It’s beyond delicious! Thank you!!
Thanks for sharing your tips Molly, so happy you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
Thanks, Alison. I was surprised that Williams Sonoma does not have one.
Could you show us a photo of the mold you use and supply a link for where to buy it?
Hi Susan, I bought my silicon mold locally at Waitrose, so I don’t have an online link for where to get it. There are similar ones at Amazon but they’re much shallower, therefore you’d get more chocolates for the same recipe. I’ll update the post with the link to the Amazon molds.
I’ve only ever made vegan caramel from dates. This version looks much better and creamier. I can’t wait to try it.
Yes! I love date caramel but this is quicker and easier for sure! 🙂