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I have a recipe for chocolate truffles (basically butter and chocolate) that also includes an egg yolk; presumably to help smooth it and increase the richness.
I know that the recipe would probably work just omitting it, but,
Is there a non-perishable, and preferably vegetable based, substitution that could be used?
They just use it for the lecithine. You can buy straight lecithine (they normally sell soy-based lecithine, but maybe you should check with the producer to make sure it is vegetarian) and dissolve some in the cream. Don't bother replacing the fat, truffels have enough from other sources.
Classic French truffles often add an egg yolk for enrichment. You could use a pasteurized egg product if you'd like, or depending on the recipe you could leave it out all together or replace it with cream since you're using a butter ganache. Alternatively, you can stream in 1/4 cup of boiling water/cream per egg yolk very gently and while whisking to bring the yolks up to 160 degrees. This must be done slowly to prevent the eggs from scrambling.
Many recipes for chocolate truffles use heavy cream and no egg yolk. Here is one example:
