Festive Goodies 2: Cherry Vanilla Vegan Fudge

An i-pad is not the only kind of tablet you can give at Christmas.., no-one will most people will not be disappointed if you make this easy, tablet-like* vegan fudge; it would make a great home made Christmas gift or addition to your festive spread! Sweet and crumbly, it is more-ish and probably won't last long, so make sure you hide some for later...

*Tablet is a traditional Scottish sweet that is cooked to be more brittle and grainy than fudge.
320g soft light brown sugar
300ml soya milk
50g coconut oil
50g cacao butter
2-3 tsps vanilla essence
1/3 cup glace cherries, chopped

• Melt all the ingredients except the vanilla and cherries in a large and sturdy pan, over a gentle heat.
• When the sugar has dissolved, bring to a rolling boil. Stir constantly to avoid burning the mixture for about 15-20 minutes, until the fudge has darkened and seems to be pulling away from the sides of the pan. Test that it has reached the "soft ball stage" by dropping some into iced water. If it holds together in a soft ball, the fudge is done. Cook slightly longer than this for tablet.
• If you want a more fudge-y and less tablet-like sweet, stop boiling it sooner. But make sure it still holds together in the iced water, or you'll end up with caramel sauce. (Too long, however, and you'll get chewy toffee.)
• Remove the pan from the heat and beat for 3-5 minutes. Then stir in the cherries and vanilla and spread the mixture out into a dish lined with oiled baking parchment.
• Now this is the hardest part: waiting for it to set before you cut it up and eat it!