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Chocolate Pots de Crème are a rich and decadent dessert, that reminds me of a cross between a chocolate mousse and fudge. It makes such an impressive treat for a special holiday!
Healthier Chocolate Pots de Crème
This recipe is inspired by a traditional version I tasted at a local bakeshop called Dolce Bakery. Traditionally, chocolate pots de crème feature heavy cream, semi-sweet chocolate, refined sugar, and egg yolks.
This healthier version is naturally sweetened with pure maple syrup, and gets its dairy-free creaminess from cashews. If you’ve ever tried my Vegan Chesecake or Vegan Queso, you know how authentic a dairy-free version can be!
How to Make Dessert Set without Eggs
Instead of using egg yolks, this recipe uses coconut oil to help the chocolate pots firm up in the fridge. Coconut oil is solid when chilled, so don’t be tempted to substitute another oil in its place. (I do cover a few substitutions in the notes below the recipe, though!)
Benefits of Soaking Cashews
This recipe calls for soaked cashews for two reasons. First, soaking the cashews helps soften them up so they will blend more easily in the blender. You want a silky-smooth mixture!
The second reason I like to soak cashews, is that it may help them digest better. In general, soaking nuts, like cashews, may help to lower their phytic acid content— which could prevent nutrient absorption.
This should make the nutrients in cashews more likely to be absorbed in your body!
This dessert is incredibly easy to prepare in your blender (I use my refurbished Vitamix in these photos), so I hope it will be a big hit with whoever you share it with.
More Vegan Chocolate Desserts
If you are looking for more dairy-free and egg-free dessert options, I hope you’ll enjoy the following recipes, too!
- Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake (with hidden zucchini!)
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Brownie Batter Hummus
- Chocolate Avocado Pudding
- Healthy Hot Chocolate
- Date-Sweetened Chocolate Cookies
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie (like a milkshake!)
- Flourless Chocolate Fudge Cake
- Chocolate Chia Pudding
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup raw cashews , soaked in water for up to 2 hours
- 1/2 cup almond milk (or water)
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 6 tablespoons cacao powder
- 6 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- Drain and rinse the cashews well, discarding the soak water.
- Combine the drained cashews, almond milk or water, coconut oil, cocoa powder, maple syrup, vanilla extract and salt in a high-speed blender, and blend until completely smooth and creamy. Stop and scrape down the sides, if needed, to make sure everything is mixed evenly.
- Pour the mixture into 4 small dishes (each serving is roughly 1/2 cup), then place them in the fridge to chill until set, about 3 to 4 hours, or overnight.
- Serve chilled, with coconut whipped cream, sliced strawberries, and/or shaved chocolate on the top, if desired.
- You can make this dish up to 3 days in advance, but I recommend keeping the tops covered if you're going to make them more than 24 hours in advance. (That way the tops won't absorb any other flavors from your fridge.)
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition info is for a single serving, but keep in mind these are very rich! You may only want to eat half at one time, or you may want to split them into eight 1/4-cup servings instead.
Recipe Notes:
- If you’re allergic to coconut, grass-fed butter would most likely work as a substitute for the coconut oil. (But the recipe would no longer be dairy-free or vegan.) As far as I know, no other liquid oil will provide the same results, but vegan butter substitutes that are solid in the fridge should work.
- Other nuts may be able to replace cashews, but the result may not be as creamy. I used soaked hazelnuts in a different batch, and the result was very fibrous when compared to this creamy cashew version. Be sure to soak harder nuts, like almonds, for at least 8 hours for easier blending and digestion.
- I don’t use sugar-free substitutes, but if you have any success using stevia or another sweetener, please share your results in the comments below.
If you try this recipe, please leave a comment below letting me know how you like it. And if you make any modifications, I’d love to hear about those, too! We can all benefit from your experience.
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Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite chocolate dessert?
Really enjoyed this, it’s so creamy and decadent.
I’ve been making this recipe for so many years and I absolutely love it! as well as anyone who’s tried it! I had a friend say they’d give up buying cookies to have this dessert on hand haha.
I find it to be a very forgiving recipe, I’ve substituted cacao butter in place of the coconut oil, I’ve used sugarcane syrup or honey instead of maple syrup, and used half sunflower seeds instead of cashew and pure (melted) 100% cacao in place of the powder. I’ve never been disappointed by this recipe! I usually use about 30g less sweetener because I like dark chocolate.
I like to make it often so i have tried with ingredients that would bring the cost down since cashews and maple syrup are pricey.
Also forgot to mention I typically use water and sometimes hemp milk or coconut milk if I made it recently. I also add rose powder and it’s so good! I always double the recipe and it still doesn’t last long 😅
Really simple and really delicious! This is an amazing dessert! Thanks Megan!
Hi Megan, just wanting to check that 120ml maple syrup is right? It sounds like such a lot, I guess I can start with less, it won’t affect the recipe at all? Planning to make it for guests later this week, they’ve already, over the years, tried my chocolate mousse with avocado in and chocolate mousse made with aquafaba, curious to see what they think of this one!
I am going to try these for a dinner party on Saturday. Can I use Hershey’s Cocoa, Special Dark 100% cacao powder?
That should work, but you can always taste as you go to make sure! Hope it’s a hit.
These little cups were such a treat! Surprisingly easy and quick to prepare! I cut the maple syrup by a tablespoon as I like things less sweet, and it was still a massive hit with my family. Thanks Megan!
These are very rich and tasty. I made it for a Valentine’s Day treat and ended up eating it for VDay breakfast, haha.
I’ve never had one of your desserts I didn’t love. Thank-you Megan! You’re an amazing recipe creator. 😊💕
I made a double recipe for Thanksgiving. It is amazingly smooth and creamy. There is just the right amount of chocolate and it’s not too sweet.
Can’t wait to make this! Wanting to double and take to a friends, making individual cups hard to transport. Could it all be put in one big bowl to chill instead of individual cups?
Yes, I think you could chill it in one big serving container if you would rather do that. I hope it’s a hit!
I grow my own strawberries and freeze them to be used throughout the year. Since frozen strawberries’ texture is not good, I often will puree’ them to be used in yogurt etc. In this recipe I added the strawberry puree’ to the chocolate. And of course the whipped coconut milk on top. And it’s delicious.