Homemade Ferrero Rocher

Homemade Ferrero Rocher

vegan homemade ferrero rocher

I’ve been good for a while so I think it’s time for a little indulgence, guys! A while ago a friend challenged me to make a vegan version of Ferrero Rocher truffles. I am a big fan of both chocolate and hazelnuts so my hand really didn’t need much twisting. As it turned out, these were quite simple to make and they went down a storm with everybody – they are a perfect accompaniment to an afternoon espresso, which is something of a ritual in our house.

Be warned though, these truffles are not the ‘healthy’, sweet but slimming kind of dessert – there are no dates, raw cacao powder or coconut oil in sight, sorry! These puppies are based on two simple components: quality (70% cacao) dark chocolate and 100% hazelnut butter. I make nut butter myself from hazelnuts in my food processor (here is how) but you can definitely buy it in a health food store too. I make mine out of roasted hazelnuts, which makes the butter more potent and fragrant so, if you are buying yours, I would encourage you to go for roasted nut butter as opposed to the raw kind.

So what we have is chocolate hazelnut ganache as a base, which is rolled into truffles around a single roasted hazelnut and then rolled in finely chopped hazelnuts. It couldn’t be easier! Six ingredients, slightly messy hands and you have rolled yourself little bites of chocolatey and hazelnutty heaven!

homemade ferrero rocher process

vegan homemade ferrero rocher rolled

vegan homemade ferrero rocher close up

vegan homemade ferrero rocher cross section

makes
20 truffles
PREP
60 min
COOKING
15 min
makes
20 truffles
PREPARATION
60 min
COOKING
15 min
INGREDIENTS
METHOD
  1. Chop your chocolate roughly – I tend to whack an unopened packet against my workbench to break it up. Place the broken-up chocolate in a glass bowl over a water bath and melt very slowly (I use setting 1 out of 6). Once the chocolate has melted, remove it from the heat, but keep the bowl over the hot water.
  2. As the chocolate is melting, place the coconut milk in a small pot and warm it up a little bit. Dissolve the instant coffee in the warmed-up milk. I went for 2 tsp of instant coffee to get a hint of coffee in the truffles. If you don’t want to taste coffee, go for 1 tsp instead – this will simply bring out the chocolate flavour more.
  3. Slowly add warm coconut milk to the melted chocolate. If it seizes (chocolate becomes grainy and hard), don’t worry, it happens sometimes but as we are essentially making a ganache here, that’s no problem. Just keep on adding milk and whisking at the same time. At some point the chocolate will return to its glossy and runny state.
  4. Whisk in the maple syrup and finally the hazelnut butter. If you happen to have hazelnut (or vanilla extract), add a few drops (you could use both!), but I also made a batch without them and, while they deepen the flavour, they are totally optional.
  5. Let the mixture come to room temperature and place in the fridge overnight for it to harden.
  6. Before taking the mixture out of the fridge, put aside at least 20 (22 to be safe) hazelnuts and chop the rest quite finely. Spread the chopped hazelnuts on a tray or clean baking sheet.
  7. Scoop portions of the mixture. Use kitchen scales to measure out equal sized portions of the mixture first or just eyeball the portions if you don’t have kitchen scales. Flatten each portion in the palm of your hand, place a hazelnut in the middle and then close the truffle mixture around the hazelnut. Quickly roll between the palms of your hands (that’s one area where permanently cold hands help a lot) and then coat the truffle in the chopped hazelnuts. I recommend working in small batches as the mixture will get messier to work with the longer it sits around. Transfer ¼ of the mixture to a chilled bowl and place the rest of the mixture in the freezer while you roll the first 5 truffles. Proceed in the same way with the remaining ¾ of the mixture.
  8. Store in an air-tight container, in the fridge. These truffles should keep for 5-7 days.
NOTES
*If you want to go the extra mile, you could coat the truffles in melted chocolate after rolling them in chopped hazelnuts and letting the chocolate harden into a shell. If you do that you’ll need to double the amount of chocolate needed.

**If you cannot find roasted hazelnuts, roast them in the oven at approx. 180° C / 350° F for 6-10 minutes. For full instructions, see this recipe.

SHARE
NUTRITIONAL INFO
calories
139
7%
sugars
5 g
6%
fats
11 g
16%
saturates
3 g
16%
proteins
3 g
6%
carbs
9 g
4%
*per truffle
How would you rate this recipe?
This is a test string

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

5.0
9 reviews, 35 comments
REVIEWS & QUESTIONS
Jayne:
This is an amazing recipe. I was tasked with making a homemade gift as a Secret Santa this year and chose to make these. They were a massive hit. The filling needs chilling overnight, and yes it does get a bit messy but the results were fantastic. Thanks so much for the recipe.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks Jayne, I am really happy to hear that this recipe was a hit and thanks for taking the time to let me know. x Ania
Jenna:
These were so fun to make and tasted exactly like traditional Ferrero Rocher. I’ve taken them to many family events and they are always a hit.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks Jenna, so happy to hear that and they looked great on your Instagram story! Thanks so much for taking the time to write this lovely review, I really appreciate it. Merry Christmas! x Ania
Helen:
Would soya cream work instead of coconut milk? Gonna have a go for Christmas, but my son in law isn’t mean on coconut.
Thanks
Helen
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Helen
    If it's more or less the same fat content then yes, it should work fine. If it's a little on the thin side, you could add a tablespoon of so of melted vegan butter. Hope they will go down well. x Ania
      Helen:
      Ahh thanks that’s a good idea, I’ll let you know if it’s a success 😊
        Ania
        Ania:
        My pleasure, Helen, and I certainly hope that it will be! x Ania
Dean:
I am a huge Ferrero Roche fanatic and I have to say that these are every bit as good, if not better, than the original. Easy to make with simple ingredients and techniques. The only problem is eating just one! Go make these now! Do it! And share some with me!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Aw, thank you Dean - that's such a massive compliment! Hahaha, and I can so relate to eating more than one (that's one of a very few downsides of running a food blog). Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a kind review, I really appreciate it. x Ania
Izzy Davis:
These are in the post! So glad I made far too many so we devoured many of them last night, had to do the taste test obviously!!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hashanah, I do that too! I hope they will arrive quickly and will be enjoyed. x Ania
Izzy:
Perfect thank you so much, I know it will make his day! (wanted to check unless he opens up a chocolate puddle!) this time of year I'm sure it will be kept cool in transit anyway!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Good luck! It's such a sweet (literally ;) ) gesture and I am sure he will be very moved. x Ania
Izzy:
These look divine! I want to make these for my Dads birthday, pop them in a box and send them in the post. Do you think they would last if i sent them first class or do they really need to be in the fridge all the time?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Izzy,
    What a lovely idea. Once you make them they don't have to be in the fridge the whole time but they should not be exposed to warmth either. If your dad lives in the same country (assuming UK) and if Royal Mail isn't completely stuffed because of the pandemic, it should be fine. Maybe wrapping the box in some bubble wrap for extra isolation would be good too. Hope this helps! x Ania
Amy:
These are easy to make and so delicious! I made a whole bunch of them with my flatmates and we could not stop eating them. Thank you for another great recipe - it's a keeper! Amy
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thank you, Amy! I'm so happy to hear that you and your flatmates enjoyed them and that you plan to make again. Ania
Karen Call:
Would raw cacao work well instead of melting a chocolate bar? Just curious! Thank you!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Karen,
    No, it won't, I am afraid as you need some source of fat to be able to have creamy truffles. Ania
Zoe:
These are my new best friends!! They are so easy to make and delicious, I'm obsessed! Thank you so much x Zoe
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks, Zoe! I'm chuffed to hear that you enjoy these so much! Ania
Mel K:
Looks amazeballs!!! Can't wait to test this one out, I can never say no to a Ferrero Rocher <3
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks! Hope they'll hit the spot! Ania
Becca:
When you say coconut milk, do you mean the stuff in tins or the stuff in cartons meant as a dairy milk substitute?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Becca,
    I mean the one that comes in a tin. Click on the ingredient link and you'll see the exact brand that I use. Hope that helps! Ania
Anca:
Just made them. The mixture behaved really well, and I managed to home make the peanut butter too, however the taste of the dark chocolate is so pronounced that you can't feel the peanut in the middle taste almost at all. I used dark chocolate with 74% cocoa, and only 1 tsp of coffee in the mixture, the marple syrup I used was A grade. Did yours also had this pronounced taste? Next time I am thinking to maybe try it with milk chocolate, to avoid the dark chocolate too pronounced taste.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Anca,
    No, I would not say it did - it tasted of both chocolate and hazelnuts. Glad to hear that it worked out well and I guess you'll need to adjust the flavour to your tastebuds next time. Ania
Alice Long:
Hi Ania,
I’m planning to make these as a Christmas gift for my mum, how long do they keep for after they’ve been made would you say?
Very excited to give them a go!
Thanks,
Alice
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Alice,
    I'm not sure as none of these things keep in my house at all (they get eaten pretty quickly) but my guess is that they will probably keep for a week or so in the fridge. Hope that helps! Ania
Aimee:
Hello Ania,
I am in the USA, how much vegan dark chocolate should I use? Thank you!
Warmly,
Aimee
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Aimee,
    150 g is 5.3 oz :) - sorry, I forgot to convert this, I will amend the recipe now. Hope that helps! Ania
Tova:
These were INCREDIBLE! Made a huge batch. You were right, they were pretty messy to make & making hazelnut butter for the 1st time was 'interesting' (never made it to the oily, runny stage...lost patience!). But they look perfect and they taste...OMG! Ania you are in our kitchen every week, making life tastier 🤗
    Ania
    Ania:
    Aw, thanks so much for your kind words, Tova! Much appreciated. Ha ha, yes, truffles are usually messy but who cares when they taste so good, right ;) So happy to hear that my little blog is making a difference to your life. x Ania
Elise Barrus:
These were so so good! (Even though my homemade nut butter didn't turn out so well!) Your blog is amazing. I am loving these recipes. It's so nice to find gourmet vegan recipes that don't have obscure ingredients and that are easy!! Thank you for what you do!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Aw, thank you so much for kind words, Elise :) You made my day! Sorry to hear about your 'nut butter gate' - what went wrong? Maybe there is a solution :) Ania
      Elise:
      I tried to do it in my VonShef and it's just not cut out for chopping nuts. I just need a food processor!
        Ania
        Ania:
        sounds like you do, BUT don't feel you need to splash out for a super expensive / high tech machine (unless you want of course ;) ) I make mine in 6 year old Kenwood that I bought for £50 (and it came with a blender attachment too) so really average machine and it works well. Ania
Kaylie | Healthy Hacks:
What adorable little balls of perfection!! These look amazing!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks Kaylie! :) Ania
Bethany @ athletic avocado:
Ferrero Rochers are my weakness when it comes to candy, you can never have to many! Kudos to you for making them a little bit healthier so I don't feel as guilty :)
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks Bethany, hope they will hit the spot if you decide to try them. Ania
Ashley @ The Naked Food Life:
These look identical to the real thing. But much fresher, and probably much tastier. Thanks for sharing Ania!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks Ashley! :)
DON'T MISS A SINGLE RECIPE
Join our mailing list and we we will let you know when we publish a new recipe. You'll receive our DELIGHTFUL DESSERTS E-BOOK as a thank you for supporting us.