This recipe is sponsored by Nature's Charm. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands who sponsor my work!
🥥 What are Raffaello?
Raffaello are coconut almond truffles consisting of a spherical wafer filled with white milk cream and a blanched almond, with a coconut white chocolate coating.
They remind me of a white chocolate coconut version of ferrero rocher.
This CopyCat version is made without dairy, plus you don't need a food processor to make them!
🧾 Ingredients
Here's everything you need to make vegan raffaello balls:
Ingredient Notes
Find the complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Coconut Cream: I'm using Nature's Charm coconut whipping cream. You can also use their natural coconut milk, refrigerate it overnight, and use the thick cream from the top of the can.
- Vegan Condensed Milk: I use Nature's Charm sweetened condensed coconut milk. It sweetens and lends a mild coconut flavor.
- Blanched Almonds: If you can only find whole almonds with skins, you can blanch them at yourself, as shown in this helpful post by The Loopy Whisk.
- Vegan White Chocolate: I use Vivani iChoc, you can also use this vegan white chocolate recipe which is made with ingredients like raw cacao butter, coconut butter, and cashew butter. Make sure you use a cocoa butter-based chocolate.
- Cacao Butter: Helps stabilize the filling, making it hold up better once set. You can replace it with the same weight of vegan white chocolate, plus a tablespoon of coconut oil.
- Vegan Wafers: Original Raffaello truffles are made in a wafer ball. I found it difficult to find these, so the solution here is crushed ice cream wafers!
- Unsweetened Shredded Coconut: May also be labeled as desiccated coconut.
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🔪 Instructions
Here are step-by-step images showing how to make these vegan coconut truffles. Please refer to the detailed printable recipe card at the end of this page for full measurements and written instructions:
Step 1: Melt the coconut cream, white chocolate, condensed milk, cacao, and salt in a medium heat-resistant bowl over a saucepan with simmering water (a bain-marie or water bath).
Step 2: Remove the bowl from the heat and let it cool slightly for 10 minutes, then cover and transfer to the fridge to thicken for 1 hour. Stir it every 20 minutes or so.
Step 3: Toast the whole almonds on a baking sheet in a preheated oven for 6-8 minutes, until lightly browned. Set aside to cool.
Step 4: Spoon or pipe the white chocolate mixture into the cavities of a silicone sphere mold pan, filling them around two-thirds. Then add a toasted almond to each truffle and top it with more ganache. Freeze for at least 4 hours.
Step 5: Remove the truffles from the mold and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Place the tray in the freezer while you make the coating to prevent them from melting.
Step 6: Finely chop or crumble the vegan wafers and add to a bowl. Roll each truffle in the wafers to coat them.
Step 7: Place them back on the tray and into the freezer for 10-15 minutes.
Step 8: One by one, dip a truffle into the melted white chocolate and immediately transfer it to the bowl with shredded coconut to coat the outside. Carefully place them back on the baking tray to set. Once you have coated them all, place the tray in the freezer for 5 minutes to fully set.
💭 Recipe Tip
Prep your coatings. The filling is lovely and soft at room temperature, so the truffles need to be frozen before coating them. Because of this, the chocolate coating will set very quickly - so dip and coat them quickly. Get the shredded coconut ready in a small bowl and immediately transfer the white chocolate-covered truffle into the bowl to be coated. If the chocolate sets first, the coconut won't stick to the surface.
💬 FAQs
While you *can* mold the truffles by hand, it will be a little messier! Here's how:
First, double the quantity of cacao butter for the filling (50g or 4 tablespoons), as the filling will need more setting ingredients without the help of a mold. Let the ganache filling set in the fridge for 2 hours. It's ready when you can roll a piece into a ball and it holds its shape.
With clean hands or food-safe gloves, divide the ganache with a melon baller or small ice cream scoop. Roll into balls with the palms of your hands. Press a whole almond into the center of each truffle and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Freeze for a couple of hours until solid before coating.
Place the truffles in an airtight container and refrigerate. They will keep for up to 2 weeks.
Otherwise, you can store them in the freezer for up to 2 months in a sealed container. Just defrost in the fridge overnight, or at room temperature for a couple of hours before serving.
🍫 More CopyCat Candy
📖 Recipe
Vegan Raffaello (Coconut Truffles)
Ingredients
Filling
- 120 g (½ cup) coconut cream *note 1
- 140 g (5 oz) vegan white chocolate (coconut butter based) *note 2
- 2 tablespoons sweetened condensed coconut milk *note 3
- 25 g (2 tbsp) cacao butter *note 4
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 15 whole blanched almonds
Coating
- 20 g (~12 wafers) vegan wafers *note 5
- 120 g (4.25 oz) vegan white chocolate *note 2
- 25 g (2 tbsp) cacao butter or coconut oil
- 60 g (¾ cups) shredded coconut
Instructions
- Filling: Add the coconut cream, white chocolate, condensed coconut milk, cacao butter, and salt to a medium heat-resistant bowl and place on top of a saucepan with simmering water (a bain-marie or water bath). Ensure the water does not touch the bowl but allow the steam to rise and gently melt the ingredients. Let the ingredients melt, stirring often.
- Chill: Remove the bowl from the heat and let it cool slightly for 10 minutes, then cover and transfer to the fridge to thicken for 1 hour. Stir it every 20 minutes or so.
- Toast the almonds: Preheat your oven to fan-forced 160°C/320°F or conventional 180°C/356°F. Place the almonds on a baking sheet and bake for 6-8 minutes, until lightly browned. Set aside to cool.
- Assemble: Spoon or pipe the thickened white chocolate mixture into the cavities of a silicone sphere mold pan, filling them about ⅔ full. Then add a toasted almond to each truffle and top it with more filling.
- Set: Freeze for at least 4 hours or until completely solid (overnight if possible).
- Remove the truffles from the mold and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Place the tray in the freezer while you make the coating to prevent them from melting.
- Coating: Finely chop or crumble the vegan wafers and add to a bowl. Roll each truffle in the wafers to coat them, then place them back on the tray and into the freezer for 10-15 minutes.
- Melt the white chocolate and cacao butter in a bowl over a water bath (bain-marie). Meanwhile, add the shredded coconut to a separate small bowl.
- One by one, dip a truffle into the melted chocolate and immediately transfer it to the bowl with shredded coconut to coat the outside. Carefully place them back on the baking tray to set. Because the truffles are frozen, the chocolate will set very quickly - so dip and coat them quickly. Once you have coated them all, place the tray in the freezer for 5 minutes to allow them all to set completely.
Notes
- Coconut Cream: I use Nature's Charm coconut whipping cream.
- Vegan White Chocolate: I use Vivani iChoc, if you can't find storebought try this homemade white chocolate recipe. Use a cocoa butter-based chocolate, King David Kosher Easy Melt Non-Dairy White Baking Chocolate Flavored Coins does not set properly.
- Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk: I use Nature's Charm.
- Cacao Butter: This helps to thin the vegan white chocolate when melting, and gives a firmer filling once set. You can swap it with extra white chocolate and a tablespoon of coconut oil.
- Vegan Wafers: I use vegan-friendly ice cream wafers, make sure you check the labels.
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Became melted snowmen. 2 stars because the flavor is great
Oh no! Would you mind sharing which brand of chocolate you used, Bee?
I am making a box of chocolates for my fiancé for Valentine’s Day, using your recipes 🙂 I was wondering- I wanted to add a little rum extract to this because I think rum and coconut taste nice together, how much would I put? Or would it mess up?
Hi Mia,
Aw that's so lovely! I would be careful adding more liquid to the ganache as it is pretty soft, and alcohol can also prevent it from setting properly. I think it would be better in my other chocolate truffle recipes as dark chocolate is more stable than vegan white chocolate. I hope this helps!
Hi reporting back. I have had success with all the other chocolates I made except this one. Something was not working with this recipe for me. I used the same ingredients (natures charm) and they did not freeze, even after 3 days in the freezer. I scooped all the truffle goop out of the molds and remelted them. I added an additional 10 grams each of chocolate and cacao and that seemed to help them firm up but some of them were still a pretty goopy. I thought that at least the goopiness would allow the wafers to adhere well, but the truffles only picked up the finest crumbles so it was a very very thin layer of wafers that really wasn’t discernible in the end product. I tried re rolling them several times but for whatever reason the wafers did not want to stick. They do taste good though! Again, the other truffles I made came out amazing but this recipe seems like something is up or you need to use very specific brands to get it right
Hi Mia!
Oh no I'm sorry to hear that. The filling is pretty soft but as you can see from the images in the post they should come out of the moulds pretty clean. Could you please share which white chocolate you used?
I use this one recommended by Gretchen's vegan bakery: King David Kosher Easy Melt Non Dairy White Baking Chocolate Flavored Coins. It has palm and thickeners in the ingredients whereas the chocolate you recommended is more natural and uses cocoa butter. The coating was fine so I'm guessing something with the king david chocolate in the filling just didn't work together. which is fine, I am just trying to understand my mistakes in baking. for future confectionaries i will use more natural cocoa butter based chocolate than the one I used. and despite the difficulties, they do still taste delicious 5/5 star! and I appreciate your communication. ty!
Hi Mia,
Thank you so much for getting back with the brand you used, we don't have that one over here but this is very helpful to know, so I will add a note to the recipe to use coconut butter based chocolate. Vegan white chocolate can be tricky!