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Christmas

Vegan Penuche Fudge

by:
April 28, 2021
4
1 Ratings
  • Prep time 5 minutes
  • Cook time 15 minutes
  • Serves A Bunch
Author Notes

This contest calls for retro recipes, and nothing says retro to me quite like penuche. The twist is that this is a vegan version.

A previous contest called for butter, but did not specify what kind. These days, there are good vegan butters available (for those who may scoff and deride them as mere margarine: not necessarily so). And vegans do enjoy buttery things -- even if not dairy.


Back in the day, some time during the Pleistocene Age, I used to make a dairy version of this fudge. Wanting to make this for the vegans in my life, I fiddled around with ingredients and proportions till I got it right. It's really easy to make, and especially nice to have for the holidays.

Note that you need to work fast with this, as with many other fudges.

—louisez

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Ingredients
  • 2 cups Brown sugar (I prefer dark but light is ok too)
  • 6 tablespoons Non-dairy milk (I used coconut)
  • 4 ounces Vegan butter (I used Miyoko's)
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla
  • 1 cup Confectioner's sugar
Directions
  1. Combine brown sugar, milk and butter in a pot. Bring to a full boil, over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Pour over confectioner's sugar and beat (I use a stand mixer but a mixer or beating by hand works), add vanilla, and beat thoroughly till smooth. Pour into a greased 8" pan. Refrigerate to store.
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12 Reviews

Write a Review
Michelle M. October 15, 2020
Hello, sorry if I missed something here on what types of sugars you use, but brown sugar and confectioners sugar are all made with White sugar which is made with BONE Char, changing the dairy does not make this Vegan , and I need to make this for a cake this weekend for a friend! New to this Vegan cooking, any thoughts? Thank you
Kona October 15, 2020
Depends on the sugar... Some is vegan, some is not... Just Google "vegan sugar" and you'll get a good list of the ones that are. Hope that helps.
Michelle M. October 15, 2020
Yes I realize this, just wanted to ask the author why this is considered Vegan with the sugar in it.. sorry sent to the wrong person..TY :-)
Kona October 16, 2020
Sorry, I was just contributing my own opinion to help you, since I use this recipe and it IS vegan!

ANY sugar labelled as "Organic" is vegan, as certified U.S. Department of Agriculture organic sugar cannot be filtered through bone char.

Additionally, any sugar that is labelled as “unrefined”, or those made from beets or coconuts is also vegan.

Furthermore, the following companies do not use bone-char filters:
In the Raw
Big Tree Farms
Billington’s
Bob’s Red Mill
Florida Crystals
Imperial Sugar
Michigan Sugar Company
Now Foods
Rapunzel
The Raw Cane
Redpath
Simple Truth (Kroger/Ralphs’ brand of Organic Sugar)
Simply Balanced (Target’s brand of Organic Sugar)
SuperValu
Trader Joe’s
Western Sugar Cooperative
Wholesome!
Woodstock Farms
Zulka
louisez October 16, 2020
Thanks, Kona!
Many people are unaware of bone char issue, many others unaware of many brands without it. A real service for you to provide this list!
Michelle M. October 16, 2020
Thank you for this, I also did some research and found what I needed, what I was trying to point out is the recipe itself did not specify Vegan sugars(therein lies the rub), So I being new to this adventure, thought I could just use what I had..I was happy that I looked it up and did not know about the Bone Char until doing so. For someone like myself it was a bit misleading since I have no clue about Vegan ingredients. I am learning daily. I am going to try it soon, Thank you for everything!
2 cups Brown sugar (I prefer dark but light is ok too)
6 tablespoons Non-dairy milk (I used coconut)
4 ounces Vegan butter (I used Miyoko's)
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 cup Confectioner's sugar
louisez October 16, 2020
Wishing you many happy cooking adventures!
Kona September 8, 2020
Hey there!

Stumbled upon penuche for the first time a week ago while in Bar Harbour in Maine... And loved it (of course!)... Then came across this recipe since my other half is vegan and I mostly am. I've never made fudge before, so started with this one as my first, and it is so amazing I would recommend anyone to do it! I did however come up with a few questions as a result, which I was hoping could be answered: 1) Can you elaborate on "full boil", as the longer you let it boil, the hotter it gets, and the more foamy the top gets... I did mine to about 122F as I concluded this was boiling enough, but from other research now I'm under the impression it should have stayed boiling until nearer to 145? 2) Do you pour the confectioners sugar into the boiling pan, or do you pour the boiling pan into a container with the confectioners sugar? Both ways I tried seemed to cause the sugar to clump together so I got microscopic hard sugar cubes in the penuche! 3) Can you elaborate on "until smooth", as I felt that it could always be more smooth, is there a particular timeframe that this is typically done in, especially if using a hand-held mixer, and even then on what speed setting? 4) Of wanting to create a maple flavour with real maple syrup, do I keep the vanilla in, or remove it, and then when do I add the maple syrup, and how much of it, and should I then change the quantities of the other ingredients to allow for the extra maple syrup liquid? Thanks so much!
louisez September 14, 2020
I don't use a thermometer. A full rolling boil : big bubbles throughout pan. Put sugar in bowl. Pour hot liquid over and beat just till smooth. You need to move quickly so it doesn't harden too soon, before you can get it in pan. No idea about maple syrup and extra liquid. Maple flavor sounds great though. Might an extract work to replace vanilla -- more flavor, less liquid? Just a guess

Michelle M. October 15, 2020
Sent this to the wrong person earlier..Curious?Hello, sorry if I missed something here on what types of sugars you use, but brown sugar and confectioners sugar are all made with White sugar which is made with BONE Char, changing the dairy does not make this Vegan , and I need to make this for a cake this weekend for a friend! New to this Vegan cooking, any thoughts? Thank you
louisez October 16, 2020
Look for organic sugars which state on labels that are vegan. Bone char not used with those.
louisez October 16, 2020
Kona's list above should help point you in the right direction. It's worth saying how important it is to read labels. For instance, milk or dairy in some butter replacers (margarine), chocolate chips.
In any case, made with the proper sugars, the recipe is vegan.