24 Jul Horlicks Fudge

Hot chocolate, Milo, Horlicks. Those comforting hot drinks that get us through miserable winter days. For some time, Horlicks has not been available in SA, so I was absolutely delighted to discover that it’s back on the shelves again. It didn’t take me long to think up a recipe using Horlicks. I’ve been meaning to make fudge for some time, and  a creamy, malty Horlicks fudge sounded like a good idea to me!

Fudge is unusual amongst confectionery in that you actually want sugar crystals to form. In toffees, brittles, marshmallows, nougat and caramels, you avoid this at all costs! The thing with crystals in fudge is that they must be small and they must not form too early. If the crystals form too early (while heating the mixture), you will end up with large crystals resulting in a grainy fudge.  It is only after cooling your fudge mixture that you beat like mad to encourage the crystal formation. All that beating is a lot of work but the result is is creamy, melt-in-the mouth texture. This coupled with that malty Horlicks flavour makes for an irresistable treat!

Ingredients:

100g Horlicks
400g castor sugar
100ml water
50ml milk
120g butter
385g tin condensed milk

Directions:

• Line a 20cm x 20cm baking tin with greaseproof paper.
• Place the Horlicks, castor sugar, water and milk into a medium saucepan. Heat on low heat, stirring until the sugar has completely dissolved.
• Once all the sugar has dissolved, add the butter and condensed milk and increase the heat to medium.
• Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Continue heating until a temperature of 116°C is reached on a sugar thermometer (or until soft ball stage – when a drop of the mixture is drizzled into cold water it should form a soft ball). It’s really important to stir the mixture constantly the whole time, or it will start to burn on the bottom. This is quite hard work, as it takes about 15-20 minutes to reach this stage. A long-handled wooden spoon is useful so your hand doesn’t get too hot!
• As soon as the mixture has reached 116°C, remove from the heat. Do not stir at this point. Leave to cool somewhere undisturbed for 10 minutes.
• After the mixture has cooled for 10 minutes, use a wooden spoon to beat the mixture vigourously. You want to encourage the formation of small sugar crystals to give that characteristic melt-in-the-mouth fudge texture. Continue beating until the mixture is no longer glossy, (and your arm is almost falling off), 5-8 minutes.
• Quickly pour the mixture into the prepared tin. Cover with another layer of greaseproof paper and press down evenly with your hands to level the fudge.
• Leave to cool at room temperature until set, then cut into squares. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.