Vegan Kinder Riegel (Chocolate Sticks with Milk Filling)

I would really like to tell you now that our recipe for vegan „Kinder Riegel“ is absolutely easy and a sure-fire success. But this recipe involves tempering chocolate, and it's worth investing 2–3 minutes before you start the recipe. But don't worry: tempering chocolate is not rocket science; you can do it. You just need to remember a few points, which we will explain to you immediately so that no questions remain unanswered. The rest is not that difficult, we promise! So, let's get straight into it:

Why do you need to temper chocolate?

If chocolate is not tempered when it melts, it turns gray and loses its shine and crunch. This is not a problem at all if you are using melted chocolate in a brownie batter, for example, but unfortunately, it is quite unattractive if you want something in a crunchy chocolate shell or are preparing chocolate bars.

If the chocolate has not been tempered, you won't be able to get your bars out of the mold at the end, and the chocolate will turn grey and look dull. Your result will look nothing like the original.

How to temper chocolate correctly?

Well, what do you have to do to prevent this from happening? It's actually quite simple because it all depends on the temperature of the chocolate when it melts. When you prepare the water bath for your chocolate, you should first set your stove to a low setting (for example, setting 4 out of 10). You can then use a thermometer to check the temperature of your chocolate perfectly. It should never be hotter than 40-45 °C / 105 - 115 °F. Once this temperature has been reached and your chocolate has melted, remove the chocolate from the heat and add about a third of the total mass. This is also known as „seeding“. This cools the chocolate down again to around 31-32 °C / 87-89 °F. During this time, stir slowly with a spatula until the last third of the chocolate has also melted – using only the residual heat from the other chocolate, without a water bath.

If you prefer to watch videos here, the tempering of chocolate is also explained really well.

Do I need any special equipment to temper the chocolate?

A thermometer is, of course, particularly suitable for checking the temperature of the chocolate. If you don't have one, just try to melt the chocolate very slowly. With some luck, this will work (I speak from experience).

A pot for your water bath and a bowl is, of course, essential for melting the chocolate. You can, of course, also melt the chocolate in a microwave, but controlling the temperature is a little more difficult here.

Avoid using a whisk or mixer when stirring in the chocolate, as we don't want to incorporate any air into the chocolate. A dough scraper works really well for this.

Do I need anything else for the recipe?

Almost forgot! A mold in a chocolate bar shape would, of course, be very practical because otherwise, it would be difficult to get the typical „Kinder Riegel“ shape. Just search for it online, and you'll find a few products. Our mold measures 20 x 13 x 15 centimeters / 8 x 5 x 6 inches and is made of hard plastic. So, we didn't use a silicone mold.

And what about the ingredients?

They are actually pretty straightforward. You can find vegan white and „milk“ chocolate in larger supermarkets or online. To make the bars look and taste like the original, we would not recommend dark chocolate, as it is simply too bitter. Search for „vegan white chocolate bar“ in your browser, and you'll find a few products. We like to use a blonde one. You can also find great oat milk powder online, and REWE even has its own brand of oat milk powder. Then all you need is coconut oil, which you can find in almost every supermarket. And you're ready to go!