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4.96 from 65 votes

Vegan Chocolate Croissants

These vegan chocolate croissants are a delight for the senses! Crispy, buttery, and generously filled with delicious dark chocolate, this recipe yields 8 decadent treats. This recipe is spread across 2 days, but worry not! You'll only need to actively work for 1 hour throughout the entire process. With only 7 easy-to-find ingredients, these croissants are a breeze to make.
Prep Time1 minute
Cook Time25 minutes
Resting time12 hours
Total Time13 hours 40 minutes
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: French
Keyword: chocolate croissants, pain au chocolat
Servings: 8
Calories: 818kcal
Author: Carlo Cao

Equipment

  • 1 Rolling Pin
  • 1 ruler
  • 1 pastry brush
  • baking sheet
  • plastic wrap

Ingredients

Dough

  • 600 grams all-purpose flour 12% protein plus more for dusting
  • 70 grams sugar
  • 12 grams salt
  • 7 grams active dry yeast
  • 220 grams water at room temperature
  • 100 grams oat, soy or almond milk unsweetened, at room temperature
  • 60 grams stable vegan butter** chilled

Beurrage

  • 340 grams stable vegan butter** chilled
  • 34 grams all-purpose flour

Filling:

  • 160 g vegan dark chocolate cut into 10 cm long bars

Brushing

  • 3 tablespoons vegan cream

Instructions

Détrempe (day 1)

  • Begin by preparing the dough. Combine flour, salt, sugar, yeast, oat milk, and water in a sizable bowl. Stir until the ingredients form a dough. If available, utilize a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment on low speed.
  • Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and allow the mixture to rest for 20 minutes. Subsequently, knead the dough until it becomes smooth and elastic. Add the vegan butter into the dough and continue kneading until fully incorporated. The dough should exhibit a smooth and glossy texture.
  • Shape the dough into a ball and make a cross-shaped incision on its surface using a sharp knife. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and allow it to rise until doubled in size. Then, transfer it to the refrigerator and let it chill for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight.

Beurrage

  • In a spacious bowl, combine vegan butter and flour, and mix thoroughly using a fork. This ensures that the butter remains intact within the chocolate croissants during baking. Refrigerate the butter mixture for a brief period to allow it to slightly solidify.
  • Following that, use a spoon to dollop the butter onto a 20x20 centimeters (8x8 inches) piece of baking paper. Transfer the butter onto a larger parchment paper sheet by flipping it over.
  • Press the butter tightly, then flip and roll it to ensure even distribution into the corners of the square. Place it in the refrigerator to allow it to rest.

First lamination

  • Remove the dough from the refrigerator and shape it into a square measuring 20x20 centimeters (8x8 inches). Arrange two sheets of plastic wrap in a cross formation on the work surface, then place the dough at the center where they intersect. Wrap the dough, ensuring its edges remain squared. Roll a rolling pin over it to ensure the dough fills the plastic wrap, forming an 8-inch square with straight sides and right angles. Place it in the freezer for 20 minutes.
  • Take the dough out of the freezer and remove the butter from the fridge. Roll out the dough into a 40 x 20 cm (16 x 8 inches) rectangle. Position the vegan butter block in the center of the rectangle. Fold both sides of the dough over the butter towards the center, pressing firmly along all seams to ensure the butter is completely enclosed.
  • Rotate the dough 90 degrees to orient the center seam vertically. Roll out the dough lengthwise along the seam until it extends to a length of 60 centimeters (24 inches), ensuring the width remains consistent at 20 centimeters (8 inches) throughout. Trim off any surplus dough at the shorter ends with a sharp knife, and square the corners to achieve a uniformly shaped rectangle with straight edges.
  • Fold the shorter edges of the rectangle towards the center of the dough slab, ensuring they meet seamlessly with a slight gap at the center.
  • Fold the entire dough slab in half widthwise, resulting in a rectangular packet. Wrap it in plastic wrap, ensuring it is tightly sealed, and then transfer it to the freezer for a 20-minute chill followed by 1 hour in the refrigerator.

Second lamination

  • After allowing the dough to rest at room temperature for 5 minutes, roll it out into a new slab measuring 60x20 centimeters (32x8 inches). Implement a tri-fold technique akin to folding a letter: lower the top third of the slab over the center third, then raise the bottom third up and over. Subsequently, tightly wrap the square in plastic wrap, placing it in the freezer for 15 minutes before refrigerating for 1 hour.
  • After letting the dough sit at room temperature for 5 minutes, roll it out into a slab measuring 30x35 centimeters (12x14 inches). Securely wrap the slab in plastic wrap, then place it in the freezer for 20 minutes followed by an overnight chill in the refrigerator (8 to 12 hours).

Shaping (day 2)

  • Allow the dough to rest at room temperature for 5 minutes, then roll it out to a size of 45x35 centimeters (17x14 inches). Using a sharp knife, trim the shorter sides to create a rectangle measuring 40x35 centimeters (16x14 inches).
  • Then, proceed to cut the rectangle into four smaller rectangles, each measuring 10x35 centimeters (4x14 inches). Ensure the rectangles are separated so they do not touch.
  • Cut each rectangle width-wise in half, resulting in 8 (10x17.5 centimeters / 4x7 inches) smaller rectangles. Place a stick of chocolate on the edge of a rectangle and roll tightly enclosing it in the dough.
  • Then place a second chocolate stick on the dough and roll tightly. Place the croissants on a baking sheet, seam side down, leaving some space between them.

Baking

  • Brush the vegan chocolate croissants with water and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Allow them to rise until doubled in size. This will take around 3 hours at 25 degrees Celsius (77 Fahrenheit). Then gently brush them with vegan cream.
  • Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius (375 degrees Fahrenheit), and bake the croissants in the middle of the oven for approximately 25-30 minutes until they turn golden and crispy.

Nutrition

Calories: 818kcal | Carbohydrates: 81g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 50g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 13g | Monounsaturated Fat: 23g | Trans Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 926mg | Potassium: 262mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 35IU | Vitamin C: 0.003mg | Calcium: 48mg | Iron: 6mg