31 Dec Gingerbread Fudge

Christmas has come and gone but I’m still in in the mood for making holiday treats like this gingerbread fudge! It’s deliciously creamy and packed with all the warm and festive flavours of a gingerbread cookie – what’s not to love? A while ago I found an adorable mini gingerbread man cookie stamp. It works beautifully to cut out cookie dough so I tried using it for cutting out fudge and it was a win! The resulting gingerbread men are not only super-cute but also the perfect size to gobble up in one bite! If you cant find a similar cutter then any other small Christmas cookie cutters will work perfectly too.
A sugar thermometer is not essential, but does make it easier to get the texture of your fudge exactly right – if the mixture is not cooked to a high enough temperature the fudge will be soft and not set. It’s also important to beat the fudge thoroughly while it’s cooling to form small crystals which give it that creamy texture. I recommend having an assistant close by to take over the beating when your arm gets tired (although that might mean sharing the fudge with them!).

Ingredients:

115g salted butter
200g white sugar
200g brown sugar
1 x 385g tin condensed milk
150ml cream
2 tbsp golden syrup
¾ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp mixed spice
1 tsp vanilla essence

Directions:

• Grease and line a 20 x 20cm baking tin with baking paper.
• Place all ingredients into a medium-sized saucepan over low heat. Stir until the sugar is fully dissolved.
• Increase the heat, stirring constantly, boiling the mixture for 10-15 minutes until it reaches 116°C on a sugar thermometer. (If you don’t have a sugar thermometer you can test this by taking a little of the mixture and dropping into a bowl of ice water. Leave to cool for a few seconds then pick up the ball of mixture – if it’s sticky and pliable, and can be moulded easily, it has reached the soft ball stage).
• Remove from the heat, then allow the mixture to cool for a few minutes to 110°C. Beat the mixture vigorously (with an electric mixer or if you’re feeling energetic you can do this by hand with a wooden spoon!) until it reaches 60°C. The mixture will become thicker and lose its shine.
• Pour into the prepared tin and press it down evenly (I like to place a piece of baking paper on top of the mixture and use my hand to smooth the surface).
• Chill the mixture for at least 1 hour until firm. Slice into small squares or use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. If the fudge is a little sticky it helps to dip your knife or cookie cutter into icing sugar in between each cut.