a recipe for salted treacle fudge

salted treacle fudge

in my mind making fudge has always been synonymous with the soft ball test. this mama said was the way to check the fudge for readiness. she would keep a glass of cold water next to the stove. on the stove the mixture of sugar and cream would make its displeasure at being heated and reduced felt. angry boils marked the surface bursting to a residue of steam. the hiss and sputter was audible. there is a curious comfort to the sound of sugar fury.

when the mixture had boiled furiously for several minutes mama would drop some into the cold water. if the drop refused to form a concrete shape and made the water cloudy the fudge was not ready. so she would refresh the water and continue until the moment when a drop of the mixture would instantly form a small ball and sink to the bottom. at this point she would take the pan off the heat and stir the fudge vigorously, beating its glossiness into matte. she would pour it into a heavily buttered square tin when it had cooled substantially and become thick and creamy.

i had all but forgotten about making fudge. this is partly because it is fairly easy to get good quality fudge in london. but then in december after o’s birthday i had half a tub of left over clotted cream. i turned it into a batch of treacle fudge on its last day. it turned out to be a much loved confection even by those who confess to not liking fudge. a second batch materialised after yet another afternoon tea and then a third on special request. given its popularity i figured it was time it appeared on the blog.

this fudge has a soft and melting texture. the treacle stops is from being cloyingly sweet and the sea-salt balances the sweet and dark caramel notes. it is a reminder why home-made fudge is so much better than the bought kind which is firmer and crumblier.

making salted treacle fudge

{salted treacle fudge}

two hundred and seventy five grams golden sugar

one hundred grams treacle

two hundred and twenty five grams clotted cream (i use rodda’s cornish clotted cream)

one teaspoon sea-salt

start by greasing a square pan liberally with butter or neutral oil. put this aside.

place the sugar, treacle and clotted cream in a saucepan. heat it on a medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves. once it is dissolved dial up the heat and bring the mixture to a boil. it will hiss and spit. let it boil for around three minutes.

at this stage you can use a candy thermometer to check the fudge for readiness. the mixture is ready when it registers one hundred and sixteen celsius. if you do not have a thermometer simply use the soft ball test described above.

have ready a cold glass of water. drop a little of the fudge into it. if it forms a perfect drop it is ready. if not continue to boil and test the mixture until it does so. now add the sea-salt and mix thoroughly. when ready remove the fudge from the heat and whisk/stir till it becomes matte (roughly ten minutes). the consistency should be thick and have a very lazy pour. spoon it into the prepared square pan.

let it firm up slightly before running a knife through it to cut out little squares. leave it to cool fully before removing from the pan.