The making of Ayah’s Chocolate Fudge - a saga…
A very happy Diwali to all our readers! In the last of our recipes from the Diwali series, we bring you Ayah’s Milkmaid Chocolate Fudge with loads of best wishes for the festival of light. Having had a few failed attempts over the last couple of years, I was determined that I had to make Ayah’s fudge recipe and get it exactly right before Diwali was over and done with. The recipe, or rather my memories of it, just wouldn’t cooperate though... The apprentice tried before he went off to more important things like college and gave up after scoffing at my recipe. After a tonne of googling, six attempts, a few boxes of jaw breakers, some of inedible fudgy goo and a few burnt pans later, I’m thrilled to say I’ve nailed the recipe! Or at least my version of it, in an ode to Ayah’s version.
Ayah’s preparations for Diwali started with her Milkmaid Nutramul Fudge. I think she’d seen the recipe for it on the back of a can of Milkmaid condensed milk and decided she would substitute the cocoa powder with Nutramul, that malt chocolate drink that she forced on us every morning and evening! How I hated it! The drink, not the fudge... Most mornings, or at least when I could escape her eagle eye, the plants got an extra shot of strength – maybe that’s why they grew taller than I did! Nutramul, for those not in the know, was Amul’s attempt to capture the malted drink market that Bournvita, Boost and Complan had – unfortunately the attempt failed and it is now but a faded memory.
Anyway, back to Diwali and the Nutramul fudge. Traditionally, apart from the palagarams that she made on the day, Ayah made boxes of fudge and bags of Cheepu Cheedai (a ring shaped savoury snack made with rice and urad dal) to be distributed to the neighbours and family. Ayah would whip the fudge up in a jiffy, much to the appreciation of all who tasted it, and the rest of that week was invested in the tedious process of making the cheepu cheedai, an incredibly tasty Chettinad special snack which looks like someone took a comb (cheepu in Tamil) and ran it over a strip of dough, rolled it into a tube and deep fried it. We’d walk around that whole week munching the cheedais fitted on our fingers like rings.
As for the fudge, as I said before, the apprentice was in total awe of my fudge making skills, not... His father said I’d lost my touch since he remembered the excellent batch that I had made one Diwali years ago. Now my feelings were injured! How could I not recreate a recipe that Ayah had made in a jiffy?! The internet was rather helpful with titles like 3 ingredient fudge recipe, 3 minute fudge recipe, no cook recipe, home economics fudge recipe and what not... Simple enough? You’d think so! Reality was very different though… None of them resulted in Ayah’s fudge!
Trial one – microwave for three minutes it said. The result, a bar of chocolate that tasted no different from the chips of chocolate that were melted into it. Trial two – too gooey and chewy said the little brats. Trial three – both the pan and the spoon needed some tender loving care to be restored to their old self. Now I was really miffed – how could a recipe that was meant to be so simple be so hard?! Further research – I had to understand the science behind it apparently – hmm, I was a Commerce and Accounting student in school... Even so, I went out and bought a candy thermometer in the hope that temperature watching would help… Some recipes gave me handy tips but the result was not exactly right. I was about to give up and say maybe Ayah’s degree in Chemistry had made the difference! But Ayah had taught me better — “persistence, my dear”, said the voice in my head.
So, rant over, I figured I was starting off on the wrong foot. I did not have that magic ingredient of Ayah’s – Nutramul, which had some secret ingredient that helps the fudge set (aka milk powder in the main, but also other ingredients). I wasn’t about to test the recipe with other malted powders since the kids hated them with as much of a passion as I did. My googling didn’t yield much more results for a recipe that could promise me what I was looking for, and so, I decided to create my own recipe. The wait for approval from the critics in my life was heart stopping, but the approval was whole hearted. So, we hope you enjoy our labour of love, the recipe for Condensed Milk Chocolate Fudge.
If you’d like to try any of our other Diwali recipes, click here.
Note:
1. To make this recipe, make sure you have a heavy bottom non-stick pan and a rubber / silicon spatula / spoon for mixing. Trust me, your regular pans and spoons will thank you for not using them. You will also need a 9" pan (or similar) lined with greased baking papper to set the fudge in.
2. Do not substitute the powdered sugar with icing / confectioner's sugar as the latter contains cornflour and is not your friend for fudge.
3. I used two cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips and one cup of Belgian milk chocolate callets for this recipe. I also used Lindt dark chocolate for another batch. You can use any combination of your favourite chocolate, but make sure its good quality i.e. something that you like eating just as chocolate. If you are using a bar of chocolate, make sure you chop it into tiny bits to ensure even melting.
4. Most condensed milk fudge recipes don't call for butter but I found that a tiny bit helps a long way in making sure the fudge doesn't stick to the pan and burn.
5. It is important to cook this on a really low heat to prevent the chocolate from burning, so make sure your stove is on the lowest setting possible.
6. The fudge is best stored in the refrigerator, and can be stored for at least two weeks.
Ingredients:
¼ cup sugar, powdered (NOT icing sugar)
1 can condensed milk (400 gm / 14 oz)
3 cups good quality chocolate chips / bar chopped into small bits (~ 500 gm / 18 oz)
½ teaspoon butter (+ a bit for greasing the pan)
Optional:
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons Chopped cashewnuts / almonds toasted till golden brown
Method:
1. Powder the sugar in a blender.
¼ cup sugar, powdered (NOT icing sugar)
2. In a thick bottomed non-stick sauce pan, mix the condensed milk, chocolate chips, sugar and butter.
1 can condensed milk (400 gm / 14 oz)
3 cups good quality chocolate chips / bar chopped into small bits (~ 500 gm / 18 oz)
½ teaspoon butter (+ a bit for greasing the pan)
3. Set the pan on the stove at the lowest possible heat. Once the chocolate chips start melting, start folding the mixture in gently. It is important to fold and not whisk at this stage. See video.
4. Add the vanilla essence, if using, and continue folding the mixture for about 10-15 minutes. If the bottom starts catching, take it off the flame, fold for a few seconds and then return to the flame.
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
5. To check if the fudge is ready:
- The mixture will have become a mass, leaving the sides of the pan easily
- If you have a candy thermometer, turn of the stove when the mixture reaches a temperature of about 220 - 240 F / 105 - 115 C
- Take a bit of the fudge and drop in a bowl of cold water – it should set and be able to roll into a soft ball
6. Let the fudge cool for about five minutes.
7. While the fudge is cooling, get a 9” pan (or similar) ready to set it in. Butter some baking paper and line the pan. I usually cut the paper a bit higher than the pan so its easy to lift up when the fudge is ready to cut.
8. Once the fudge is slightly cooler, mix again, but this time in a circular motion (like whisking). Then pour the mixture into the prepared lined pan and flatten it to about ½ inch thick.
9. If using nuts for garnishing, sprinkle them on top of the fudge mixture and press them in with the back of your spoon / spatula.
10. Let the mixture cool completely. Once cooled, using a sharp knife, score the flattened fudge mixture along the lines that you will be cutting (about ¾ inch x ¾ inch is the perfect size). Don’t cut through – just mark it so it’s easier to cut once set.
11. Cover the fudge with cling wrap or foil and keep in the refrigerator for about 5-6 hours to set completely.
12. Once set, take out of the refrigerator. It should’ve hardened. Use a sharp knife to cut the pieces along the marks you’d scored earlier.
13. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge for about two weeks.
Makes: ~40 ¾ inch x ¾ inch pieces
Apprentice rating: The apprentice abandoned it after one attempt. I would rate it Medium difficulty because of the complexity in heat regulation and knowing when the fudge is ready vs when it has to cook some more.
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