Fudge...

At the weekend all the Buckets went to a small food and craft fair. It was a lovely day, some of our friends had a stall there and we got back in time for Mr Bucket to see the Grand Prix.

On the way out we stopped at a fudge stall (which was delicious and didn't last long at all). As we were eating Mr Bucket casually said "you should make some of this" to which I naively replied "I think I will".

But first, let's go back....way back.... to about 1990 when I first made fudge - total disaster!!!

The recipe said to use Carnation condensed milk but I didn't read the recipe properly and instead of using a small can I used a big one. So the fudge didn't set, no matter what I did so I eventually put it in the freezer in the hope that it would harden even a little bit.

Nope, didn't seem to work although I started to notice that it wasn't all there, as if someone was sneakily eating it. I finally caught my mum in the act, her head in the freezer and spoon in hand, scoffing it. She said it was delicious and it was....it just wasn't fudge.

Back to now....

I read the recipe VERY carefully, it used Carnation condensed milk (I think I was trying to re-do the original recipe), everything went in the pan. So far so good.

Only it didn't seem to want to get firmer and after stirring it for ages, I fudged the fudge - I added some icing sugar to firm it up, whipped it for ages (my arm was killing me) and put it in a bowl.

And ta-da!!

It's still a bit soft and gooey but I'm getting there - the kids really love it, Miss Bucket wanted it before bed and for breakfast this morning (not a chance).

I'm definitely going to have another go, making sure all measurements are exact and I might even treat myself to a sugar thermometer. We'll see. Sam xx