Chocolate Fudge

The best things in life are often born of mistakes. Take, for example, the time that I attempted to make caramels and utterly failed, ending up with a gooey slab of caramel--too loose to be cut up and eaten, but too hard to be poured on anything. So I decided to use it as a filling, but what could I fill with it?

FUDGE.

I made this fudge, put the caramel in the middle, cut it into little squares, and met creamy, chocolatey, melt-in-your-mouth delicious sweetness, with a hint of salt to balance it all out. It's like chocolate went to heaven and came back down, a better man.

This fudge is definitely one of my favorite recipes. Ever.


I could write an ode about this, but how about I just give you the recipe instead? (and then drown you afterwards in my notes on it =D)....
CHOCOLATE FUDGE Recipe adapted from "Best Recipes from the Backs of Boxes, Bottles, Cans, and Jars"

1 1/3 cup of granulated white sugar

2/3 cup of evaporated milk (fat content doesn't matter)

1/4 c (1/2 stick) butter, unsalted

1 jar of marshmallow fluff/creme (about 7 oz)

1/4 tsp salt
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate (preferably chips, or finely chopped)

Directions:
- Line an 8x8 pan with foil or wax paper
- Put first 4 ingredients together in a saucepan. Bring to a boil while stirring. Once it starts to boil, set a timer for 5 minutes, and stir it the ENTIRE TIME.
- When the 5 minutes are over (the mixture should be a more golden color than when you started), remove the pan from the heat and stir in the salt and the chocolate chips until they are melted and incorporated fully into mixture.
- Pour into the prepared pan, and chill in the refrigerator until it is set.
- Cut into small squares or rectangles, and, if you like, wrap them in squares of
foil or wax paper.

Notes:

1) REALLY, I mean it when I say stir for the entire time. If you don't stir it, it will end up with a more chewy texture, like a caramel, and not with the delicious creaminess that defines this fudge. So, don't even walk away for a second! (ok, maybe ONE, but no more!!)
I learned this the hard way, with my twice failed Chocolate Lavender Ice Cream Cake...I'll share that horror story when I finally get the cake not to fall apart all over the table. Did I mention this was twice??

2) These can stay refrigerated, but they're fine once out of the fridge. Maybe a little softer, but still just as good.

3) I like to wrap each piece up individually, although that can be pretty labor intensive - depending on the size you cut, this can make up to 70 pieces of fudge! However, it makes it look pretty, and it makes transporting it or handing it out to people much easier.


4) You can cut this recipe in half, and pour it into a loaf pan, but it becomes more complicated when you do that. The marshmallow fluff jars come in convenient 7 oz sizes! If you have a scale, then you can easily do it...but without it, it becomes tricky.


5) Coat your spoon with cooking spray before putting it into the fluff, cuz that stuff is STICKY!


6) This can be a tricky recipe in the summer, especially on humid days, so until you get completely familiar with the way the fudge is supposed to be, I would suggest only making it in drier weather...or with very good air conditioning!


7) If you stir too little, you'll get a caramel-like texture. If you heat it for too long, the fudge may crumble. If you heat it for too little time, it may never fully set. If anything goes wrong with it in this way, DON'T WORRY! Find another use for it - use the crumbles to top off a pudding dessert or some ice cream, use the non-set fudge as a layer in a cake. Or just eat it all with a spoon and don't worry about other people, cuz no matter what you do to it it tastes great.



Try out different things in the middle - I've put caramel before, and I'm thinking of an almond butter filling (my favorite filling already is peanut butter)...and my dad wants me to try something with raspberry jam! Or mix in nuts. I dunno, experiment!


Speaking of experimentation, I'm going to try to make this with white chocolate sometime - the use of the semi-sweet chocolate limits the variety of flavors the fudge can have, but a white chocolate may open up new doors...
=)
Try this!! Soon!!! It is amazing.
=D
(and tell me if you try out anything yummy and new with it!)