Maple Walnut Whisky Fudge

One of my great pleasures in life is veganizing an interesting recipe that I might see in a magazine or cookbook, and then serving it to rave reviews.  This fudge is one of those recipes.  I first saw this fudge in the July/August edition of Canadian Living magazine and thought it would be perfect for vegan mofo.  I tried it with vegan substitutions for the cream and the butter and it worked perfectly.  Everyone who tried it absolutely loved it.  I wish I could claim credit for inventing it, but I can only take credit for veganizing it.

First things first - make sure that your candy thermometer is calibrated so that you get an accurate reading - this is critically important.  According to most cookbooks, if your candy thermometer is off even a little bit, your fudge can be thrown off. Not hot enough and your fudge won’t set, and too hot and the fudge will be grainy.  

To calibrate your thermometer put it into a pot of boiling water, which, if you live at sea level, you know will be 212F.  If your thermometer reads higher or lower than 212, you will know to add or subtract that many degrees from your reading in order to get the temperature that you will require.

Ingredients

1 cup pure Canadian maple syrup

1 cup 

 sugar 

1 cup full fat coconut cream (here i am referring to the solid cream that forms at the top of a can of full fat coconut milk that has been in the fridge overnight)

1/4 tsp sea salt

2 tablespoons Canadian whisky - I used Canadian Club Rye Whisky

3 tablespoons vegan butter - I used earth balance

1 cup of toasted walnuts.

Instructions 

1. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper across the bottom and up the sides
2. Toast the walnuts on a parchment lined cookie sheet at 350F for five minutes.  Keep an eye on them so that they don’t burn.  Set them aside.
3. Pour the syrup, sugar, coconut cream, salt and whisky into a large, heavy pot.  Make sure the pot is deep enough that the mixture can boil vigorously without danger of boiling over the top of the pot.
4. Bring these ingredients to a boil, over medium heat. Stir constantly until the sugar is all dissolved.
5. Continue to boil the mixture, without stirring, until the temperature on your candy thermometer reaches 238F.  This is the soft ball stage. It took over twenty minutes for me. You will need to keep a close eye on this stage so that you get an accurate temperature reading.
6. When the thermometer reaches 238F, remove the pot from the heat and stir in the vegan butter.
7. Allow the mixture to cool without stirring until the temperature falls to 110F.
8. When the mixture reaches 110F, use a hand mixer to beat it while it is still in the pot.  Beat the mixture until it is no longer glossy and until it takes on a fudgy look.  
9. At this point you can add 3/4 cup of the walnuts.  
10. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, scrape the fudge into the prepared loaf pan, smooth it flat, and sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of walnuts on the top of the fudge and then pat them down a bit with the wooden spoon or spatula
11. Let the fudge cool on your counter for an hour or so, then put it in the fridge for a few hours.  When it is firm cut it into one inch pieces.
12. It can be stored for a few days in a tin lined with waxed paper.