Recipe: Quick and Easy Vanilla Fudge
In the last few weeks, I have been putting some thought into coming up with some homemade, budget friendly ideas for Christmas gifts which will help my money go a little further this year and give my friends and family something I have actually made rather than just bought.
Something that is a bit of a traditional gift in my family is fudge, as my maternal Grandfather has always loved it and we always used to bring him fudge back from holidays and gave it to him for birthdays etc. So when I spotted this super simple recipe I had to give it a go and it came out great! Why not try it for yourself?
Ingredients
- 300ml of milk
- 350g of caster sugar
- 100g of unsalted butter
- 1tsp of vanilla extract
Quick note
I really recommend using a confectioner’s thermometer to help with judging when the fudge mix is ready. When I first tried this recipe I used my eye and I didn’t get it quite right which meant that the mix didn’t solidify properly. If this happens to you don’t worry, just put the mix back in the saucepan and boil it for longer until it reaches 115 degrees C.
Method
- Prepare an 18cm square tin by greasing or lining with baking parchment.
- Put all the ingredients except the vanilla into a heavy-based saucepan and heat slowly until all the sugar and butter has melted and been incorporated into the mix. Make sure to stir it frequently.
- Boil the fudge mix for 15-20 mins whilst stirring. The mix will reach a point when it increases in volume suddenly when this happens don’t panic, just take the saucepan off the heat for a minute or so and keep stirring until the mix goes back down.
- When the mix reaches a temperature of 115 degrees C, it might take a while to do this so don’t panic if it doesn’t happen quickly. Use your thermometer to get it just right.
- Stir the vanilla into the mix and leave to cool for 5 minutes before beating with a wooden spoon until it starts to thicken up and develops a matt finish.
- Pour the fudge mix into your prepared tin and leave to set at room temperature.
- Once it’s solid you can cut up into small pieces and store in a sealed container.
Once you’ve gotten comfortable with the basic vanilla why not try other flavours? Enjoy!
