The White Stuff

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by Hannah (BitterSweet)
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Talk about irony. A few short years ago, you wouldn’t have been able to get me to touch a block of white chocolate with a 10-foot pole, and now? Now it’s become an incredible luxury, a culinary diamond in my eyes, and I’ve become completely enamored with its simple existence. Simple indeed, because as I’m sure anyone who’s been around the block with a hunk of chocolate knows that the white stuff has no actual cocoa solids, and thus remains pale as freshly fallen snow. Most manufacturers add dry milk powder and other undesirable elements to their white chips and chunks, to increase shelf stability and augment their supplies of pricey cocoa butter… Or cheap, trans-fatty hydrogenated oils, making for that cheap, waxy crap that turned me away in the first place. Insipid and unctuous at best, it’s no shock that most people would consider shelling out their hard earned cash for this pallid imitator when given a darker option.

Before you flip to the next interesting blog and pass this post over, let me venture a guess that you’ve never had real white chocolate. Made with cocoa butter, this stuff is like the nectar of the gods- Creamy, sweet, with some slightly floral notes in the background. It makes my heart flutter just thinking about it.

This isn’t to say that I’ve developed the end-all, be-all recipe for creating this confection; There’s still plenty of room for improvement, and I would love to hear what others find through their own trials. I would love to keep on experimenting for months, honing it to an exact and simple science… But the trouble with using real cocoa butter, as those money-savvy businesses discovered, is that it costs a small fortune. I’m not going to lie, as this stuff doesn’t come cheap, but for an occasional indulgence, I think you could find it a worthwhile investment.

Still with me? Oh good, thanks for your patience. The first critical step to making the white chocolate is: Finding good cocoa butter. I know, I can’t stop harping about this stuff but it’s really important to pick up high quality, food grade cocoa butter. As a popular ingredient in body lotions and lip balms, some of it comes with fillers and undesirable additives, so shop carefully if you search locally. Next, you’ll want to invest in a decent mold. It doesn’t have to be fancy, and it doesn’t even need to be bar-shaped, you just want somewhere to park your molten chocolate so that it can cool and solidify into a usable shape. Hell, even silicon ice cube trays could work!

After collecting all of the software and hardware, the procedure will seem far easier than that preliminary hunt, so don’t worry, it only gets easier from here.

Yield: Makes 2 Bars

Vegan White Chocolate

Vegan White Chocolate

Made with real cocoa butter, this creamy, dreamy, vanilla-flecked white chocolate bar couldn't be simpler to make at home from scratch, and it's completely vegan.

Prep Time 1 minute
Cook Time 2 minutes
Additional Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 3 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1/4 Cup (2 Ounces) Cocoa Butter
  • 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Paste or Powder
  • 1/3 Cup Confectioner’s Sugar*
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Powdered Coconut Milk or Soy Milk Powder
  • 1/8 Teaspoon Salt

Instructions

  1. Place your cocoa butter in a microwave-safe bowl and heat on full power for just a minute or two, until it liquefies. Be sure to keep an eye on it at all times, as it has a much lower melting point than a bar of finished chocolate.
  2. Once completely melted, quickly stir in the remaining ingredients, being thorough so as to break up any clumps of sugar and completely dissolve everything into the molten fat. Don’t worry if it looks rather yellow at this stage, just pour everything into your molds and it will be alright.
  3. Tap the molds on the counter lightly so as to remove any air bubbles, and don’t even think about touching them again for the next few hours while they set up. I highly recommend parking them in the fridge to speed up the process.

Notes

*To make a sugar-free version, use 1/3 cup of stevia or erythritol that measures cup-for-cup like sugar.

Recommended Products

Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking through the link. I have experience with all of these companies and I recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions I make if you decide to buy something through my links.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

2

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 142Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 4mgSodium: 199mgCarbohydrates: 22gFiber: 0gSugar: 21gProtein: 4g

All nutritional information presented within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on BitterSweetBlog.com should only be used as a general guideline. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate. Even though I try to provide accurate nutritional information to the best of my ability, these figures should still be considered estimations.

© Hannah Kaminsky
Cuisine: American / Category: Candy

Congratulations, you have your very own white chocolate! Now what, you may ask? Well, I still wouldn’t recommend munching on it like you would a standard candy bar because it’s tooth-achingly sweet on it’s own, but add it into other recipes and it will shine.

Try making a good, tried and true chocolate cookie recipe and sub in white chocolate chunks for half of the standard chips.

Looking for something a bit more special? Well, why not try making a white chocolate mousse instead? Granted, it will up the cost a bit more, as whippable soy cream is still a pricey commodity, but think of how impressed your sweetie (or your own sweet tooth) will be.

 

Yield: Makes 3 - 4 Servings

White Chocolate Mousse

White Chocolate Mousse

While it feels as light as a cloud on the tongue, this white chocolate mousse is also unbelievably rich, luscious, and creamy. I would suggest serving it with a good bowlful of berries to cut it, or a small dollop on top of hot chocolate would be a delicious addition as well. Top a cupcake with it and you’ll have one intensely satisfying dessert, too.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 2 minutes
Additional Time 40 minutes
Total Time 17 minutes

Ingredients

  • 3 Ounces Vegan White Chocolate (See Recipe Above)
  • 1 1/4 Cups Whippable Vegan Cream (Soy, Coconut, or Oat-Based), Divided
  • 3/4 Teaspoon Agar Agar Powder

Instructions

  1. Melt your white chocolate with 1/4 cup of the cream, stirring vigorously to combine into a smooth liquid, and let cool for 10 minutes or so.
  2. In your stand mixer, whip the remaining cream for 3 – 4 minutes to form soft peaks, and slowly stream in melted chocolate mixture down the side. It will become some what liquid-y and appear to have gone awry, but try not to panic.
  3. Sprinkle the agar on top, whisk to fully combine, and place the whole bowl in your fridge for 30 minutes.
  4. Once thoroughly chilled, whip for 5 – 6 more minutes until fluffy but firm and serve.
  5. At this stage you could also pipe it into bowls and refrigerate for up to 6 more hours before serving.

Recommended Products

Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking through the link. I have experience with all of these companies and I recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions I make if you decide to buy something through my links.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 368Total Fat: 34gSaturated Fat: 21gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 89mgSodium: 39mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 0gSugar: 15gProtein: 3g

All nutritional information presented within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on BitterSweetBlog.com should only be used as a general guideline. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate. Even though I try to provide accurate nutritional information to the best of my ability, these figures should still be considered estimations.

© Hannah Kaminsky
Cuisine: American / Category: Miscellaneous Desserts

This stuff is incredibly, deceptively rich- While it feels as light as a cloud on the tongue, it is also unbelievably luscious and creamy. I would suggest serving it with a good bowlful of berries to cut it, or a small dollop on top of hot chocolate would be a delicious addition as well. Top a cupcake with it and you’ll have one intensely satisfying, adult dessert, far too mature for the kids to partake in. The possibilities just go on… And wouldn’t you like to discover them for yourself?

Don’t think that I’ve slighted you for this Valentine’s Day either- White Day, celebrated primarily in Japan, is only a month later on March 14, where white chocolate is given back to any admirers who stopped by with some dark chocolate the previous holiday. So get to it, and try some real white chocolate!

202 thoughts on “The White Stuff”

  1. omg, I am so trying this. I’m like you, I was never a fan of white chocolate but as of late I’ve been craving it. Where did you find your cocoa butter? I have a feeling it’s not going to be too easy to locate it near me.

  2. I’ve never been much of a white chocolate fan. I’ll touch it with a ten foot pole, sure, but it doesn’t excite me. However, your words are making me want to give it another shot. :-)

  5. I used to like really good white chocolate in my childhood (when I ate chocolate instead of candy). However, growing older I started to realize how disgusting most chocolate bars tasted because of the hydrogenated oils, and cheap fats.

    Your chocolate looks absolutely gorgeous. And I’m so glad to hear you’ve found a recipe that suits you! You must have put so much effort into this, so give yourself a pat on the back. =)

  6. Wow, that is so cool!! I always loved white chocolate….. bought a few of the vegan white chocolate chips from vegan essentials, but didn’t think they were that great (but okay in baked goods). These chocolate bars look so beautiful. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe with us!!

  8. I love white chocolate! And have missed it so, much better than milk chocolate in my opinion anyday. I would also like to know where you got your food grade cocoa butter?

  10. I love white chocolate :D I have been searching for a recipe for white chocolate mousse cake for years and haven’t come up with anything that can emulate the one I had yet…the search is still on :D I love your white chocolate mousse it looks devine :D

  11. any suggestions for those of us who insist on cooking microwave-free? is there a substitution at that step of the process (such as a dutch oven) in case we would like to make it sans radiation?

    1. Put the cocoa butter in a heat- proof bowl inside a pan of boiling water, the boiling water will melt the cocoa butter. make sure no water gets inside the bowl containing the cocoa butter, therefore don’t fill the pan up too much.

  12. Swoon. I love white chocolate (when done right!). This is a beautiful celebration of the “white stuff” (all I can think of right now is the Weird Al song!)

  15. Hannah,
    Do you know how to temper chocolate? Cocoa butter is polymorphic, and taking it through the right series or temperatures in order to isolate the “correct” crystal structures can make the difference between a chocolate bar with a crisp “snap” and smooth mouthfeel and a chocolate bar that never really hardens and that is kind of grainy/mushy.

    I know that the recommended tempering temperatures are slightly different for (non-vegan) white chocolate as for dark chocolate… but I can’t remember what the justification for the different temperatures is. It might just be because snooty chocolateers don’t want to burn their precious milk solids, or perhaps the melting point of the fat IS affected because of the amount of solids being different… If I find any information, I will send it your way.

    In any case, the flavor possibilities are endless here. European white chocolates, I beleive, use milk solids that are toasted I think? It might be fun to try getting some caramel flavor notes in this by cooking your soy powder with the sugar some how before making the emulsion. Have fun with it!

  16. ::gasp:: You have no idea how happy you’ve made me right now! Anyone who knows me can tell you that I am a white chocolate fiend! Pre-vegan days, I’d eat the cheap stuff and enjoy it but nothing beat the real fancy, expensive white chocolate. Upon becoming vegan, that was quite possibly the most difficult thing I had to give up. Yes- even more difficult than the almighty cheese!

    I found a recipe and tried making it myself, but it came out all grainy and mushy, even after sitting in the fridge for 24 hours. SO! I am very, very, very excited to try this.

    And the white chocolate mousse? MY FAVOURITE DESSERT!!!

    You are a goddess of all things sweet. Thank you so much for posting! :)

  17. OMG!! that looks and sounds absoulety SCRUMPTIOUS!!!!!!!!!!
    I’m coming to your house for “White day” for sure LOL!!!!!
    You make it sound sooooo YUM, and my mouth is watering, and now I WANT SOME!! LOL!!!!!
    But, for breastfeeding my reflux son reasons, I’m off chocolate (and caffeene) for now…..so I’ll have to save this recipe for next year sometime!!!
    HUGS!!!

  20. Oh! It looks so yummy! And the mousse! I wish I had the time and ingredients (hope I spelled right) to make it! But some day in the future maybe. :)
    Thanks for the recepie (spelled right?) anyway! :D

  21. Wow – I never liked white chocolate because it wasn’t really chocolate… but this…!! That mousse looks delicious Hannah!! I love your ice cube tray idea!

  22. I’m totally with you, girl – before my vegan days, I wouldn’t touch white chocolate since it’s not even chocolate! It’s fake! Ick! But vegan white chocolate?? I’m all over it :0D

  24. Wow, Hannah! You are so adventurous & creative. I, too, am no fan of white chocolate (can’t stand the stuff, actually), but I think you’ve pretty well convinced me that I’ve just never had “real” white chocolate… I really think I ought to try this! (For the experience if nothing else.) And in those chocolate cookies?! What a delicious combination.

    I cannot believe how absolutely BEAUTIFUL that mousse is. Holy crap! What a perfect picture!

  26. Holy crap! I have a huge block of cacao butter (raw) that I usually use for fudge, but I’m out of my other raw ingredients. I think I need to make this. Like now. O.O

    The idea of using milkmilkmilk in white chocolate just never seemed right to me…

    Thanks! <3

  27. Hannah,

    Your mom mentioned you’d worked with white chocolate, and I said “Oh. I prefer real chocolate.” Then she gave me some cookies.

    I let her try one, but only because I hadn’t tasted them yet. Wow, they’re wonderful! The texture and flavor are perfect, but even better, the white chocolate didn’t have that nasty fake flavor I was expecting. It was rich and delicious, and smooth and creamy even though it had been baked into a cookie.

    In the interest of your mother’s health, I think the next time she wants a cookie I’m going to suggest that she have an orange from my tree instead. Oranges are good for you, right?

    Oh, by the way, I am thrilled that your book is finally here! Everything is great, from the photos and recipes (obviously) right down to the feel of the paper. There will be peanut brittle happening here very soon, and I can’t wait! And maybe some orangettes, after your mother eats some oranges…

  28. While I don’t envision myself making up a batch of white chocolate anytime soon, I truly appreciate the amount of work and dedication that went into your mastery of it. Your tutorial is so thorough and thoughtful enough to include links to exactly what products should go into the making of the white chocolate. Then, you even gave recipes with ways to use the white chocolate. You never cease to amaze me, Hannah!

  30. fun stuff hannah!
    I’ve actually always loved white chocolate… and I’ve been eyeing that white chocolate mousse from The Artful Vegan for a while… but I don’t know where to find cocoa butter. I’ll have to make a special trip to San Francisco someday and search there. Mmmm….

    I really admire your spirit of creativity and perserverance. Thanks!

  31. You’re so brilliant! I was never a fan of white chocolate, but maybe I would be these days?! Have you tried rice milk chocolate yet? I believe they make a white chocolate. Terra Nostra is the common brand I’ve seen.

  34. I have a little daughter who only eats white food. She will even turn down chocolate if it isn’t white. She is going to LOVE you for this recipe.

  37. This looks so absolutely amazing, I can’t wait to try it! I reckon the vegan blogging world will be flooded with attempts at recreating this! (I can’t wait to have a go, either!) I can’t believe you can come up with this stuff! I really admire your ability =)

  38. Hey Hannah, I just want to say that you are so inspiring. I just found out that you are young like me, and I know with all the rush of freshman year in college it hard enough to do all the work and that’s without writing a cookbook Anyways, knowing that alone makes me want to buy your new cookbook :-) Keep up the amazing work!!!

    Alice

    P.S. I have been searching for vegan white cholocate for months and you just made my day :-)

  39. Sounds yummy. I always liked white chocolate as an every-once-in-a-while treat.

    I might have to try it in a raspberry/white chocolate chunk cookie recipe I’ve been wanting to try.

  42. Hannah – Your white chocolate looks simply divine. My son is really going to enjoy this recipe. Thank you so so much for sharing it with all of us. You rock!

    Sheltie Girl @ Gluten A Go Go

  44. That looks awesome! We have a 20 pound bucket of cocoa butter around here somewhere, my mom got it really cheap I think through a co-op of sorts. One minor problem for me though, I’m pretty allergic to Soy…. So it’s harder for me to do veggie than other people! I have to stick to real milk. Could regular powdered milk be substituted for the soy milk you think?

  45. that is just flat-out amazing – if I ever taste anything that’s close to as good as you made those white chocolate mousses sound, I would consider myself the luckiest vegan alive. Seriously… you’re going to bring so much joy into this world, you have no idea. Maybe you do. But you will. :)

  46. I’ve been craving vegan white chocolate for AGES!! I was on the hunt for cocoa butter with my sister today and she asked a lady a chocolate shop if she knew where we could purchase it. She said that it wasn’t available to the public. Um?

    Unsatisfied, when we go home we searched on the ‘net for some food grade cocoa butter in Australia and we found some. We ordered some and it should hopefully arrive next week Monday or Tuesday. 35 AU$ for 500g (a little over a pound).

    I can’t wait! Thank-you so much for this recipe. ;D

  47. Beautiful work! I love the specks of vanilla beans! I only made it a couple of times, not vegan but way better than what you can find at the store! The mousse would be perfect for a romantic dinner indeed!

  48. Wow, now that is just lovely. I used to only eat white chocolate, before I realized that it wasn’t really chocolate at all and began to discover the wonders of dark chocolate. I have had a craving for it lately, though, and you have come to the resuce! I can’t wait to try it. And, I love the flecks of vanilla bean. It looks much less commercial that way.

  49. Hi there,

    Thanks for the recipe! I’m in the process of getting cocoa butter so I can try this great recipe out.

    Quick question: Does Cocoa Butter have caffeine in it? I was always under the impression that the caffeine part went into the cocoa solids – i.e. cocoa powder. If anyone could clarify this for me that would be great!

    Thanks.

  50. This is completely brillz! Leave it to you to come up with such genius, Hannah. I have hated every white chocolate I’ve ever tried (tho haven’t tried any for years and years…), yet I’m completely confident that I would love yours. ;D

  53. Oh stop. I swore off chocolate for a month yesterday and now I find this. I’m doomed.

  54. on the no sugar wagon at the moment – but the minute I’m off, I will be ready with a mold, some coco butter and a wicked glint in my eye.

    Great stuff.
    x x x

  55. omg, you are my “shero” for this! i cannot wait to try and make these…i am sooo gonna love you forever! i thought i would never have white chocolate again…i will be in white chocolate heaven soon! thank you, thank you, thank you!

  57. this is exactly what i’ve been looking for! delicious, vegan white chocolate. while im not a huge fan of the stuff i think i can use it in cake decorating very easily!

  60. Hi Hannah! I was just wondering if you had to temper the chocolate at all to get it to go right, or did you not have to bother?

    Thanks! =)

  61. I’ve got cacao butter in my fridge… and was thinking of doing a mudslide pie with it, but I think I’ll have quite enough to make some white chocolate bars! Yum!

  62. Hannah, I must be in the blogging do-loop when I google something and get directed back to you! Long story short, I was looking for dairy-egg-nut-free white chocolate to make an allergen friendly version of the filling for the “TKO” Thomas Keller Oreo, so here I am, back again! That white chocolate mousse is LIGHT YEARS ahead of a a Mori-Nu Mate! I’m not sure if I’m up to the process of finding the cocoa butter to make the white chocolate to make the filling to make the oreo, but I’ll give you credit if it happens!

  63. I was so excited to try this recipe out, it looks so delicious from your picture. I don’t use my microwave so I put the cocoa butter in a saucepan and let it heat until it melted, then added the other ingredients. Sadly, the solids pretty much precipitated out right away and refused to mix with the liquid cocoa butter. I put it in the fridge anyway, and they came out like cocoa butter with tiny pieces of solid sugar inside. Just wondering if you have any suggestions for how I can try to do this again, and get better results. I may actually try my microwave next time but usually dislike cooking with it.

  64. You are the answer to a fair maidens prayer!

    I have wanted to make vegan white chocolate bark for so long, and will do it this year.

  65. hi
    do you have an idea for somthing that can replace the soymilk powder? in Israel we dont have :(
    thank you

  66. Linor – I replaced the soymilk powder with regular soymilk (liquid). It worked fine for me, but I’m sure the powder gives a better texture. Go ahead and try it :-)

  69. […] NR. 200 with something white Time for some celebration.  And I found the perfect recipe for it.  Something I wanted to try out for a very long time but was afraid of.  I thought it was going to be difficult and disapointing.  But it wasn’t.  It was quiet easy to do and so delicious.  Thank you so much Hannah for sharing this recipe: […]

  71. AJP- I had the same problem when i tried this recipe, but I used the microwave. maybe i didnt heat the butter long enough? maybe i need to heat it again after i add everything?

  72. I absolutely cannot find cocoa butter anywhere. Where did you get it/ what does the container look like/ what section would i find it in?

    1. Hi Kelley,

      You can often find pure cocoa butter in natural or health food stores- You may need to look in the section with lotions and cosmetics. Just make sure that it’s food grade, with no additives, of course! Otherwise, you can find it in many places online; just do a quick google search and you’ll find plenty of sources. :)

      Thanks for your comments!

      Happy baking,

      -Hannah

      >

  79. Do you think there is a way to make this without the refined sugar? Maybe if I dissolved turbinado sugar, agave, or some other kind of unrefined sugar?

  81. This is an amazing sounding recipe but will be looking for a non-soy option. Maybe sub rice milk or hemp milk as I’ve never seen rice milk powder. I am on the prowl! Thanks, Michelle

  82. i got a HUGE bag of cocoa butter from chocolate covered katies giveaway and I had no idea what to do with it! it said on the back it can be used as a body butter which sounds awesome but I was dying to know some recipes I could use it in THANK YOU FOR THIS!!!

  84. for some reason i had the problem that a couple of others mentioned, which is that the mixture curdled. i figured out that the vanilla was the enemy, so i eventually just left it out and the recipe worked fine, but anyone have any ideas as to why that happened? i used good quality madagascar vanilla extract…

  87. Hi Hannah, I just made your white chocolate at it was really good (but INTENSE!) i used natural cocoa butter from http://shop.chocolatealchemy.com/products/cocoa-butter-natural (which is a pretty good price btw) i had a problem with the chocolate melting out when i tried to bake with it tho, any suggestions? do you use natural or deoderized cocoa butter? i baked the cookies at 350f for ~10 min i hope i can get it to work! it would be a shame to have delicious vegan white chocolate and no chocolate macadamia nut cookies :( i’m gonna make some more and try freezing the chocolate/chilling the dough before baking…hopefully that will help.. [also, vanilla extract siezed my first bar, but it worked fine with vanilla powder (powdered vanilla bean] i dont have a blog yet but hopefully i can write bout it soon

  88. This didn’t turn out for me at all! Too bad, spent the whole day gathering ingredients and I was so excited. It was grainy and wouldn’t mix. :(

    1. hey Christi, try making it again but don’t use vanilla extract, use vanilla powder (in the bulk spices at henry’s if you happen to live in Southern CA) or vanilla paste if you can find it. I made it twice and the vanilla extract main my grainy…also if you haven’t thrown away the stuff you tried to make it will still harden it just won’t have as nice of a texture and may be a bit oily

    2. Yeah ours didn’t turn out well either. frustrating that there’s hundreds of comments here taking up space about how happy they are to see the recipe but very few have tried making it! this recipe doesn’t seem to work well, needs more information: issues about vanilla extract, issues about powdered sugar, issues about hardening before it even gets into the molds, issues about graininess and lousy flavor, nothing here about tempering. they come out greasy and melty. i don’t think “Hannah” ever actually tried making this recipe.

      1. Hi Stanya,

        I’m sorry you’re feeling so frustrated by this recipe, and I’d love to help you work through it if at all possible. Vanilla extract will not work here, only vanilla paste, powder, or whole vanilla beans, as the added liquid throws of the balance of necessary fats. Be sure to sift your confectioner’s sugar before adding it to avoid clumping. You’re correct that there’s no tempering here because it’s not a true white chocolate in the technical sense of the term, but a white chocolate substitute. Thus, it will not hold up to baking like regular white chocolate, but is wonderful for melting and eating.

        Hope any of that could be of assistance,

        -Hannah

      2. thank you for your reply. wish i had known about the paste before i did all the shopping. have my kid all set up here to make chocolate, now have to go shopping again. ok. will try a different vanilla solution, but still the ones we made are greasy to touch, yucky to taste, mushy texture… hoping vanilla paste will help that but the pictures of white chocolate bars on your site are totally misleading. this chocolate is not tempered and not suitable for bars or candies, molds or eating as far as i can tell. also it would be very helpful if you added a yield amount to the recipe so people know how much it makes. thanks.

      3. The bars in the photo are not tempered either.

        Yield varies based on the mold you choose, but you should get approximately 2.5 – 3 ounces finished candy.

        Best wishes for your second attempt, thanks for not giving up!

      4. thanks. can i confirm then that this recipe is not appropriate for making candies and barks ? that it remains greasy and melty to the touch, even when it works “successfully” for you? this will help me decide whether to keep trying. the plan was to make molded candy and bark to give as gifts but obviously we don’t want to give pieces of greasy stuff that melts as soon as you touch it.
        thank you!

      6. oh that’s good to know. i wonder why ours is greasy? it seems to have set up within 30 minutes in the fridge. does a longer set up time effect the greasyness maybe? thank you for your thoughts.

      8. also if you have any insights about the flavor: ours just tastes like powdered sugar and oil, would greatly appreciate. we can try to use less powdered sugar, but that might change the consistency?

      9. Sounds like your problems may all be stemming from a low quality cocoa butter. Since it’s the primary ingredient here, it’s critical to get the best sort possible. It may be worthwhile to investigate a different source.

      10. hmm. i used a very expensive cocoa butter bought at Whole Foods, organic and imported from Peru. the brand is Navitas, Raw Cacao Butter. it was $20 for 16 ounces! i’m assuming it’s pretty high quality.

      11. p.s. longer set up time seems to be helping the greasy/melty issue. next batch will try to deal with the powder sugar flavor.

      12. You could read my comments; I wasn’t the only one that initially had problems with the recipe. My first batch didn’t work, either. It’s the alcohol in the vanilla extract and the paste, I think. So, I just forgo the vanilla and the white chocolate turns out beautifully. My directions can be found here:

        http://greytveganlife.wordpress.com/2010/12/13/%E2%99%A5-vegan-white-chocolate/

        In defense of Hannah, she did reply to my comments/questions by e-mail. There are a lot of variables in cooking: altitude, humidity and slight differences in ingredients among various product brands, to name a few.

  89. Linda, I didn’t use vanilla extract because of the other reviews so I don’t think that was the problem.
    I read somewhere that powdered sugar can make it grainy because of the cornstarch and you can powder your own regular sugar by putting it in the blender. Anybody tried that? Maybe my powdered sugar was to blame.
    It just didn’t get smooth when I stirred it at all.

    I poured it into the mold anyway and let it sit up but the texture is nasty!

    1. Yup you put regular sugar in a blender on ‘pulse’ and get it to a fine grain-don’t use a plastic blender though it’ll scratch. Then you add a bit of cornstartch and it’s just like the stuff in the store.

  90. awww. i heard about the powdered sugar thing too but i decided to use powdered sugar from the store cuz it’s pretty hard to get the sugar finely ground enough at home (takes forever…maybe if you have a vitamix?) i think the upside of commerical powdered sugar is that it dissolves easily (at least in theory) were you careful not to overheat the cocoabutter? i zapped mine til it was mostly melted then stirred it til the rest of it melted..maybe that’d help? since you already bought everything i guess it wouldn’ hurt to try it again if you’re up for it

  91. Sorry if this sounds pert – but if it’s “tooth achingly sweet” why not just reduce the sugar? The point, after all, is to eat the stuff!

  93. […] And, take heart all you vegans out there – you’re not relegated to a life of (delicious) dark chocolate! There are plenty of places making amazing vegan milk chocolate and milk chocolate candies(CrispyCat comes to mind), not to mention, you can easily make your own white chocolate! […]

  95. Hi,
    Is it possible to put measures in oz. instead of teaspoons or cups?

    And, Is it possible to change the soy drink powder by liquid soy drink? What amounts should be put?

    Thank you very much and greetings from Spain.

  97. I just finished making my first batch of this stuff! I had cocoa butter left over from making Nougat that I should use so I decided to try this. It’s perfect for the Boyfriend who has issues eating milk & dark chocolate.
    My only issue is this stuff like you said is tooth-achingly sweet! Any ideas or tips to make it a little more dull-?

  98. Leave it to you, Hannah! I have ‘My Sweet Vegan’ and I LOVE it! I was so thrilled to find this recipe; vegan white chocolate is so hard to find and ordering it online is so expensive. I tried the recipe, following it exactly, and the results were not good: a clumpy, brownish mess. I see that other people had problems with this recipe, too, and that it isn’t just me. I’m going to try it again since I still have plenty of cocoa butter and vanilla paste left over. This time, I will make my own fine, powdered sugar and eliminate the vanilla paste and, if that works, re-add the vanilla paste to subsequent batches 1/4 teaspoon at a time. Maybe even switch the powdered soy milk for liquid. A couple of Qs: 1) Did you weigh the cocoa butter on a scale rather than use a measuring cup? 2) Is the 1/4 cup (2 ounces) the pre-melted or the melted quantity (or does it even matter)? Thanks to anyone that chimes in!

    1. did you temper it? did anyone here figure out tempering it? ours is immediately melty and greasy as soon as you pick it up, mushy and grainy, blech… NOT going to be the nice xmas gifts we thought! help!!!

  102. I decided to give this recipe a try today and am really pleased with the results! I didn’t have any vanilla paste on hand but I did have some vanilla pods which seemed to work OK (although I think I will use a little less than 1 tsp next time). Does anyone have any advice on how best to store the chocolate (is it OK in the fridge?), and how long it will last?

  103. this looks fantastic! is there any way of making this without the soy powder? i’m thinking of making this next time i visit a cousin and he’s allergic to soy :(

  104. The first time I made this, when I put the vanilla extract in, it bubbled up like a elementary school science fair and then became that weird grainy mess. I was pretty bummed, to say the least.

    Now THIS time:
    -before I melted the cocoa, I sifted all the ingredients into a bowl
    -I microwaved the cacao butter (in the whole foods raw section, btw!) for 2 minutes and then stirred it till it melted.
    -I dumped in the sifted sugar/soy milk powder/salt and stirred, THEN added the vanilla
    -after I poured it, I put in some crushed peppermints and made some bark, it was awesome! Next time though, I will use less vanilla extract (maybe 1/2t-3/4t) , and maybe less sugar.

    THANK YOU!

  105. Ah, this would be so wonderful if I wasn’t allergic to sugar cane and soy… Are there any possible substitutes?

  106. I adore white chocolate, smooth creamy and sweet, who cares if it’s not technically “chocolate” is there any way I can replace powdered sugar with agave nectar though?

  110. I just can’t avoid sugar crystals on homemade vegan white chocolate (even using confectioner’s sugar). I had no problems on temperature and color – I beated it up quickily with some ice under a bowl – and even on molding (I just did an easter egg and some white chocolate frogs a few minutes ago). Cocoa butter texture is just fine, but the sugar crystals are still there… Even tryed making some syrup but didn’t work at all. However, I got admit that this one is the best result I got until now, after many tryals… I’ve tryed ading some soy lecitin too, didn’t make a difference… I will try a white ganache using oat milk; I hope those tyne sugar crystals disapear then. But smooth white chocolate bar is what I am seeking for (just don’t know if we can get it on homemade ones whitout, at least, a wet grinder to conch it…).

  111. I just made this and it’s sitting cooling in the molds right now! I’m so excited… My friends and I are making cake pops for Easter, and we’re coating them in white chocolate and I couldn’t find any vegan white chocolate chips in Vancouver! Thanks!

    1. Hey, September, I’m from Vancouver too. Would you mind telling me where you found cocoa butter? Thanks ! :D

  112. I don’t think you CAN use liquid vanilla… I think it will cause the white chocolate to seize up, and you’ll just get horrible, mushy, grainy chocolate. I’d stick with vanilla paste.

  113. Hey! S. is right, DEFINITELY do NOT make this recipe with vanilla extract! Make sure all your measuring equipment and bowls are completely dry when you do this!
    I made one batch with vanilla paste, and it came out beautiful, creamy and tasty… But I made one batch with extract and it was HORRIBLE. It was grainy, thick, and wouldn’t set properly…
    I ruined 4 oz of good cocoa butter to figure that out. Don’t want anyone else to have to do the same thing.

    Cocoa butter is a fat, so if it comes into contact, bad things happen! Oil and water do not mix…

  116. I am curious about the tempering process as well. Everything else I’ve read says that you have to take care to temper the cacao butter- have you found that you have created a hard and solid white chocolate with the process you mentioned? Many thanks

    1. Hi Val,

      Because I simply melt the cocoa butter for this recipe and do not actually temper it, it doesn’t create a white chocolate that can be baked like standard white chocolate chunks; if you put it into cookies, the pieces would melt in the oven. I haven’t yet figured out a way to correct that, but it is delicious eaten out of hand, melted and blended into desserts, used as a white chocolate coating, or used as a garnish.

  117. Hooray! I’ve been making normal real chocolate with cacao butter and cacao powder and thought that white chocolate would be a nightmare to make but can’t wait to try it tomorrow now! Thank you! :-)
    I get my cacao butter and powder from Tree-Harvest, the quality is lovely and can ask for little pieces/dust which melt quicker than the big blocks you often get stuck with!
    Thanks for recipe! One happy girl now! :-)

  119. Here are some things I would add to the recipe and instructions, after 4 tries:
    Vanilla bean instead of extract
    Only fraction of the amount of sugar this recipe calls for. AND SIFT IT FIRST.
    In other words, quadrupled the recipe, using 1 cup of cacao butter and ONLY 3 TABLESPOONS of powdered sugar. This helps the recipe lose the powdered sugar taste is not so insanely sweet. We found it more palatable.
    We added more powdered milk, it makes a creamier result. We used 2 TABLESPOONS of powdered milk for 1 cup of cacao butter. We crushed the powdered milk first to get rid of any lumps. This helped.
    We also added fresh orange zest to help kill the powdered sugar flavor and that helped.
    We added chopped, toasted almonds, chopped raisins, rice krispies, etc.. for texture and variety and again to combat the powdered sugar flavor.
    It’s getting there!

    1. oops sorry SUGAR mistake: 1/2 cup sugar to 1 cup cocoa butter was favorite result. of course this is personal to taste!

    1. I’m so curious to hear how this turns out! I’m planning on including the white chocolate in my ice cream cookbook, so it would be great to suggest an alternative for that printing, too.

      1. Hey Hannah, we can say that the recipe was a success! We can confirm that soy milk powder can be substituted with either dehydrated nut milk (if you own a dehydrator it’s super easy to make) or with ground creamed coconut.
        See our pingback for the details, and a cute picture!

  124. I don’t know why, but when I followed this recipe, the sugar did not mix with the cocoa butter and so I ended up with a thin layer of sugar on top of the mold and a bland, fatty layer beneath it. Too bad, yours looked so good!

    1. I know that the soy milk powder can be a tricky ingredient to find, so I wish I could suggest some sort of substitute, but unfortunately I haven’t yet found anything that can take its place with good results.

      1. Yes, it is a little difficult to get my hands on dried soy milk, that’s why I was asking. Thanks for getting back to me so quickly; now I can avoid trying to sub it out on my own and ending up with a disaster on my hands. :)

        I’ve been DYING to try this ever since I saw this post, and I don’t even LIKE white chocolate. LOL

  129. Hi there, I was wondering if you think this would work with coconut milk (the top heavy layer of cream on top of the can). I came across this “how to” quite a while ago (http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2011/09/how-to-make-whipped-coconut-cream-from.html), and I have been dying to try it. And now that I have some vegan white chocolate I wanted to create the mousse above with the coconut milk and use it top some very luscious choclate cake. Let me know what you think!

    1. Hi Jessica,
      While I haven’t tried it and thus can’t definitely confirm, I do think you should be able to make the mousse using coconut “cream” instead of the whippable vegan “cream.” It may be slightly more dense, since the coconut doesn’t tend to get quite as light and fluffy in my experience, but it should still work. If you try it, please tell me how it goes!

      1. Thanks so much Hannah! I really appreciate your response and feedback. I will be at The Seed this weekend, and I am really looking forward to your presentation!

    2. if you want use coconut milk, you have use saucepan and cook to be simmering (not boiling) for 5 minutes.
      so your coconut milk will be yummy and more aromatic.
      because coconut milk (i use from coconut fruit not can) only for 1 days in room temperature if you not cook in saucepan.

  130. So, I made this white choc, chopped it up and put it in a cookie recipe and the white choc just melted all over and made a big mess……anyone else have the same problem?

  132. What a lovely recipe. Mine is chilling in the fridge. What kind of vanilla powder did you use, Hannah? I used pure powdered vanilla beans and 1 tsp has turned my chocolate grey.

      1. Thanks so much for your reply! It has turned out beautifully, but the powder has made it a bit crunchy. I’ll try is again using beans scraped from a vanilla pod. I think I’ll use the grey stuff for momofuku style milk crumbs. What else do you use it for? I am all over that mousse. Would it work with soyatoo (in the can? I don’t think we have any whippable vegan stuff here in AU.

      2. Great idea for using that vanilla powder! For the pure vanilla powder, I tend to use just a pinch in ice creams where I really want to showcase the vanilla aspect. It’s also great in cheesecakes, puddings, and other treats where you can really see the flecks. Always use it sparingly in conjunction with extract in cases like that though, or you’ll end up with more grey treats.

        I’m afraid the Soyatoo in the aerosol cans won’t work for the mousse, since it’s not stable enough once sprayed. The mousse would very quickly deflate. You could try whipping coconut cream though: http://brazenkitchen.com/2012/06/27/how-to-make-coconut-whipped-cream/

  133. I reckon I could eat the mousse pretty quickly! I actually meant how do you use the white chocolate. I don’t think the colour/texture would matter much in the milk crumbs, since they will then be used in something else (I’m thinking a whipped peanut butter fudge chocolate bar). I don’t want to waste my grey chocolate!

    1. Oh, of course! The white chocolate could also be melted and incorporated into cheesecake or ice cream, or turned into a ganache and used as a filling for molded chocolates. There are plenty more ways to use it besides eating it plain, but those are what come to mind first.

  134. I’m having trouble finding soy milk powder. Do you think pure soy protein isolate (which I use for baking and making protein drinks) might work as well?
    I’m really anxious to try this since I adore white chocolate.
    Thanks, Ina

    1. I would be concerned that the pure soy protein powder may taste overtly beany, and since I haven’t tried such a substitution, I can’t vouch for how successful it might be. If you had one that was very neutral in flavor and mixed up completely smooth (without a gritty sort of texture), then in theory, it may work. The only way to know is to try! If you do, let me know how it goes. Good luck!

  137. Not sure of your location, but if it helps anyone, that’s great. The Bulk Apothecary sells pure natural cocoa butter for 5.95 a pound and if you wanted to make this with real vanilla beans, Vanilla Products USA has an ebay store (http://myworld.ebay.com/vanillaproducts?_trksid=p2047675.l2559) where you can buy vanilla beans in bulk (ex: 15 bourbon grade A beans for 9.50 instead of the high retail price of $5.00 per bean [Which are generally only extract quality] and extract quality beans are 3.99 per 10.)

  142. Is there any way to make this with a sugar substitute? My mum has just found out that she is a diabetic and I wanted to make this to cheer her up!

    1. I can’t make any promises since I haven’t attempted it any other way than as written, but I think you could get away with replacing the sugar with a few drops of liquid stevia extract. If you try, let me know how it goes!

  144. This looked yummy until I read the ingredients in the Soy Whip–I refuse to participate in the destruction of the orangutan’s habitat and their extinction by buying anything containing “palm-“.

  146. I know this if off topic but I’m looking into starting my own blog and was wondering what all is required to get setup?
    I’m assuming having a blog like yours would cost
    a pretty penny? I’m not very web savvy so I’m not
    100% positive. Any recommendations or advice would be greatly appreciated.
    Appreciate it

  148. This is not ready for prime time. The soy powder stays grainy; there’s nothing to make it dissolve. I added more sifted sugar to thicken it up. I wanted to use this to chocolate-coat some dried fruit. It’s too thin for that. I may try to save it by melting in some dark chocolate.

    1. I can’t vouch for the results of any dairy products since I have no experience working with them. However, I’ve heard from folks who have tried using rice milk powder and coconut milk powder instead, which have both turned out nicely.

  150. I just tried making the chocolate recipe. It tasted like I ate a spoon of vanilla powder by itself. If you’re going to make this recipe, I suggest using way less than the recipe calls for.

  151. […] Homemade options are always a treat, and you’ll find boutique bars aplenty online, but what I’m talking about today are genuine chips, capable of holding their own in any dessert rather than functioning simply as a treat to eat out of hand. Right now, there are two types of vegan chocolate chips: Those that are good for melting, dipping, and drizzling, and those that maintain their shape, more resistant to the heat of the oven. […]

  155. Thanks for the great recipe !
    I Will Make this recipe at home I love white chocolate so much. I was made a white chocolate cake at home on my sister birthday party she loves white chocolate cake very much I had order the white chocolate from cacao and cardamom online site they deliver the chocolate on a time I really like cacao and cardamom online site there are so many different types of chocolate is there, Best Online Chocolate Brands in USA was suggest you cacao and cardamom there are have christmas chocolate gift, christmas chocolate box.

  157. Hi there, I’m so glad I found your recipe. I’ve used it a handful of times to make white chocolate lollipops around the holidays. I just tried to use the chocolate chunks in cookies and was so disappointed at how easily they melted into the cookies. They still tasted alright but they didn’t look that great. Is there a way to make/keep the chocolate a little more dense or firmer when baking in cookies? Thanks in advance.

    1. Hi Robyn! I’m so happy to hear that you’re enjoying this recipe. I’m afraid that its easy meltability is both a good and bad thing. Most conventional white chocolate stubbornly refuses to melt because it’s made primarily of milk solids and food-grade wax. In this case, the purity of ingredients used makes it much easier to break down with a touch of heat, and I haven’t yet found a good (tasty) way of creating chips that can withstand the temperatures needed to bake cookies.

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