Fudge

This luxurious tasting fudge is a real treat for anyone with a sweet tooth! You don’t have to eat it all yourself of course – it’s perfect to package up to give away as gifts. In fact, I’m already thinking up some festive variations for Christmas! The ingredients and method are simple, but you will need time and a little patience when making it.

You will need:

a large, heavy-bottomed pan

a sugar thermometer (not essential, but will give a more reliable result)

a swiss roll-type tin (no need to grease it)

1kg of sugar, either caster or granulated
225g of butter
1 large tin of evaporated milk
½ a tin of water (use the empty evaporated milk tin)

Method:

place all the ingredients into the pan
heat the pan gently so that the butter starts to melt and the sugar starts to dissolve
stir the mixture until the sugar has dissolved and bring it to the boil
put the sugar thermometer into the pan
keep the fudge on a gentle boil, stirring occasionally
you are aiming for a “soft ball” temperature of 113°C. The temperature rises quite quickly at first, then the last few degrees seem to take ages! Be patient….

n.b. If you don’t have a sugar thermometer, you want the fudge to reach the stage when a small piece of it, when dropped into a little water, forms a “soft ball” that is pliable and will flatten between your fingers. You may need to test this a few times, but also use the colour of the fudge as a guide. Imagine the colour of fudge that you see for sale – that’s what you should aim for, not too pale nor too dark

in the meantime, run some cold water into the kitchen sink as you will need to stand the pan of fudge into this straight after it has reached the correct temperature. You’ll need enough water for it to come about halfway up the pan
as the fudge continues to boil, it will evaporate a little and gradually darken in colour

when the “soft ball” temperature of 113°C has been reached, remove the pan from the heat and stand it in the cold water in the sink

using a wooden spoon, beat the fudge for a few minutes. It’s consistency will change from smooth to grainy, which gives a good texture, and it will begin to thicken as it cools
when the fudge is starting to thicken, pour it into the tin, scraping all the last scraps from the pan with a spatula. A warmed spoon may be used to smooth the surface of the fudge. Leave it for 3 or 4 hours, or preferably overnight, to cool completely