Sunday 11 December 2011

Vanilla Fudge :)

I love making sweets and fudges during the Christmas period- not only are they a delicious treat to eat alongside the traditional glass of Baileys (at least in my house...) but when packaged nicely they can make awesome gifts too. As a bonus, this fudge is really easy.






You will need just 4 ingredients:

300ml Milk
350g Caster Sugar
100g Unsalted Butter
1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract









1) Start off by lining a tin with cling film (I like to use a smaller tin to get a thicker slab of fudge, but you can go for a wider tin for a thinner layer of fudge if you wish)




2) Place the milk, sugar and butter into a large (much bigger than you think you need- the mixture rises a lot when cooking) heavy based saucepan- I have a big pressure cooker that works really well.




3) Gently heat the mixture until the sugar is dissolved and the butter is melted.




NOTE: Please please please be careful at this stage, this recipe requires you to boil sugar to about 115C, that's really hot! So this isn't really a child friendly recipe, and not something you can do without your full attention. Burns hurt, and scar!    /rant over.

4) Bring the mixture to the boil, and boil (quite rapidly) whilst (carefully) stirring constantly (yes your arm will ache, but it's worth it!) for about 15 minutes- until the mixture reaches the 'soft ball' stage.


When it first starts to boil there will be lots and lots of little
bubbles, and it rises high in the pan
When it's nearly ready the bubbles will be much
larger, the mixture is thicker and rises much less

  • To test the 'soft ball' stage you need a little bowl of cold water:


  • Drop a little of the fudge mixture into the cold water, if it solidifies enough for you to make a little ball shape with your fingers, the fudge is ready, if not leave it for another couple of minutes and try again with a fresh bowl of cold water.
    Almost forms a ball, but see how the mixtures cloudy?
    Fudge isn't ready.
    Much more well- formed ball, fudge is ready!
5) Take the fudge off the heat and stir in the vanilla extract- then beat the heck out of it for a few minutes (fudge making requires some serious arm muscles) until the mixture has thickened and lost it's glossy finish.




6) Pour it into your lined tin, smooth out the top and leave to cool (at room temperature, not in the fridge)



7) Once it's completely cooled, take out of the tin and chop into squares (smallish ones are usually best- it's rather sweet). You can store this at room temperature for quite a while (though it usually gets eaten pretty fast...) in an airtight container :)




I really love this fudge, I've made it t last 5 times before, and everyone who tries it really loves it. When I was at school I used to give little presents of assorted homemade fudges, toffee and truffles- after a couple of Christmasses my friends all started putting in requests in November! The recipe is very simple and easy (though boiling sugar IS kinda dangerous) so it's a great 'introduction' to sweet making :)

As always I'd love to hear if you make this- and if you have any foodie requests, let me know!


                                                                             
                                                                                    xGretalRabbitx 

16 comments:

  1. oooh yum, love the step by step pics x

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  2. Thank you :) You should make some- it's really really yummy!
    xGretalRabbitx

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  3. I would love to have a go at making some fudge for Christmas pressies but I don't think I have a heavy bottom pan :/

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  4. You can still make it in a regular pan (as long as it's quite big!) but you'll have to be a little more careful as it might heat up faster- don't let it burn! :)
    xGretalRabbitx

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  5. Mmmmmmmm this looks delicious! I can almost taste it! I must try this.

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  6. You definitely should (it does taste as good as it looks!) let me know how you get on :)
    xGretalRabbitx

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  7. OH.. oh no... why did I read this??! This is amazing!! I love fudge so much!! :D Thank you so much for the recipe! What a lovely gift idea! :D

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  8. Would you think baileys would work in a fudge?

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  9. Sorry Ashesela- you're going to have to make some now :p Glad you like the recipe :)

    Yes I think it would- if you add it at the same time as the vanilla it should work, but you'll have to be careful not to add too much so it still sets properly. I might have to experiment and make some baileys fudge myself (I think white chocolate and baileys would be amazing!)

    xGretalRabbitx

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  10. Enigma let me know how it goes if you add baileys :)

    Thanks BeautyBalm- you should make some, it tastes really yummy too!

    xGretalRabbitx

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  11. Mmm, that's awesome... I'm saving this recipe to try when I do my Christmas baking. I usually make chocolate chip cookies, and my mom makes mince pies... I really want to try making this fudge too!

    Thanks for sharing! :)

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  12. I'm glad you like it Kristy- let me know how you get on with making it :)
    xGretalRabbitx

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  13. not very clear on rescipe looks good but wont try it till i know what conversion is i i use cups not ml what exactly is 100 your not clear on this

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    1. Sorry I forgot to add g (grams) on the butter measurement! (I've updated my post now!)

      There are 100s of websites that will be able to convert for you- but for recipes like this I would recommend getting some kitchen scales and proper liquid measures- fudges and toffees rely on a precise ratio of ingredients and if you convert to cups you may not get the best results.
      xGretalRabbitx

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