Vegan Fudge Recipe | Carnation (2024)

FAQs

Which is better for fudge evaporated or condensed milk? ›

Condensed milk is thicker and sweetened. If you want it to be the right consistency and flavor do not substitute. How can I make a fudge recipe without using evaporated milk? Evaporated milk is used to richen the texture of the fudge.

The main reason is that your Fudge has not reached the optimum temperature. If your mixture only reaches 110 or 112 degrees Celsius it will always be soft. That's why we recommend investing in a sugar thermometer. Another reason your Fudge is not setting is that the ratio of liquid to sugar is too high.

But sadly, they're not vegan. However, it's easy to make your own dairy-free version at home. All you need to do is make your own condensed milk using coconut milk, sugar, and vanilla extract, and blend it together with frozen vegan chocolate milk, alongside milk cubes, cream, sugar, and more vanilla.

For the most part, if you find yourself without condensed milk on hand, you can substitute an equal amount of evaporated milk. The consistency will be the same, but since evaporated milk is unsweetened, you'll need to add sweetener to match the recipe's intended flavor profile or to suit your personal preference.

With its very similar consistency, 1 cup of heavy cream can replace 1 cup of evaporated milk in sweet and savory dishes. While the flavor will be blander than evaporated milk's unique caramelized tones, the texture will be noticeably richer.

To fix oily, hard or grainy fudge, scoop the fudge back into a pot with about a cup of water. Cook it over low heat until the fudge dissolves. Then bring the fudge back up to the temperature specified in the recipe and follow the remaining steps. The flavor may be slightly diluted, but the texture will be improved.

OPTION 4) If you think the reason it didn't set was because you didn't heat it to the right temperature, you could try putting it back into the pan and re-cooking.

If there is too much evaporation, when the cooking time is too long, there will not be enough water left in the fudge and it will be too hard. Conversely, if the cooking time is too brief and there is not enough evaporation, too much water will remain and the fudge will be too soft.

Stir the ingredients to dissolve the sugar until the mixture comes to a boil. If your recipe uses milk, stirring will keep the mixture from curdling. But once it reaches about 236–238 degrees F/113–114 degrees C (the "soft-ball" stage), do not stir it or even shake the pan.

What makes high quality fudge? ›

You have to control two temperatures to make successful fudge: the cooking temperature AND the temperature at which the mixture cools before stirring to make it crystallize. Confectionery experiments have shown that the ideal cooking temperature for fudge is around 114 to 115 °C (237 to 239 °F).

Without stirring or agitating the pot, allow the fudge to cool to 130°F (54°C)—or even lower! Harold McGee says that “candy texture is affected by the syrup temperature at which crystallization begins,” and this is the temperature where the seeds can form correctly.

Many vegan bakers agree that the easiest and tastiest dairy-free alternative to condensed milk is made with coconut milk. Since thickness is part of what you're looking for, it's helpful that full-fat coconut milk is already quite dense.

Now, vegan versions of evaporated milk exist in grocery stores, but most store-bought evaporated milk is made with cow's milk and unsuitable for a vegan diet.

Evaporated milk has added sugar and carbohydrates which are very high, making sweetened condensed milk not healthy for nutritional intake for babies and children, Ali explained.

Evaporated Milk Vs.

Sweetened condensed milk also has 60% of the water removed, but contains 40% sugar. Due to the big flavor difference, they cannot be substituted for each other. Always double-check which can you grabbed off the grocery store shelf to be sure it's the ingredient you're looking for.

It sounds like your fudge simply wasn't heated enough. Fudge is basically a superconcentrated syrup, and it sets when sugar dissolved in the water (from the butter and milk) comes out of solution as the mixture cools and forms crystals.

As Leal explains: "Evaporated milk offers creaminess without sweetness and is suitable for savory dishes and some desserts. On the other hand, sweetened condensed milk is intensely sweet and used in desserts and sweet treats, thanks to its thick, syrupy texture."

While we don't recommend substituting condensed milk for evaporated milk or vice versa, you can make your own condensed milk when you're in a pinch. Simply heat together 1½ cups of sugar and one can of evaporated milk until the sugar has fully dissolved.