Friday 13th December 2019
Christmas time is nearly here, and I am so unbelievably excited for it!
Surprisingly, I am also pretty ready for it as well, for once in my life. I either already have people’s presents (and they’re wrapped) or I have planned out what I am getting my family.
One of the things that my friends usually get from me is some sort of food. Previous years have included cookies, hot chocolate hampers, brownie in a jar, gingerbread and fudge, and this year is no different.
The not so secret present that quite a few people are getting this year is going to be gin. Back in autumn I went foraging, which is my favourite thing to do in September and one of the things I miss about not living in the countryside. I ended up picking a tonne of sloes, damsons and blackberries and ended up making gin from a lot of it, as well as some jam (which is absolutely amazing and my new favourite thing).
Anyway, at home Christmas time always means fudge time. My Nanna always makes the best crumbly vanilla fudge at Christmas and it always goes down a storm in the family. The last few years we have tried to replicate it and whilst we are close, it is never quite the same. The only downside to this fudge is that it takes forever and requires dealing with boiling sugar which usually scares me just a little, mainly because I’ve burnt myself so many times on boiling sugar.
This recipe, however, does not require any boiling of anything. In fact, it is super simple and quick recipe that takes 10 or so minutes to make, and an hour or so to set up in the fridge. It is best if you leave it to set overnight if you can as it just makes cutting it up so much easier, but it works with just an hour in the fridge, making it the perfect relatively quick, last minute gift.
I have already given this to some of my friends as part of their Christmas presents and it went down so well! I think they both ate it all within the weekend, with the help of their families of course, as sharing is caring as we all know. Well, you may not want to share this fudge with anyone but it is pretty damn good.
Ingredients:
397g Condensed Milk
400g Milk Chocolate
Zest of 1 Orange
250g of Orange Chocolate (I used Matchsticks)
Method:
- Melt the chocolate in a large heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, removing from the heat once the chocolate is melted
- Stir in the condensed milk and the orange zest until the fudge cools down and becomes a thick consistency.
- Break the orange chocolate up and then fold most of it through the fudge, keeping a bit of it back to put on top of the fudge.
- Pour the fudge mixture into a square baking tin that has been lined with baking paper, pressing it in to the corners of the pan and ensuring that it is roughly equal in thickness. Scatter the rest of the chocolate on top and press it down slightly into the fudge.
- Chill the fudge in the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour, before cutting it up into small pieces.
