Fudging it!

We have a friend who is the most wonderful cook. She makes lovely desserts, slices and sweets which we all oooh and aaah about. Then she'll giggle and say that it's not such a big deal as the recipes are really easy.

While we were away, we enjoyed a meal with this family. After dessert, for a treat, she got out a collection of fudges and chocolates she'd made. Mariposa was so taken with the ginger fudge that she promptly asked for the recipe.

Well, we had a go at making it, but just the plain version. No added glacé ginger this time. No peppermint swirls or marshmellows for 'Rocky Road' either. Just plain fudge so we can test it out.

Here are the ingredients:

400g tin of condensed milk
125g butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons golden syrup
100g GOOD QUALITY dark chocolate

Add all ingredients except the chocolate into a moderately large saucepan. Stir until all combined and bring to a slow boil, stirring all the time.

It should NOT bubble too rapidly as it'll burn. Keep stirring as it thickens. I kept cooking it until it started leaving a bit of a string from the spoon, indicating it was becoming thicker.  Now that I've already tried this, I think that next time I'll make it slightly thicker again, working for a longer string of caramel. It turned out a little too soft for our liking and needed to be quite cold to stay solid.

When you're happy with the consistency, remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Add in the pieces of good quality chocolate. Allow to melt and mix through gently. (If adding glacé ginger, nuts, etc, fold in now.) Pour into tray and cool completely.

Hmmm ~ VERY sweet!  This will definitely be only a 'sometimes' treat, and only with a cup of coffee to wash it down. ☺