Vegan White Christmas Slice

This easy Vegan White Christmas Slice without copha is a delicious gluten free, dairy free, gourmet version of the traditional Christmas recipe. Made with cranberries, pistachio nuts and currents, the slice is also grain free and paleo friendly. It’s lower in sugar too.

Instead of using a lot of processed ingredients, this white christmas recipe is secretly healthier thanks to some clever whole food substitutions. The result is a creamy, vegan slice that’s just sweet enough with all the best mix-ins. You can also easily customise the mix-ins to suit your taste.

How to make white christmas without copha

To make a healthier white christmas without copha, I do the following:

1. Use cocoa butter instead of copha. Copha is usually a key ingredient in white christmas recipes. It is a brand name for a vegetable fat shortening that is produced in Australia. It’s made from hydrogenated coconut oil. For a less processed option, I use cocoa butter in this recipe.
2. Add desiccated coconut. To make up for the loss of coconut flavor from the copha, I add unsweetened desiccated coconut to the recipe. It blends with the cashew nuts before mixing with the melted cocoa butter.

Gluten free and dairy free white christmas

To keep this white christmas gluten free and grain free, I leave out the rice bubbles that are usually added to white christmas recipes. However, if you love the texture that rice bubbles provide, you can easily mix some into the recipe. I actually added some puffed brown rice to the mixture on my first attempt at the recipe, and it did turn out nicely.

Many white christmas recipes also include white chocolate. However, cocoa butter can be used instead for a dairy free version. Cocoa butter, also known as cacao butter, is a fat extracted from the cocoa bean. It’s used to make chocolate, and is responsible for chocolate’s smooth and creamy mouthfeel.

Another benefit of using cocoa butter instead of white chocolate is that you can control the sugar content of the recipe. Cocoa butter is not sweetened, so you can add your own sweetener to the recipe to suit your taste. Maple syrup is what I find works best here, but you can use other liquid sweeteners like brown rice syrup or honey if you prefer.

Ingredients for vegan white christmas slice

• Cocoa butter: To hold the slice together and provide a beautiful creamy texture. You can use melted coconut oil as a substitute if needed.
• Raw cashew nuts: Blended with the melted cocoa butter and coconut to create the creamy base mixture. Another creamy nut like macadamia nuts of brazil nuts instead if you prefer.
• Unsweetened desiccated coconut: To provide a subtle coconut flavor. I buy desiccated coconut that doesn’t have any added preservatives, like sulphites. You can usually find inexpensive, preservative-free coconut at bulk health food stores.
• Maple syrup: To sweeten the slice. Maple syrup works really well to cut through the rich creaminess of the cocoa butter. However, you could use brown rice syrup or honey if you prefer.
• Dried cranberries: To mix into the slice for delicious flavor and ruby red color. You can substitute another dried fruit if you like.
• Pistachio nuts: To mix into the slice for a gourmet vibe. Since pistachio nuts can be quite expensive, you can easily use another nut if you prefer. If using larger nuts, I would roughly chop them before adding to the mixture.
• Currants: Another dried fruit mix-in. Currants remind me of Christmas, but you can substitute any dried fruit that you like.
• Vanilla extract: Blends so well with the creamy cocoa butter. You can also use vanilla paste or vanilla bean seeds if you have them for a super luxe option.
• Salt: Essential to bring out the flavors in the slice. I never skip it.

How to store this vegan white christmas slice

This vegan white christmas slice is best stored in an airtight container in the fridge. It will last this way for up to one week. If it stays out at warm room temperatures, it will start to soften slightly.

The slice also freezes well. After cutting the slice into portions, you can freeze the portions separated by some baking paper. That way, it’s easy to defrost as many portions as you need in the fridge overnight.

More vegan slice recipes

• Chocolate Sour Cherry Slice
• Vegan No Bake Chocolate Mint Slice
• 4 Ingredient Vegan Peanut Butter Bars
• Chocolate Raspberry Chia Slice
• Dark Chocolate Ginger Slice

You can find more healthy slices on the Bar and Slice Recipes page.

Vegan White Christmas Slice Recipe

Notes

1. Cocoa butter – Cocoa butter, or cacao butter, is usually sold in buttons or chunks in the health food section of supermarkets, at health food stores or online. If you can’t find it, you can use melted coconut oil instead.
2. Scaling the recipe – You can easily scale this recipe up or down and set it in a range of containers. If you double the recipe, you can use an 8 inch / 20 cm square cake tin. You could also spoon the mixture into mini muffin or cupcake cases for individual portions.
3. Storage – Store the slice in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. It also freezes well. If you leave it out at warm room temperatures, it will start to soften slightly.

Nutrition Facts

• Serving size: 1 piece
• Energy: 138 Calories / 579 Kilojoules
• Total Fat: 10.5 g
• Saturated Fat: 5 g
• Total Carbohydrate: 9.7 g
• Dietary Fiber: 1.7 g
• Sugars: 6.4 g
• Protein: 2.3 g
• Sodium: 18 mg
• Potassium: 54 mg