Sunday, May 27, 2012

Black Forest Fudge

Well, it's fair to say that May has been quite a hardcore baking month, I've been baking like a demon and have been more than a little cross-eyed on a number of occasions after piping, sticking and cutting cake decorations! So I thought I'd try something completely different this weekend. I've probably made fudge at some point in the dim and distant past but I don't remember it.
It turns out that fudge is fairly easy to make, all you need is a sugar thermometer and the taste testers definitely enjoyed this one...but quite frankly I think it would be difficult to find someone who didn't like a mixture of white chocolate, dark chocolate, double cream and sugar!!

Once you've made your fudge you have to chill it in the fridge overnight before cutting it into squares, however if you take it out and leave it, it gets pretty soft. So we discovered that for optimal fudge eating it is best to leave it in the fridge and then take it out about 10 minutes before you want to eat it...if you can wait that long! :-)
Ingredients

40g unsalted butter
100g dark glace cherries
500g gold caster sugar
275ml double cream
75 g dark chocolate
50g white chocolate

Ideally, you need a 17cm square tin for this fudge but I only have a 20cm square tin and that seemed to work just as well. The first thing to do is butter and line the base and sides of the tin. In preparation it is also helpful to chop up the cherries at this point. The recipe suggested halving 50g worth and quartering the remaining 25g but I didn't find this to be enough so I increased it to 100g. Also grate both of the white and dark chocolate into seperate bowls.

The sugar, cream and butter should then be combined in a heavy based saucepan, you also need to add 3 tablespoons of water before heating gently for 5-10 minutes, this should dissolve the sugar. Once you've reached this stage, increase the temperature and bring the mixture to the boil. Pop in a sugar thermometre and head to 113 degrees celsius (235F). Once the mixture reaches this stage and is nice and thick, take it off the heat.

Pour a third of the mixture in a metal bowl (I used another saucepan), add the white chocolate to this bowl and the dark chocolate to the original saucepan. Stir both until slightly thickened, I think I waited too long as my fudge didn't swirl quite as well as I had hoped, so don't wait too long!

Finally, pour the dark chocolate fudge into the bottom of the prepared tin, scatter the quartered cherries over the top before pouring over the white chocolate mix to cover. Then to get the swirl effect, drag a skewer through the mix to create two tone swirls. To finish, place the halved cherries on top and then chill in the tin overnight. Turn the fudge out of the tin to cut into squares. The recipe suggests it makes 49 squares, so cut it 7 by 7 or larger if you wish! :-)

* Adapted from Mrs Hope's Chocolate Box

17 comments:

  1. Yum Yum!! I want one right now Laura :D. Looks super delish.

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  2. Wow, this looks yum! I adore fudge. Glace cherries are so underused nowadays, I think they need a revival.

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  3. yuuuuuuuuuuuuum sounds so delicious!

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  4. You have definitely been baking up a storm this month :) This looks delicious and so cute in their perfect little squares. I have the same book too and made the chocolate fudge as it was easier

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  5. Those photos are so seductive they should come with an 18 rating!

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  6. Laura Laura Laura... can I come and move in...? I'll be good and tidy and i'll make breakfast everyday... just in return for these x

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  7. I have never seen these before. They look so lovely and they are such a delicious treat to offer to your guests when they come. I bet lots of people want to come and visit you! I would!

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  8. It was nice to make something different for a change! :-)

    Caked Crusader - I'm just waiting to hear back from the bbfc to see what certificate the fudge will be awarded!

    Dom - sounds like a very good deal to me...I'm just clearing some space...! :-)

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  9. P.S Aveen I think we should start a glace cherry revival!!! I've got an upcoming recipe that calls for them too! :-)

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  10. Fudge is one of those treats I can't say no too... love your take on it.

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  11. What a delicious recipe. My husband will be thrilled with it. Already saved! Thanks a lot!

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  12. Ooooohh yum! Your fudge looks delicious. X

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  13. Oh yum! Never made fudge before but this looks sooooo good! You rock Laura!

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  14. Delicious!! I can never made homemade fudge... because I will single handedly eat the whole pan... :) Love your black forest variation, I've never seen that before! This looks so good Laura!!

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  15. This sounds delicious! I love black forest cake and I can't wait to have it in a fudge form. YUM!

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  16. Wow, what a beautiful blog! I'm definitely going to try this fudge out, have just book marked it and will post it on my blog with a link back to yours :)

    I've just followed you and am looking forward to more delicious posts from you soon!
    Rosie x

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