This smooth, rich, and perfectly sweet vegan maple cream fudge has been a favorite on Go Dairy Free for many years. So I thought it was time for me to give this post an update with more detailed instructions and some recipe tips.
The Secrets to Perfect Vegan Maple Cream Fudge
Use a Candy Thermometer
It’s not expensive, and a candy thermometer can mean the difference between creamy fudge and a sugary mess. If you drop a bit of the maple mixture into cold water and it forms a soft ball, this is the “soft ball stage.” But it can be easy to overshoot this stage, or to be uncertain on visual cues. A candy thermometer is a more accurate indicator that can help ensure that you don’t overshoot the goal.
Also, be sure your candy thermometer is accurate before starting. When placed in actively boiling water, it should reach 212°F. And make sure your thermometer tip is not touching the sides or bottom of your pan. It should be submerged in the liquid you are measuring, and not touching anything else – otherwise you will be reading the temperature of the pan!
Most grocery stores sell candy thermometers, if you need one in a pinch. But you can also buy one online.
Choose the Right Ingredients
As noted in the recipe, you should use regular, full-fat, canned coconut milk. Do NOT use the drinkable coconut milk beverage sold in cartons. To understand the difference between coconut milk and coconut milk beverage, see this post: What is Coconut Milk?
And this is the time to splurge on real maple syrup. Maple-flavored syrup and pancake syrup usually have additives that could hinder good results. Go for the pure stuff!
Practice Patience
Making vegan maple cream fudge isn’t difficult, but it does involve a fair amount of waiting for heating and cooling. And ten to fifteen minutes can seem like a long time when mixing. But it’s essential for the creamy finish. That said, don’t over-mix! Once it reaches a thick, creamy frosting consistency and loses it’s gloss, press it into your pan and let it set.
Special Diet Notes: Vegan Maple Cream Fudge
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, nut-free, peanut-free, soy-free, vegan, vegetarian, and top food allergy-friendly.
Vegan Maple Cream Fudge
Ingredients
Method
- Grease or line an 8x8-inch baking dish with parchment paper.
- Put the sugars, coconut milk, coconut oil, maple syrup, and salt in a medium saucepan.
- Place the pan over medium heat, and stir to combine as the mixture starts to boil.
- Reduce the heat (to avoid bubbling over) and let bubble the mixture reaches the soft ball stage on a candy thermometer (235 to 240ºF).
- Remove from the heat and whisk in the vanilla.
- Beat for 10 to 15 minutes until the mixture cools and thickens. (I recommend a stand mixer or beaters for this; see Note below.). It should thicken to a frosting consistency.
- Evenly press the mixture into your prepared dish. Let it cool completely before removing and cutting into 1-inch squares. If it is still a little soft at room temperature, you can refrigerate the fudge until firm.
Notes
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73 Comments
I made this fudge and followed the recipe to a tee – took forever to get to soft ball stage (using a candy thermometer) and had to keep turning the heat up to get the temperature to move at all. Put it in my stand mixer, and mixed it for probably 25 minutes before it got to the right consistency. Put it in pan and realized it was grainy, but decided to let it set up anyway. Tried to cut it today and it didn’t set up either. I’m not sure what I could have done differently. Any suggestions?
Hi Beth,
I’m so sorry you had problems! I’ve got a few suggestions on what the issues could have been and how to fix it:
Coconut Milk too Watery – the fact that it took a while to get to the soft ball stage and never fully set up makes me think your mixture had too much moisture. A lot of coconut milk brands these days are low quality (including name brands). Make sure to use one that has a high level of coconut cream. You can even use coconut cream. To make sure, refrigerate the can before opening it for 4 hours or overnight. Open it – the can should be at least half very thick, stand a spoon in it cream, with coconut water on the bottom.
Inaccurate Candy Thermometer: This is a big cause of candy-making failure. A thermometer that reads a few degrees high will cause you to stop cooking too early.
Not Enough Heat: While you don’t want to scorch the sugar, too low a heat will dramatically slow the evaporation of water, making the process take an extremely long time.
Graininess Issues: Once the mixture comes to a boil, do not stir it. It can also help to let the mixture cool to around 110ºF before mixing. Some people find cooling helps, some people don’t see a difference.
I hope this helps!
Decided to wing it with this recipe without a candy thermometer (I’m in China so haven’t seen any in the shops), and halved the amounts just in case it was a disaster, anyway it came together really well, had to use dark brown sugar, so it’s a bit darker than your photos and put it in the fridge to help with setting up. It’s not as soft as easy as fudge normally is, which might be the fridge but it melts in the mouth and is delicious.
First time boiling sugar so I’m happy!
I’m so happy it worked out well for you Eric! And dark brown sugar sounds amazing. Enjoy!
Wow! Not vegan but I needed a luscious kosher and pareve dessert to go with a meat meal and this TOTALY fit the bill. Once the mixture came to a boil, I covered it for one minute to wash down the steam (you can also brush it down on the sides with a moistened brush, but why…?), then let it boil uncovered until it reached 240 degrees. Let it cool for 5 minutes after adding the vanilla and it whipped up amazingly fast at full speed on the stand mixer. I didn’t want to whip it longer than 5 minutes, because it was already the right texture, pulling away from the sides and the beater, and I didn’t want it to get too “dry.” Cooling in the fridge right now, thank you!
Glad it worked so well for you and love the steaming tip! Thanks for your feedback.
This has become my go-to and if I’m patient at the beating phase it always works beautifully. I might try letting it sit for a few minutes before beating, because it simply won’t start to come together until it’s cooled off a little. I would call the texture more “gritty” than “creamy,” but I’ve had really good professional fudge and there’s always a little bit of grit. This is so authentic and delicious.
Thank you so much for your feedback Tzivia!
First time to make fudge! Didn’t have a thermometer but did the put some in cold water truck to check the soft ball. Ever thing came together fine and it set but when cut it cracked. Tastes amazing though and my dairy free boy can eat it ????. Any tips to stop the cracks?
It might have been cooked just a touch too long. When boiled for a little too long, fudge can become too firm and crack. Glad it tastes great though!