So as most people probably know, I like to bake and make candy. I’m also (no false modesty here) very good at it. At the holidays I usually make goodies to send to Ted’s work, and to hand out in tins to people, but I’m almost never there to see people enjoy it. I know they do, because Ted pretty regularly comes home to deliver marriage proposals after I’ve sent fudge or brownies to his work.
This weekend, though, I got to field my own marriage proposals. :) I was asked to bring fudge to WFC (and then the guy who asked for it didn’t get any!), so I was in the rare position of actually getting to watch people take the first bite.
It was really kind of awesome, in a terribly flattering way. Nearly everybody took a small bite and then got incredulous looks that were often followed by an equally incredulous, “You made this?” or “You make really good fudge,” and then two or three minutes of staring blissfully into space as they nibbled it away.
And I did in fact get a marriage proposal, and someone else offered to actually *buy* the last piece off me (I said no, as it was promised to someone), and people followed me around making meepful hopeful expressions asking for more. It was pretty great. :)
But I’ve now had challenges laid down! One is for a friend who can’t eat dairy and another is for what we believe is probably ginger-maple fudge (she was certain of the ginger, but thought there was probably another ingredient, so I went looking for ginger fudge recipes and sent several and she thought ginger-maple sounded right :)), so I shall rise to meet the challenges! The maple-ginger will probably be pretty easy to make at a quality I approve of (someone offered to beta-test the batches, but the truth is I’m the final arbiter of quality because nobody is nearly as harsh on my fudge as I am), but the non-dairy will be very interesting indeed to test and try until I’ve got something I think is suitable. :)baba
Katie,
Try this, coconut oil makes a great fudge, although it has a slightly lower melt temperature than butter it is a similar consistency. It is a wonderful substitute for dairy in baking.
Maple Walnut Fudge
Servings: 16
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
1 1/2 cups brazil nuts, roughly chopped
1/4 cup coconut cream concentrate
2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon maple extract
4 medjool dates, pitted (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
Make brazil nut butter in your food processor with the metal blade. When the butter starts looking oily, scrape down the sides of the food processor and process again until smooth. Add the coconut cream, coconut oil, maple syrup, maple extract, and dates. Process until smooth.
Line a loaf pan with parchment paper. Spread mixture evenly into the pan. Top with walnuts, gently pressing them in. Refrigerate until hard. Cut into squares, rectangles or triangles. Return to the fridge. Serve cold.
thanks!