Fudge two ways

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squares of plain fudge and rum & raisin fudge | H is for Home

The first & last time I made fudge I was about 12 years old. The only way I could get it to set was to stick it in the freezer for a few hours. It wasn’t exactly inedible, but it was bad enough to put me off attempting it again until now.

Just like our taste in ice cream, Justin & I differ in our taste in fudge. He likes it plain, I like mine stuffed full of fruit, nuts, chocolate and alcohol! To please us both, I made a normal portion of basic mix, divided it into two and made one half into rum & raisin fudge.

I used the basic recipe I found on the Carnation website. I’m already thinking of folding some of this fudge into some of my home-made vanilla ice cream – what do you think?

Fudge two ways

Servings 24 squares

Ingredients
  

  • 115 g/4oz raisins
  • 2 tbs dark rum
  • 397 g/14oz can condensed milk
  • 150 ml/5¼ fl oz milk
  • 450 g/16oz Demerara sugar
  • 115 g/4oz butter

Instructions
 

  • Soak the raisins in the dark rum for at least an hour
  • Line the base & sides of two 18cm/7inch square cake tins with baking/parchment paper
  • Put all the remaining ingredients into a large non-stick, heavy-bottomed saucepan over a medium heat and stir with a wooden spoon until all the sugar dissolves
  • Bring to a boil and gently simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring continuously and scraping the base of the pan
  • Using a food thermometer, make sure the mixture reaches 118°C/240ºF
  • Remove from the heat and beat with the wooden spoon until it thickens & begins to set ( this should take about 10 minutes )
  • Put half of the mixture into one of the lined tins, using the back of a metal tablespoon to get it into the corners and levelled out
  • Add the rum and raisins to the other half of the mixture and put back over a medium heat for another 5 minutes or until it begins to thicken up again
  • Put the mixture into the other lined tin, again using the back of a metal tablespoon
  • Allow to cool completely before turning out on to a chopping board and cutting into squares
  • You can store the fudge for up to a week in (separate) airtight containers