Delectables with Dan: Stuff My Basket (An Easter Special) 2: Fudgepacker

I actually only had one Easter special on the books, but the other night I thought, what the fuck and decided to make up some of my favourite fudge but in cute little Easter and spring shapes@ 



I make no apologies for the title of this blog. I find it humours. It's not a shot at gay people, as I have enjoyed relations with the same sex, so you can just cross that off your tiny minds and find something else to get butthurt about. Now that's out of the way, let's pack some fudge, shall we?

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips. 

I prefer to use the mini ones, but you can use the regular sized chips if that's all you can find.

1 can sweetened condensed milk (14oz) 

4 tbsp marshmallow fluff
55g softened butter 

1 tsp vanilla essence 

You will also need: 

1 non-stick medium-sized saucepan

1 rubber spatula 

1 13x9 baking tray 

baking spray for greasing the tin (do not grease tin with vegetable shortening)
Easter or Spring themed biscuit cutters 

In a medium-sized non-stick saucepan (if it's not a non-stick pan, give it a light spray with baking spray so the chocolate and marshmallow won't stick to the pain.) combine your chocolate chips and butter over low heat. Allow the chips and butter to start melting together before adding in the vanilla essence and marshmallow fluff.

Once the two start to melt together, add in the vanilla and carefully spoon in the marshmallow fluff. You may do well to spray a bit of cooking spray on the spoon, as it will get sticky. You'll need to scrape some of the marshmallow off the spoon. Fold it into the chocolate with a non-stick rubber baking spatula. Begin to stir after gently folding it, do not allow the chocolate to sit too long, it will start to burn to the bottom of the pan. Keep stirring for about 6-7 minutes until chocolate is a light brown colour.

**You can also make the fudge without the marshmallow fluff, but I feel that if you make it without it or without marshmallows (the mini ones work best for this if you don't have fluff) it doesn't come out as smooth. This fudge is supposed to have a lovely velvet texture that melts in your mouth. 



The fudge will be thick and soft when you go to pour it into the pan. If it's not that consistency, either you've done something wrong or you've not stirred it enough. Stirring is key to keep it silky. Think of your lover's panties. You want it like that. Spray your pan with non-stick cooking spray. Using the rubber spatula, carefully scrape the hot chocolate-marshmallow mixture into the pan.

Grease your biscuit cutters before using them! If you don't they still stick and get stuck in the chocolate. Taking your cutters, carefully press them into the semi-solid chocolate. It will reach just about all the way to the top of the cutter, don't worry. Make sure that the cutters do touch the bottom of the pan so that the shape is preserved when you go to remove it later. Once you've got your cutters in the chocolate, but the pan into the fridge for 1-2 hours so that it hardens up nice. (Keep all the finished fudge in the fridge.) When you remove the set fudge from the fridge, carefully remove the cutters from the fudge; if you need to you may use a silver knife to carefully work around the inside of the cutter. 

It can make a great Easter gift if you're short on funds. Everybody loves fudge and it's easy enough to make. If you're gifting the shaped fudge, make sure that you wrap every piece with a small piece of clingfilm to keep them from sticking to one another and losing their shapes. Put them in a lovely little plastic bag with some pretty coloured ribbons. I guarantee this fudge will be a hit with everyone! 

I'm actually looking to branch out and do different types of fudge throughout the year. I think it was 2 years ago almost that I did a butterbeer fudge inspired by Harry Potter. That was a lot of fun, a challenge, but something that was pretty cool to do. Around the same time, 2016, I did a dark chocolate pistachio fudge. That was amazing.  I'm looking to do a peanut butter fudge, a raspberry fudge, a strawberry fudge, blueberry fudge and so much more. I don't know how much of it I'll get done but I really love doing these.