Copyright Thomas Saaristo All Rights Reserved
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Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/3 cup chopped pecans [optional]
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 - 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Method
Butter a loaf pan, 9 x 5 x 3, or 8 x 8 inch square pan. A square pan will make
thinner fudge that is easier to cut while the loaf pan will make thicker, harder to cut
fudge.
Combine sugar, cocoa, butter, milk, and corn syrup in a heavy-bottomed 2 quart
pan. Heat to boiling over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently. Boil and
stir for one minute. Remove from heat and let cool without stirring until the bottom
of the pan is lukewarm-- 45 minutes to 1 hour. Make sure you don't forget about
it, because once it is totally cold, it becomes too hard to mix the powdered sugar
in.
Stir in nuts and vanilla. Start with 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar. Sift the powdered
sugar into the pan, stirring to blend. As the dough stiffens, it is easiest to continue
mixing using your hands, adding more powdered sugar if necessary, or turning the
dough out onto the table and kneading it like bread dough. When the fudge is the
consistency of smooth bread dough and there aren't any little bits of powdered
sugar to be seen, press it into the greased pan.
Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour, then cut into 1 inch squares.
TIP
For even easier removal of the finished fudge, use a 9 x 13 pan with a tin foil
divider. Press the fudge into half of the pan, leaving the other half empty. Press the
tin foil up against the edge of the fudge so it doesn't creep over into the empty half
of the pan. Chill, then remove the tin foil. This will help make the fudge easier to
cut and remove from the pan
