Vegan Fudge

An easy recipe for vegan fudge, smooth melt in the mouth fudge with two delicious flavours either vanilla or coconut lime.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: New Zealand

Keyword: vegan fudge, vegan fudge recipe, coconut fudge, coconut lime fudge

Servings: pieces

Calories: 176kcal

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Prepare a tin for your fudge to set in. I line a 20cm square cake tin with baking paper. The tin does not get baked so you can actually set your fudge in anything. Lining the tin means it is easy to lift out the fudge when it has cooled.
Place the sugar and water in a medium, heavy-based saucepan. Heat over medium heat until all the sugar crystals have dissolved.
Add the vegan butter, and heat until melted. Once melted add the salt and coconut condensed milk.
Increase the temperature until your fudge mixture comes to a boil. Boil for approximately 5 minutes you are aiming for a soft-ball stage (which is 115 degrees Celsius) Remove from the heat, and add half the lime zest or the vanilla extract
Remove from the heat, and add half the lime zest
Now it's time to beat the fudge. I use an electric beater and beat until the fudge is creamy and thick (it will almost be setting) and has lost its glossiness. It should now appear like it has a matt finish.
Pour into your prepared tin, sprinkle with the remaining lime zest and pop into the fridge until cool.
Slice into squares.

Ensuring the sugar crystals have all dissolved before adding the other ingredients will ensure your fudge does not have a grainy or gritty texture.
Be sure to get your fudge mixture up to temperature, a soft-ball will give the best fudge texture. A candy thermometer can be invaluable for this.
Beat, beat, beat and beat a little bit more. I find I get the best fudge if I continue to beat the fudge until it has not only lost its glossiness but has also thickened and cooled to the point that the beaters leave waves in the surface of the fudge.
This recipe can be made in the microwave in a micowave safe bowl. Follow the steps above, but instead of heating on the stovetop heat the fudge in the microwave on high for 1-minute intervals until the soft ball temperature is met.
Coconut condensed milk: Coconut condensed milk can be found in the long-life milk section of the supermarket, it will be next to the regular condensed milk.
sugar
Vegan butter: The vegan butter I used contained a combination of Shea butter oil (43%), coconut oil (21%), and rapeseed oil (11%).
Zest of a lime: You can use lemon or lime zest both go well with the coconut-flavoured fudge. Or you can leave out the citrus and opt for vanilla extract. Peppermint extract or any flavoured extracts will also work depending on your taste preferences