Dairy-Free Chocolate Glaze (Parve, Passover)

Necessity was the mother of invention for Giora Shimoni when he created this dairy-free chocolate glaze. He says he'd frequently bake a cake, only to find that he "lacked the powdered sugar needed to make the icing." Then he hit on this combination -- essentially a DIY cocoa powder-based chocolate syrup enriched with dark chocolate and vanilla -- which produces a thick, glossy, almost ganache-like glaze. While Shimoni uses it for cake, I found it's also well suited for filling sandwich cookies, drizzling over desserts, or as a dip for fruit. 

Miri's Recipe Testing Notes and Tips:

Shimoni's original recipe used margarine, but I prefer to avoid it, as most pareve brands contain dangerous trans fats, and impart an unpleasantly waxy mouthfeel. I used virgin (aka unrefined) coconut oil with good results. Note that this will add a bit of coconut flavor to the frosting, so if you want a more neutral flavor, opt for a non-hydrogenated margarine. Many cooks swear by Earth Balance Buttery Spread, though I find it too salty for most sweet recipes. 

This recipe will thicken considerably as it cools, so if you're using it to glaze a cake, try to work with it quickly while it is still warm. Note that if you refrigerate the frosting, it will become very firm and hard to spread -- but it will be perfect for rolling into truffles, or for stuffing into dried fruit. 

Updated by Miri Rotkovitz