Making Fantasy Fudge (aka microwave fudge)....comes out flawless every time, and no bothering with cooking on the stove and the candy thermometer.
That sounds good. Any chance of the recipe? Unless it's a family secret, guarded down the generations from time immemorial, passed from parent to child with dire warnings of the consequences of revealing the ... oh, wait ...
microwave ... right ho ... back to the mince-pie gin for me then ...
Funny you should ask about it with reference to it being a family secret, etc.
There are not a few family tales on the web that circulate every Christmas season about the "Secret Recipe" for the the "famous no-fail" fudge.
"My grandmother/great-aunt/sister's M-i-L [insert relative of your choice, including males] makes the best fudge and won't tell anyone the recipe."
Until you notice that the recipe is on the jar of marshmallow fluff.
Yep, microwave fudge uses marshmallow fluff, evaporated milk (not the sweetened condensed stuff), semi-sweet chocolate, sugar, butter and vanilla.
Follow the directions exactly and you have perfect fudge in no time at all.
I guess the original recipe was made on the stove in pre-microwave days. But the M-fluff company (over here it's Kraft) updated the recipe when M/W ovens became ubiquitous.
OK...belay that order, Mr. Sulu...
So, the recipe (above) that I have extolled is NOT, in fact on the jar of M-fluff. The only recipe on the jar is the traditional one that is made on the stove-top.
THat one does come out great (a friend makes it that way, and I just had some), but you have to stand at the stove watching it.
The M/W version is on the web --all over the web, actually--uses the same ingredients (imperial measurements... you metric typed will need to find the metric version or do a conversion).
But the simple recipe I really wanted to mention (that my great-aunts--- all now dead and buried for years---used for years beginning when M/W ovens first became popular)only uses three ingredients and can be made in 20 minutes (minimal cleanup--uses only one bowl and a spatula) and comes out perfect every time.
So here it is , and I just made some and it was easy and came out .... perfect.
(Imperial measurements again...sorry)
12-18 oz of semi-sweet choc chips (12 oz minimum...more, up to 18 oz, if you want the fudge more "chocolate-y")
14 oz can of SWEETENED condensed milk....yes, you absolutely have to use the
sweetened stuff. It contains the all important butter and sugar. If you use the plain condensed milk the fudge will not come out as fudge,... don't know exactly what it will be , but it won't be fudge, not no way, not no how.
7 oz jar of Marshmallow fluff.
Dump all three ingredients into a
LARGE M/W safe bowl and mix together, so it's all just blended...do this for a minute or two...you just want the ingredients blended so they are not one on top of the other.
Microwave on high (assuming your M/W power is 900-1100 watts) for about 45 seconds (maybe 60 seconds if your M/W is lower power).
Remove from M/W and stir until really smooth, scraping down the sides (I spent about 3 minutes stirring).
Return bowl to M/W and heat again at full power for 45 seconds.
Remove and stir again still making sure it's all smooth
Note: at this point I stir in an
[optional] 1 Teaspoon of Vanilla, mixing it well.
Also optional at this point 1 cup of chopped nuts...walnuts or pecans or almonds or hazelnuts or any combo thereof.... I prefer my fudge w/o nuts, tho'...
Return bowl to M/W for another 30 seconds
Pour (or rather scrape) fudge into a "prepared" 9" x 13" pan (Prepared can be: buttered, or sprayed with the anti-stick stuff, or lined with parchment paper. P-Paper works great because once the fudge is cooled you can lift it out as as a slab and cut it into squares.)
Place in refrigerator for about 4 hours before cutting.