January 26, 2012
Cutting the Chocolate Cake
I just finished my fifth iteration of chocolate fudge, and it's still crumbly. Delicious, but dry around the edges.
This pisses me off to no end. If you know how to make creamy fudge, or know a young girl on the wrong side of the tracks who can make creamy fudge, drop me a line. Unless you are predalien.
It's probably not packed tight enough. I hear predalien is an expert at having his fudge packed. You might ask him where he has it done.
Posted by: Randy Rager at January 26, 2012 11:03 PMOn the topic of fudge, get yourself one of those jars of marshmallow cream, it has the recipe right on the jar. The peanut butter is by far the best.
Only strayed into the fudge packing a few times when I dated an older lady in Twenty-nine Palms, CA, she normally consumed Marines but she made an exception for me.
My wife makes great fudge. She takes pains with the cooking temperature, cooking time and the cooling of the cooked ingredients. The cooked recipe is cooled in an ice-water bath by floating a steel bowl of the cooked material in ice water in the sink. There is no packing to it; she pours it into glass baking dishes and puts it in the fridge for a time. It takes a lot of work and is fraught with opportunities for screwing it up.
Posted by: Bill at January 28, 2012 7:31 PMYou mad my seeds be sproutin'? Speaking of which, your daughter and I have great news, you're gonna be a grandpappy!!! :D
Posted by: Predalien at February 1, 2012 3:57 AMI'll just ignore the waste of oxygen above.
The marshmallow creme version is somewhat foolproof, but sacrilege in our family. Cloyingly sweet, as well.
Combine 3 cups sugar, 3 tablespoons cocoa, 1 1/2 cups heavy cream and 1 tablespoon light Karo syrup. Cook over medium heat without stirring until soft ball stage. (Don't trust a thermometer, drop some of the mixture in cold water and see if it holds together). Remove from heat, add 2 teaspoons vanilla and 2 tablespoons butter. Let cool until you can hold your hand on the bottom of the pan (bearing in mind that my great-grandmother had heavily calloused hands that weren't very heat-sensitive). Beat until your arm falls off - more technically until it loses its shine. This is the walking-the-razor's-edge part. Beat too long, it will be dry and crumbly. Too short, it will be too soft. Add nuts if desired, pour into greased pan. My grandmother always made fudge on cloudy/humid days, said it was fudge making weather. If you make it to a Texas blog meet, I'll make you some.
Posted by: Harper at February 1, 2012 6:23 PM