Iona's Fudge

Tags: dessert - vegetarian - GF - GF Vegetarian - GF dessert
Active Time: 45 min
Passive Time: 10 min
Serves: 48 pieces

Simple but delicious fudge recipe

• Sugar: 1.75 lbs (3.5 cups)
• Butter: 6 oz
• Evaporated milk: 12 oz tin
• Golden syrup: 3 significantly overflowing tbsp

• Vanilla extract: 1 tsp

• Sea salt: for sprinkling, optional

• Step 6 is definitely the most challenging, and may take a lot of experimentation and getting used to the feel of it to get it right. The good news is that it’s literally impossible to make it taste bad at this stage, you’re just controlling the texture by encouraging the sugar to crystallize in a particular way. If you stir for too long the fudge will be harder and crumblier; if you don’t stir long enough it will be softer and grainier. Either way, delicious!
• The temperature is important because it controls texture the sugar crystals will ultimately form. Too cool and your fudge will be chewy, too hot and it will be very hard and likely the fat will burn. Sugar goes through something like phase transitions, so it will spend a long time just below 240, then spend a little while at 240 before heating up again. There are lots of important sugar temperatures, but 240 is known as “soft ball,” which means that, if cooled suddenly, the sugar can be shaped into a soft ball!
• If you don’t have a thermometer that goes high enough it is possible to tell the right temperature without a thermometer. If you drop a small amount of the liquid into a bowl of ice water, you should be able to shape it into a soft squishy ball. This is often more reliable than a thermometer, but takes some experience! Other clues include: you have been stirring for a long time, you can smell a delicious sugary buttery smell, and the bubbling liquid is a slightly darker shade of gold than it used to be.
• Golden syrup is an unusual ingredient in the States, it’s a bit like a cross between honey and molasses. It can be very hard to find in a store! The only brand I know is Lyle’s Golden Syrup, it comes in a green can or a squeeze bottle. Look in the baking aisle, the maple syrup spot, or if your grocery store has an “international” aisle with stuff from Britain, it could be there. It’s also sold by Amazon
• I've substituted vanilla bean paste for the extract and it's just as delicious

1. Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish, or line it with parchment paper for less suffering
2. Put all the ingredients except the vanilla in a large pot over a medium-low heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves and the butter melts. (I recommend a wooden spoon)
3. Increase the heat slightly and keep stirring, bringing the mixture to a boil
4. Keep stirring so that the sugar does not burn, and use a candy thermometer to monitor the temperature until it reaches 240F (~10-20 minutes)
5. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the vanilla
6. Keep stirring vigorously as the mixture cools until it starts to thicken. Scraping a wooden spoon against a metal pot, you will begin to feel the scratchy roughness of crystals forming. The mixture will start to look slightly less shiny. At the Right Moment, pour the mixture into the baking dish. If you timed it right, the mixture will spread out like a liquid but the surface will not be totally smooth. You should need a rubber spatula to scrape out the remaining mixture from the pot as it solidifies. It will be about 165-175F when ready to be poured
7. Sprinkle with optional sea salt, if using
8. Wait 5-10 minutes then use a knife to slice the mixture as though cutting it into pieces. It won’t be cooled yet, but it’s much easier to make these cuts before it completely solidifies.
9. Once the mixture is totally cooled, use a knife/your fingers to cut/break it into delicious pieces. Enjoy!