Vegan cherry ripe cups

These treats are inspired by a classic Australian chocolate bar, the Cherry Ripe! I made chocolate from scratch and used it to enclose a juicy and sweet cherry and coconut filling. These snacks are moreish, can be left out at room temperature and the perfect bite size!

There are so many 3-ingredient DIY chocolate recipes online. However, many of them use coconut oil which I personally don’t like. If I want chocolate, I don’t want it to taste coconut! I used cacao butter instead of coconut oil which is a key ingredient in the chocolate you get from the shops. I love cacao butter because it has a higher melting point than coconut oil so you can leave it out at room temperature… unless it’s really really hot!

I wanted to make this recipe simple so only used 3 ingredients for the chocolate. Chocolate can be fiddly because, most of the time, you’re trying to combine water (liquid sweetener) with oil (cacao butter). The cacao powder helps emulsify the two! However, the more sweetener you put in, the more difficult it is for the chocolate to set. For this reason, the chocolate recipe below isn’t very sweet. You can add in other ingredients to help emulsify the chocolate (like coconut cream), but if you do, the chocolate won’t have that nice crack which is essential for these cups!

Or if you want to skip the whole process of making chocolate, just get your favourite chocolate bar from the shops and melt it down!

I hope you enjoy this recipe and please let me know how you go if you make them!

If you try this recipe, I would love to hear about it! Comment below and rate it as it would really help us and other readers! If you post it on social media, tag @rainbownourishments and #rainbownourishments.

Print Recipe

Vegan Cherry Ripe Cups

A healthier and wholesome take on a classic supermarket treat! These cherry ripe cups are a great snack to keep in your fridge/freezer for any time of the day or they would be a great treat to share with loved ones!

Servings: 10 mini cups

Ingredients

Chocolate

• 1 cup finely chopped store-bought chocolate + 2 tbsp cacao butter or coconut oil OR
• 3/4 cup finely chopped cacao butter
• 1/4 cup cocoa or raw cacao powder
• 3 tbsp any light-coloured sweetener, such as rice malt syrup or maple syrup, or to taste

Cherry filling

• 1 cup pitted cherries, fresh or frozen
• 1/2 cup coconut
• 2 tablespoons cacao butter or coconut oil

Instructions

• If you have store-bought chocolate, melt in a double boiler over low heat. To make your own chocolate, melt the cacao butter in a double boiler over low heat. Remove from heat and stir in cacao powder and syrup until fully combined.
• Spoon around ½ tsp of melted chocolate into the bottom of each silicone mould or lined cupcake moulds. Set aside in the freezer.
• For the cherry filling, place the cherries in a small saucepan with a dash of water over medium heat. Cook until the cherries break down and form a jam-like consistency. Reduce to a little less than ½ cup of mixture then puree with a whizz stick until smooth. Mix in coconut and cacao butter/oil.
• When the chocolate in the moulds have set, remove from freezer. Carefully pipe or spoon cherry mixture into the middle of each cup trying to not let the mixture touch the sides.
• Pour the remaining melted chocolate over the cherry mixture so it goes down the sides of the cups and completely covers the cherry mixture. Decorate as desired.
• Return the cups to the freezer for at least 1 hour or until the chocolate is set. Remove the cups from the moulds and enjoy! The cups can be kept in an airtight container at a cool room temperature for a few hours. Otherwise the cups should be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 2 months.