Crumbly Eggnog Fudge
I posted my Crumbly Vanilla Fudge Recipe some time ago now, and it is one of the blogs on which we have had the most comments. It seems I'm not the only person who prefers crumbly fudge to chewy fudge! And as Christmas approaches, here is how to make something lovely and festive: Crumbly Eggnog Fudge.
As I said when I shared my crumbly fudge recipe, this is based on a traditional fudge recipe from an old cookbook. There is no condensed milk, evaporated milk or any of the other ingredients you tend to see in modern fudge recipes. Simply butter, sugar, milk and vanilla. Only now... we venture into flavourings!
Lots of stirring is needed for Crumbly Fudge
If you haven't come to this recipe from the original one, then it's worth reiterating how much you need to stir fudge to get my favourite crumbly texture. The end result you're aiming for is something between a tablet and a fudge.
So it isn't just a quick stir with a wooden spoon but, rather, stirring vigorously for a long time. Until the glossiness starts to go out of the mixture. This will coincide with the texture changing as it starts to dramatically thicken up. There is a video of me making it below this post which shows you what you're looking for.
I always tend to have cartons of full fat, whole UHT milk in the house to make yogurt quickly, so I always use that but of course fresh pasteurised milk would work fine too.
Adding Ingredients to make EggNog Fudge
I make Eggnog at Christmas time. When I looked at the ingredients, the two obvious ones which were missing from my fudge recipe were brandy and nugmeg. So these are the ingredients I added. I used 1 tablespoon of brandy in the video, simply because it makes the fudge family friendly (hardly a trace of alcohol would have survived in each piece if little people were eating it). If you want it to pack a punch, then I'd add more like 2 tablespoons of brandy and, as well as putting more nutmeg in the fudge, you could also sprinkle more nutmeg on the top. I tend to think less is more when it comes to nugmeg, but the choice is entirely yours.
Crumbly Eggnog Fudge Recipe
Ingredients
100g salted butter (if you're feeling keen you could make your own butter too)
350g granulated sugar, any old white sugar is fine
300ml full fat milk - I use whole long life milk
1 tsp vanilla essence/vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons Brandy (see note above about quantities)
One eighth to one half teaspoon Nutmeg (see note above about quantities) - you can use ready ground nutmeg or grate from a whole nutmeg
Vanilla pods to grate over the top (optional)
You'll also need a sugar thermometer, or you can test to soft ball stage if you know how to do that. Or you could use the Kilner thermometer I use in the video below.
Plus a small, pan/dish buttered and lined with baking parchment, mine measures 9 cm x 13cm.
Method
1. Put all the ingredients except the vanilla and brandy into as heavy based a saucepan as you can find (sugar tends to burn in my thin saucepans, maybe that's just me).
2. Melt the mixture on a low heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
3. When you're confident all the sugar is dissolved, turn up the heat.
4. Bring the pan to the boil. The mixture will start rising up inside the pan. Remain calm, that's supposed to happen.
5. Boil the liquid for at least 15 minutes. I stir mine frequently to stop the sugar 'catching' too much on the bottom of the pan (though see below, even that's not a problem).
6. Check your sugar thermometer regularly - keep going until it reaches 115°C. Don't be tempted to give up before it gets there - if you do, you'll have Eggnog toffee instead. Which could be rather nice, admittedly. .
7. When the temperature hits 115°C, take the pan off the heat for a couple of minutes until it all calms down. Add the vanilla and brandy. Then stir it with a wooden spoon for at least 5 minutes, and/or until you notice it starting to change consistency and the gloss decreasing.
8. If the sugar has 'caught' a little bit on the bottom of the pan, don't worry. Just keep stirring the brown bits in. For it is only caramelised sugar after all. Then pour it into your prepared dish.
9. As it starts to cool, mark out the fudge into squares, then leave until it's completely cold.
10. Turn the fudge out in one piece on to a plate. If your cuts didn't go all the way to the bottom of the pan, the lines you made before it was cold will still be enough to allow you to cut it into squares without it shattering everywhere.
11. Give away as gifts wrapped in cellophane - gorgeous for Christmas presents! Or, of course, you could always just eat it all yourself.
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