Fudge, Truffles, Candied Orange Peel

...and finally a very yummy day, again with Mum making

Vanilla Fudge

2 lb Sugar

1 Large Tin Evaporated Milk + 1/2 the tin of water

8 oz Butter

Vanilla Essence

You do need a sugar thermometer for these to get the set completely right.

Melt all the ingredient slowly until the sugar has dissolved.

Bring to a simmer and cook stirring constantly to stop it burning on the bottom of the pan until you reach the soft ball stage 235 F, 118 C on a sugar thermometer. When you get to the correct temperature remove the pan from the heat and place it in some cold water (with ice if you can) to reduce the heat and whisk with an electric hand whisk until the mixture becomes pale and smooth and it gets stiff to whisk and leaves a trail behind. The more you whisk the smaller the sugar crystals become as it cools, the smoother and creamier the fudge will be. I personally don't like grainy fudge that you can feel the sugar crystals in. Pour into a 12" x 9" tin lined with baking parchment and refrigerate till set. Cut into squares or again it can be cut whilst not entirely set into shapes. The leftovers can be kneaded back into a flat sheet and re-cut.

Rum Truffles

8 oz Plain Dark Chocolate

4 oz Butter

2 oz Ground Almonds

2 oz Crushed Digestive Biscuits

2 Tablespoons Rum or more depending on your preference

4 oz Icing Sugar (you may need to add more, the more rum you add)

Chocolate strands, vermicelli, cocoa powder to cover

Melt chocolate, add butter then all other ingredients and mix well.

Chill in fridge

Roll into balls and roll in the covering

They get very sticky the warmer the mixture becomes so you may need to chill between rollings.
For this reason they are best stored in the the fridge.

Crystallised Orange Peel dipped in 85% dark chocolate

I did a bit of research on these and used a combination of a couple of recipes.

3 - 4 Large Oranges

Cut the top and the bottom off the orange. Quarter the peel and remove from the orange.

Try and remove some of the pith as well. It is the peel you want not too much pith.

Cut into slices 1/2 cm wide.

Plunge into boiling water and bring back to the boil. Boil for about 10 - 15 minutes and then drain.

I tasted them to check how bitter they were before draining. It depends on the orange.

2 Cups Water

1 Cup Sugar

Dissolve the sugar in the water.  Add the peel back in and simmer for approx 45 minutes to 1 hour. Most of the water will have disappeared and you will be left with a very stick orange syrup which I kept and have added to sponges etc. Remove the peel from the syrup and put onto a cooling rack so any excess syrup drips off.

1 cup of sugar for dredging

Roll the peel in the dredging sugar and then put back on the rack to dry. You can leave them over night to completely dry. Then they can be stored in an airtight box for use in cakes etc.

Alternatively you can dip them in melted plain dark chocolate and give away as delicious sweets (if you can bare to part with them that is!)

Chocolate Fudge

SewGorgeous then made chocolate fudge with my Mum when she came back from Uni (I was still as work humph!) which were also added into the little baggys. We cut them into adorable little hearts.

 

The recipe for these is amazingly easy.

350g Plain Dark Chocolate

2 Tablespoons of  Butter

400g Tin Condensed Milk

Nuts: 150g of your choice e.g. pecan, walnut, pistachio etc. chopped

Microwave the chocolate on high for 3 minutes or so until it has melted.

Add the condensed milk

Add the butter 

Add  the nuts

Pour into a tin tray approx 12" x 9" lined with baking parchment and refrigerate until set.

Either cut into squares when set or you can use a petite four cutter of a simple shape like a ring or a heart. We found dipping the cutter into hot water before cutting helped immensely.

We also thought it would be nice to add some chopped shortbread, crystallised ginger or maybe some rum soaked raisins. I will definitely try these next year.

That is all the Christmas food goodies for now.
Sew and craftiness next on the list. Watch this space!