rants & recipes

I've been wondering, for a long time, how using coconut milk would work in a stovetop fudge recipe. (Stovetop meaning that you cook the ingredients to soft-ball stage, as opposed to mixing up powdered sugar and melted chocolate chips.) I couldn't really find a recipe but I did read in a few comments to blog posts, of people having success subbing coconut milk. So I decided to give it a try. I substituted it, for equal measure, in Paula Deen's fudge recipe. It turned out reall well - soft, creamy and chocolatey. There was no coconut flavor in the final fudge (though I used Trader Joe's canned coconut milk and, I have to say, it's definitely not the best coconut milk I've ever had).

• 1 cup (210 grams) full-fat canned coconut milk
• 3 cups (600 grams) sugar
• 5-6 tbsp (45 grams) cocoa powder
• 3 tbsp (55 grams) corn syrup
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp (60 grams) vegan margarine
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Mix the cocoa powder and sugar. Break up any lumps of cocoa powder.
2. Attach your candy thermometer to your pan. I used a 4 quart pan but I *think* a 2 quart pan would have worked.
3. Add the sugar, along with the corn syrup, salt, and coconut milk to your pan.
4. Heat on medium low until everything is mixted together well and there are no dry areas left.
5. Turn heat up to medium or a tad higher.
6. Measure out margarine and vanilla. Set aside.
7. Stir fudge mixture until it reaches 240 degrees F.
8. Remove pan from heat and dump in margarine and vanilla. Do not stir yet.
9. Grease a pan - I used a 9*13 pan but the fudge was too stiff by the time I un-panned it. Which was probably a good thing because that pan was too big. An 8*8 would work well, if you un-pan earlier.
10. Let mixture cool until it reaches about 130 to 120 degrees.
11. Stir mixture vigoursly until ... well, until about 5 minutes before it starts to set up. Good luck, I always blow this step and mix it about a minute too long. (Sites always say it will turn dull and lose its shine. Mine never does. Tip - have utensils on hand to scrap the fudge out of the pot. I stir with a rounded wooden spoon, which isn't good for getting into the pan corners.
12. Spread fudge in your greased pan and allow to cool and finish setting.