Vegan Coconut Key Lime Fudge
Soft, silky, bitable but quickly melting in the mouth, this vegan coconut key lime fudge is sweet, rich, tart, creamy, and flavored with fresh, aromatic key limes. It’s got a delicious coconut flavor, with hints of white chocolate, but neither of those two elements can outshine the key lime. Store them in the fridge for a firmer fudge, or leave it at room temperature for a softer version, whatever you prefer. This fudge would make a great gift, and is the perfect time to take your key limes beyond the pie.
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The Elusive Key Lime
Before the 1920’s, the limes you found in the United States looked pretty different from the Persian variety now stocking supermarket shelves from Scranton to Seattle. Instead of our current limes (that look basically like green lemons), farmers in Florida used to grow primarily small, thin-skinned, walnut-sized key limes. They’re more aromatic and tarter than our supermarket varieties today, but with much less juice per lime. What caused the dramatic change in lime variety? You can thank a hurricane, back in 1926. After having their entire lime crop swept away in the storm, farmers choose to switch from the delicate key limes to the more disease-resistant, thornless, shipping-friendly versions we have in stores today. It’s the classic American food trajectory- choosing the hearty over the tasty.
Recently, when I was in New Mexico, I saw key limes on the grocery store shelves and they stopped me in my tracks- until then, I’d never seen them in person. My entire experience of the key lime was reading it on the side of a box, followed by the word “pie”. But here they were, in all their fragrant, yellow-green glory, next to a sign starting “8 for $1”- and so, $4 poorer but many limes richer, I left the store and flew back to New England, key limes flying with me.
Coconut Butter (Not Oil!)
This vegan fudge is made through the magic of coconut butter- that’s butter, not oil. Coconut oil is made up of just the fats of the coconut, whereas coconut butter is the flesh of the coconut, ground super fine into a paste. Think of it like the difference between sunflower seed oil and sunflower seed butter- very different products, despite similar sounding names. To make matters a little more confusing, we also use cocoa butter in this recipe- cocoa butter is the fat part of chocolate, with the cocoa powder removed. But back to coconut butter- the fist time I made this, I used store-bought coconut butter (a jar cost me $7), so the second time I tried making it myself. A $2 bag of coconut from Trader Joe’s and a little time in the food process gave me the same result- perfect!
Nuts for Coconuts? Try one of these coco-friendly recipes!
- Simple Vegan Lemon Cake with Coconut and Almonds
- Chilled Lemony Wood Sorrel Soup
- Purple Sweet Potato Vegan Gnocchi with Leek, Mushroom and Coconut Cream Sauce
- Green Tea Coconut Granola
- One-Pot Green Curry Noodle Soup
How to Make Vegan Coconut Key Lime Fudge
It’s going to take a little time, but not much! It all comes together in the food processor, and then sets in the freezer- but make sure you have a good food processor, or making coconut butter will get tricky. The first step is to make coconut butter out of unsweetened shredded or desiccated coconut- to do that simply place the coconut in your food processor for 5-10 minutes, stopping and scraping down the sides as needed. It will go from flakes, to sandy crumbles, and eventually to smooth, liquid coconut butter. Perfect! Now its time to melt the cocoa butter (a couple minutes in the microwave should do it), and combine all the ingredients in the food processor. I like to set my key lime fudge in the freezer (it’s pretty quick!) and then chop into pieces when frozen. It’s that simple!
Vegan Coconut Key Lime Fudge
Ingredients
- 8 oz. dried unsweetened coconut flakes
- 5 key limes
- ½ cup melted cocoa butter
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Place the coconut flakes in a food processor and turn it on. Allow to process for 5+ minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides occasionally. Once the coconut has reached a smooth, liquid state, you’re good. Line an 8x8 inch baking pan with wax paper and set aside.
- Zest the 5 limes and set it aside. Juice the limes into the food processor and add the cocoa butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. Process until smooth, then add the lime zest and pulse once or twice to combine.
- Pour the fudge mixture into the lined pan, and use a silicone spatula to smooth it into an even layer. Place in the freezer for about 30 minutes, or until the fudge is hard and won’t give when poked. Remove from the freezer, pull out the paper, and cut into small cubes. Store in the fridge in an airtight container, and eat chilled or at room temperature.
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