Cook With Us Week #8 - Guilty Pleasures - Rich & Creamy Fudge
Another week of awesome food gone by thanks to The Cook with Us team - @chefsteve , @pandamama and @offoodandart, who have given us two great themes with this week's Cook with Us #8 - Guilty Pleasure Food plus a bonus theme of Favorite Food from Your Country.
I've chosen Guilty Pleasure Food - my childhood favourite, rich and creamy Fudge.
When I was a little girl, my young aunt and uncle often made fudge in a deep pot over the stove. This was quite a lengthy process with much stirring and testing for the soft ball stage. Of course I was the one who did the testing and tasting, as I was too small to work with hot fudge, the butterscotch aromas enticing even my brothers who were always outside, playing rugby or cricket or cowboys & crooks, into the kitchen :):)
I quickly mastered the art of making fudge once I was big enough, and often made fudge for one and all; this was a great fund-raiser for church fetes, one of my favourite contributions.
Since the invention of the microwave oven, Fudge no longer takes 45 minutes to an hour on the stove top with constant stirring; it now is down to a mere 10 minutes cooking time.
Add another 10 minutes to complete the final process.
Hubby is a type one diabetic, so of course I feel real wicked making Fudge these days, as he dare not even have a tiny bite unless he's having a low sugar of course.
So I occasionally make Fudge these days, feeling very guilty when I hide it where hubby cannot find it, too much temptation, but I do share some with our Lily's Cottage guests.
The ingredients required to make 30 portions:
Ingredients
- 1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 2 cups Castor Sugar
- 125 gram Butter
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
Cook another minute, remove and stir; notice it's already changing into a richer colour. Stir till butter has melted.
Return to microwave, and cook a further 8 minutes, but remove at one minute intervals and stir each time.
Fudge is now a nice rich light golden brown colour after cooking a total of ten minutes.
Note - if you prefer a darker brown and harder fudge, cook another minute or so, careful though as it can easily burn at this stage.
Test that fudge has reached soft ball stage by popping a little into a glass of cold water.
Fudge should stick together into a firm ball when squeezing with fingers.
Nice excuse to do a taste test :)
Add one teaspoon Vanilla Essence and beat till fudge becomes thick.
Pour into 21cm square buttered pan.
Top one half of fudge with crushed Peppermint Crisp Chocolate and Pecan Nuts to make a Minty Rocky Road Fudge.
Top the other half just with Pecan Nuts; a lovely creamy fudge with the nut breaking some of the sweetness.
Cut into squares when Fudge starts setting.
My Guilty Pleasures Rich & Creamy Fudge.
Nicely presented, some to be given away as little gifts, some to be stored in my secret hiding place!
Nothing beats having one of these at the end of a busy day, even better with a good book at bedtime :)
And I need another one :)
A quick look at the whole process, but please don't tell anyone about this guilty pleasure of mine!
Thank you for stopping by, please comment, upvote and resteem if you enjoyed my post.
All images property of @lizelle
Got really hungry after reading this post 😃 This stuff looks delicious and I am sure it tastes better than it looks!
Oh it certainly tasted good, it's all disappeared :):)
So glad to see your recipe @lizelle - you always do us proud
Thank you for the awesome challenges @cookwithus :)
You are a wicked, wicked woman and I simply love your posts. When I start weighing 500 pounds that will all be on you.
BTW, did you notice what purveyor of treats and delectable goodies was featured in my #shoutoutsaturdays post a few days ago?
https://steemit.com/shoutoutsaturdays/@theweaselswife/shout-out-saturdays-issue-4-from-the-weasel-s-wife-the-geezer-edition
If you're anything like ol' @catweasel, you might want to have a look. When someone mentions his name, he can't scramble over there fast enough. You might show more decorum. I'll have to mention that next time. Anyway ... somebody is talking about you. You might want to know what they said.
Oh my word @enchantedspirit, and you are a sneaky lady talking about me behind my back ;);)
I still have to learn how to be notified when I get a mention, don't worry I'm just like @catweasel, if my name is mentioned I'm there like a shot! Thank you for the honour!
Fudge ... of course that's guilty pleasure food! Your photos do justice to how delicious fudge can taste. Plus, the toppings ... wow! How I would love to give them a try!
Thanks for another wonderful entry! It's always fun reading your stories and recipes!
Ah thank you for the awesome comments @offoodandart, I'm loving the contest!
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Yummy!! Thanks again for the recipe! Looks mighty easy! My dad used to make fudge and pour it into a Fiesta platter. He hasn't made it in years. I see him in June - perhaps I should ask him to make some for us!! Sounds so good!!
Thanks @apanamamama, this really is an easy flop proof recipe but oh so delicious ;)
I too remember standing over a stove stirring fudge waiting for the thermometer to reach a certain temperature. Microwave method is so much better. Thanks for sharing and it's always a pleasure to see what you are baking.
Ah thank you @loveself, appreciate your comments! Microwave fudge definitely much easier!
Ah @lizelle - fudge was always a guilty pleasure for me and still is - but I'm trying so hard to keep away from too much sugar - but oh do I love fudge
Same with me, I have a reflux problem and find sweet stuff makes it worse so have to take all sorts of remedies when I indulge, thanks for the challenges!
Oh these are too pretty @lizelle! Such fond memories of fudge! Will have to try this one soon, as I'm an impatient one when it comes to sugar! (It's on the list, just as soon as I've made lemon bars in raspberry and blueberry first...maybe even pineapple??) The way this contest is going, I'm going to have to start making more friends to feed all this food to!
Oh my word @whattheduck, you're full of ideas, pineapple could also work very well!
I have family in Cape Town who would only be too happy to test taste your bakes ;)
I know we are only in May but those fudges give a feel and taste of Christmas at this time of the year. They look so pretty and delectable. I will have to attempt it at one poibt. Having said that not sure if I’ll try it just before bedtime but might give it a try. Will just have to add this one too into the category of “we only live once!”.
For sure @foodforsoul, and we don't indulge all of the time hey! It's real easy making it in the microwave plus more creamy :) Thanks for stopping by!