Vegan Coconut Condensed Milk

As I read through my copy of 150 Best Desserts in a Jar, I realized that this was a glorious cookbook. Indulgent, luxurious and so not how I should be eating.And all 150 recipes are presented in jars. If there is one thing I don’t lack in, it is mason jars in many shapes and sizes.

This for me…was a dream cookbook – 2 or 3 years ago. Heavy whipping cream loitered in the corner, whispering to me “Hey you, come on…no one will know. I have an ice-cold mixing bowl waiting for us“. OK, maybe it didn’t really happen that way. But after reading the recipes many times I wasn’t sure I could review the book as there were few viable recipes for me. Although who I am lying to? The recipe that called for whipped cream-crumbled Oreos-sour cream with a ton of sugar-then frozen? That was hard to turn away from. Except for I know that whip cream is just liquid butter 😉 Keeps me honest.

Anyhow, I decided to look at the book and see if there were recipes I might adapt to a vegan/plant-based way (which, no, this book is not an easily adaptable book). And what I picked out was not a dessert, but more a sweet smoothie. The only issue was it called for sweetened condensed milk, which is from a can – and yes, is dairy (there are vegan options out there….but they are ummm…weird). And well….I went and cried on Facebook for help and was rewarded with a link to a recipe for making it at home vegan. Thank you Rhonda for posting that link. I decided to try the recipe out using the slow cooker method. I have a medium slow cooker and I needed 2 cups worth, so I doubled the recipe. Yes, it takes time. A lot of passive time. Put it on and ignore at least, so there is that. And it can be done organic simply. No thickeners or gums either!

Vegan Coconut Condensed Milk

Ingredients:

• 5½ cups unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ¼ tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Add to a medium size slow cooker. Turn to high, cook uncovered for 10 to 15 hours and on, whisking periodically, till reduced to 2 cups. You can put this on before bed, leave it on overnight and watch it the next day, for best results. It thickens up when cooled in the refrigerator. Use for any recipe calling for sweetened condensed milk.

Makes 2 cups.

The condensed milk turned out wonderfully. It was everything a girl could hope for. But……

What I used it in? Ouch. Ford (The Teen) liked it and drink his glass, but wow, it was sweet. So sweet I could only take one sip. Chocolate milk + condensed sweetened milk + pears + pear juice + ice. It didn’t need the sweetened milk, the chocolate milk was plenty! I was let down by the recipe but maybe it is because I expect more out of blender drinks (I like mine thick and frosty). The ice was lost in it. Oh well, I was happy enough that while my recipe failed for the drink, the condensed milk was a huge success. I’ll pass the book to my barista, she loves cooking as much as I do (she is one of the women who gets all my cookbooks after I am done). It wasn’t the right fit for me…still, it was a pretty cookbook.

~Sarah

FTC Disclaimer: We received a review copy of the cookbook.