Rich peanut butter fudge

I had an idea for a caramel and fudge eclair, and resorted to my trusty recipe for fudge as the first starting point. I’ve adapted my own recipe somewhat, as I’ve incorporated sweetened condensed milk and a large dollop of peanut butter to enrich it.

If you have a peanut allergy or are wanting to make this but are worried about others eating it, you can omit the peanut butter and instead use a tablespoon of vanilla bean paste.

Notes

Fudge is the easiest of all confectionary to make but there are a few key points:

• It must boil to soft ball stage, which is 116C
• After reaching soft ball stage, you should let it cool to about 110C before adding any extra ingredients (like the peanut butter here, or vanilla)
• Between the 110C and about 65C you need to vigorously stir the fudge while cooling as this ensures the sugar doesn’t crystalise into long strands (this gives an unwanted crunchy texture and can also leave the fudge more prone to dissolving in air)

Equipment

• Large heavy based pan
• Sugar thermometer
• Wooden spoon
• Smallish (about 20cm x 20cm) tin, lined with baking paper (or you can make a tray using tin foil

Ingredients

• Demerera sugar – 250g
• Caster sugar – 200g
• Double cream – 250ml
• Sweetened condensed milk – 250ml
• Glucose syrup – 1 tablespoons
• Peanut butter, smooth – 3 tablespoons (or replace with a tablespoon of vanilla bean paste)

Method

1. Put all the ingredients except the peanut butter in the sauce pan
2. Stir over a medium heat until all the ingredients are melted together
3. Turn up the heat, put in the sugar thermometer and boil until it reaches 116C/soft ball stage
4. Take off the heat and stir gently until the temperature falls to about 110C
5. Add in the peanut butter and stir vigorously until combined and then until the fudge drops to about 65C
6. Pour into your tin and leave to cool
7. Once cool cut into squares and keep in an airtight container (especially away from moisture)

Advertisement