Christmas chocolate fudge
AS SEEN ON Christmas Kitchen
A bubbling mass of butter , sugar and condensed milk will fill your house with a sweet , heady aroma . Fudge keeps for ages , so make lots , bag some up , share it out , bring some joy to people you know and those you are yet to know . You can add so many flavours to fudge – my favourites are toasted hazelnuts , chopped cookies and candied orange . You can even dip it in chocolate , so you have a crisp outer shell with soft fudge underneath .
Paul A Young
MAKES 60 SQUARES
• 110g unsalted butter
• 425g demerara sugar
• 125ml whole milk
• 350ml condensed milk
• 150g 90-100 % dark chocolate , chopped
• 2 tsp sea salt flakes , crushed
• 1 orange , finely grated
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• 100g chopped dried cranberries
1 Slowly melt the butter , sugar , milk and condensed milk in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan set over a low heat . 2 Turn up the heat slightly and allow the mixture to simmer , stirring all the time to prevent it from burning . Use a digital or sugar thermometer to reach a temperature of 112-114C . The higher the temperature , the firmer your fudge will be . For soft fudge , remove the pan from the heat at 112C ; for firmer fudge , remove the pan from the heat at 114C . 3 Once off the heat , allow the fudge to settle until it has stopped bubbling . Add the chocolate , salt , orange zest , spices and cranberries , then mix well . As the fudge cools it will thicken and crystallise , so keep beating with a wooden spoon until it ’ s a thick paste . 4 Tip the fudge onto a 20cm square tray lined with baking parchment and smooth it out . The fudge should be 10-12mm deep . Allow to cool for 4 hrs before cutting into squares . You could also cut into triangles and fingers , or even crumble it up to use in a cake or on top of ice cream . bbcgoodfoodshow . com 59