#russian fudge

Last week I lost a bet and then needed to try to make vegan fudge. The problem was that the recipe I tried didn’t work. I cooked it for well over the amount of time the recipe called for, but it wasn’t thickening up. I thought it was at the soft-ball stage, but it never set. So instead of fudge, I had a pan of goo. However, ages ago I made Russian fudge, and found the recipe in a box. I tried it again with a couple of changes from the original recipe, and it worked beautifully! I can’t believe I hadn’t added this sooner. Anyway, so without further adieu, I give you the recipe;

We start by making sweetened condensed milk alternative, but if you’re willing to pay for vegan sweetened condensed milk, you can skip this step.

Be warned: this whole process took me two hours, start to finish, not counting time to cool the fudge.

Sweetened Condensed Milk:

Makes 1/2 cup

1 1/2 cup milk alternative (you can use soy, I’ve used rice, and almond milk is my favourite)

1/4 cup white sugar

Add the milk alternative to a saucepan and stir in the sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the volume is reduced to 1/2 cup. When it reduces, you need to pour it into a measuring cup to check the volume - and note that it won’t look thick because it’s warm, but if you let it cool down it will thicken to be like pudding. If you want to use this for other recipes, you can go ahead and add a few drops of vanilla and a pinch of salt, but otherwise, just go on to the next part of the recipe. This process took me about 3/4 of an hour, but I never let the liquid come to a boil.

Vegan Russian Fudge

For this recipe, you need to stir constantly, and then do a few things in rapid succession, to make sure to have everything ready: a 10cm x 20cm tray that’s lined with baking paper, egg beaters plugged in beside something you can put  hot pot on (like a pot holder), small spoons, a glass of water for testing the fudge - and you will also probably want a large bowl to put used water, and clean water in a measuring cup to refill your glass - beside the stove, a spatula and a wooden spoon, have the vanilla and a teaspoon ready beside the egg beaters.  

1 3/4 cups white sugar

1/4 cup + 1 tsp vegan margarine (I used Olivani)

1 1/2 tbsp syrup (the original recipe suggested golden syrup, but I used maple syrup this time and it worked really well)

1/4 cup milk alternative (soy, rice, or almond - but I like almond the best)

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp vanilla

If you used a large enough pot to sweeten and condense your milk alternative, then you can just keep it in the pot and add the other ingredients (except for the vanilla). Remember that the volume of the fudge increases to nearly twice as much when it boils, so use a bigger pot to be on the safe side.

Warm over gentle heat until the sugar dissolves, then it will start to boil and put a lid on the pot and let it boil for 2-3 minutes. Then take off the lid and stir constantly until it’s at the soft-ball stage, which takes about 15 to 20 min.

To test for the soft-ball stage - you can use a thermometer (120C), but it’s best to also (or only) use the glass of water method. Take a small spoon and scoop out some of the boiling fudge and drop it in a glass of cool water. If it disperses, it’s not ready. Keep cooking. It will be ready when it drops into the glass and stays solid, and when you pick it up you can roll it into a ball with your fingers and it will flatten after a few moments in your hand. When this happens, take it immediately off the stove.

Place the pot on your pot holder and add the vanilla. Beat with egg beaters for a few minutes, until the fudge gets thick, creamy, and loses its gloss. When that happens, pour it into the lined pan. Don’t scrape the sides of the pot with a spatula when you do this, you might introduce sugar crystals that will make it grainy and awful. I would suggest you take a spare container and scrape the last dregs out of the pot and let that be ‘Grade B’ fudge so it doesn’t damage your finished product.

Let it cool on the counter. It should start to set up pretty fast. If after a half hour it’s still liquid, you didn’t cook it long enough. Pour it back in the pot, and heat it up to the right temperature this time.

Sweet, sticky, delicious and waiting for you to tuck into ...... I can feel my waistband stretching  just looking at it  even - best not start or the whole tray will disappear faster than a rat up a drainpipe.  Talking of rats, they are trying to get inside again - note to self - put out the bait - no, NOT fudge !  Wonder how fast they would become obese if I put the fudge tray out there ......