I haven’t done fudge in years because it’s a sugar bomb, but it occurred to me that my eldest, who is dairy/soy/egg/peanut/wheat allergic, might never have had actual fudge in 24 years and that’s just wrong. Fudge is one of the simplest things to make, and with the advent of canned sweetened condensed coconut milk, it’s now possible to make this traditionally dairy-laden dessert completely vegan, without compromise.
Fudge ingredients
The ratios on this are super simple:
1 bag (9-12 oz) of chocolate chips to 1 small (7 oz) can of sweetened, condensed coconut milk.
We used 1 bag of Enjoy Life semisweet chocolate chunks and 1 bag of Sunspire bittersweet dairy-free chocolate chips, plus 2 small cans of sweetened, condensed coconut milk. (If you’re using dairy sweetened condensed milk, it usually comes in 14 oz cans. Use 1 for 2 bags of chips.)
I love Sunspire chips but don’t buy them on Amazon, they’re widely available in natural food stores for less than half the price.
And enough Earth Balance soy-free margarine (or just coconut oil!) to line the Pyrex dish.
Directions
First of all, in a microwave-safe bowl (Pyrex is ideal, plastic is iffy), pour all the chocolate chips and spoon out/dump/whatever all the sweetened condensed milk. It doesn’t matter if it’s lumpy, since heating and stirring will smooth everything out.
Then put the bowl in the microwave for 15 seconds. Stir.
Repeat. This is super important. If you go longer than 15 seconds, you’ll start getting hot spots that will fry the chocolate and the results will NOT be good. You will keep doing this: 15 seconds, stir, 15 seconds, stir, for 4-12 rounds depending on your microwave. Each time you stir, the chocolate and coconut will be more blended.
While it’s heating, oil your baking dish with butter, margarine or shortening (2 bags of chocolate chips=9×9 ish. 3 bags =9×13.)
When the result is a smooth, lovely melty goo with no lumps, pour it into the greased pan. Fridge until set, then cut.
This makes a simple fudge. You can dress it up with candy cane pieces, nuts, whatever. But we’re just doing it plain because my youngest is Picky and Does Not Like Things.
The end result is a super smooth, creamy fudge that would work equally well as a truffle filling or hot fudge sauce. Not too sweet, it melts almost instantly on your tongue. This is very rich, cut it small! It would also mold very well in shaped silicone candy molds.
Want to make marshmallow fudge? Pair this with my great marshmallow recipe!
