Saturday 25 August 2012

Nigella's Chocolate Pistachio Fudge


I have been a little busy recently, both at work and with having the kitchen redone (there will be photos, but perhaps not yet, as it still needs to be tiled and redecorated) and my time and motivation to blog has fallen slightly by the wayside. I have still be making lots of things though, so the backlog (an ever-present problem for me) has been building steadily.

In line with needing to make something quick and easy, and not having all that much time, this post will be short and sweet, rather like the fudge it describes. I often flick through books I bought a while ago, and happened to be flicking through Nigella Express recently, not really with anything in mind, when the page with the chocolate pistachio fudge caught my eye. So pretty. So easy. And fairly quick too - just need to let it cool and set. It's the perfect thing for those in need of an easy sweet treat to make. No baking required, and only four ingredients too.


You can find the original recipe for Chocolate Pistachio Fudge on Nigella's website. Regular followers will be wondering about the pistachio of the title. No, I cannot magically eat them, but instead substituted dried cherries for the nuts. A different texture, I grant you, but not an unpleasant one. Admittedly, the contrast of the green nuts and the dark fudge is rather more photogenic than the rather unremitting brown of my fudge, but never mind. 


I adapted the recipe slightly and give my amounts here:
Chocolate Cherry Fudge
Ingredients
300g condensed milk
260g dark chocolate (I used G&B Cooks 72% chocolate here)
22g butter
90g dried cherries, chopped a bit smaller

Method
- Line a 20cm/8" square tin with clingfilm/wrap.
- Melt butter, condensed milk and chocolate in a large pan over a low heat.
- Mix in chopped cherries.
- Spoon into prepared tin and level. Allow to cool before refrigerating.
- When set, cut into 64 pieces and store in the freezer.

I have only one small gripe about this recipe - there seemed to be a slight fatty deposit on the top of the fudge which is really not very attractive. I don't know why this is, perhaps I overheated the mixture? It doesn't matter all that much because I know what it is, and it's only me that'll be eating this rather than my colleagues, but I'm not sure how to prevent it next time. 

Hmm, unphotogenic fatty bit....

That aside, this is beautifully smooth and rather more-ish to eat too. Not too sweet and the cherries add a good textural contrast. Having this in the freezer is pretty dangerous though... I wasn't convinced that it would be good to eat straight from the freezer, but it really, really is. Not too hard to bite into at all, and I can hear it calling me as I type. It'll make a great 'freezer-raider' snack!

When I thought about this fudge it fulfils the criteria for a number of the blogging challenges this month.


We Should Cocoa, hosted this month by Janice of Farmersgirl Kitchen, founded by Choclette of Choc Log Blog and Chele of Chocolate Teapot. The theme this month is cherries and although I made a lovely cake with fresh cherries in it I haven't had chance to post it and we're at the deadline now.


Forever Nigella, hosted this month by Karen of Lavender and Lovage, and founded by Sarah of Maison Cupcake, where the theme is 'Fridge Raider Snacks'.


Bookmarked Recipes, hosted by Jac of Tinned Tomatoes, because this is a recipe I've been meaning to get round to making for ever such a long time now - I don't know what took me so long as it's so simple and quick to do.


Sarah of Maison Cupcake has also launched a 'No Bake' challenge, born from her lack of a kitchen for a period this summer. I can empathise with that feeling, although mine didn't take quite as long as Sarah's to change. I feel eminently qualified to enter the no-bake challenge!


Finally, I think this would make a good 'Sporting Snack' and am submitting it to Ren's Sporting Snacks challenge on Fabulicious Food. 

15 comments:

Janice said...

Woooo! well done on your mega challenge blog post. Thank you for joining us on We Should Cocoa, the pistachios might look better, but the cherries would be my choice. Great looking fudge.

Johanna GGG said...

I love these sort of condensed milk fudges - cherries sounds like an excellent addition. I prefer to think of the white swirl as a marbled effect that only the most highly skilled bakers can produce :-)

cityhippyfarmgirl said...

I agree with Johanna. This was a skilled artisan chocolate maker effect that you've created for your lovely fudge. Swirly indeed :-)
Looks awesome and I'd happily have a rather large square for my Sunday afternoon.

Alicia Foodycat said...

I think the fatty bloom is from the butter - I don't add any when I make this sort of fudge and I really don't think it adds anything!

Unknown said...

I love fudge but have yet to make my own... I always think it would be really dangerous to have the skill in my head... I just wouldn't be able to stop!!... yours looks AMAZING!!... i need fudge now!!

Anne said...

Ooohh what a fabulous combo of flavours! Have always wanted to make Nigella's fudge but scared to be left in the house with 64 squares of it !!

Look forward to seeing your kitchen piccies in due course!

The Caked Crusader said...

Looks lovely. As to the deposit on top...I think I'd just flip it over and serve it the other way up!

Katie said...

That looks delicious. I hate when fudge is all crystaline, but this looks so soft and...fudgy!

The cherries were a great idea. I think you're right that the fatty deposit might have been overheating,causing it to seperate slightly, not that it matters as Im sure it still tasted great!

Hello said...

I found your blog on the Kitchen Raider blog hop. Your chocolate cherry fudge looks delish, and really easy to make too.

Choclette said...

Ha C, you've caught me up with 5 challenges in one post. Not sure anyone has made six yet. Really like the sound of sour cherries in the fudge as it would detract from the sweetness - I generally find fudge too sweet for me these days. I'm wondering if the bloom has come about by under mixing, but then chocolate is a funny thing to work with. Thanks for entering these into WSC and I look forward to seeing your cherry cake.

Adan Smith said...

Your chocolate cherry fudge looks delish, and really easy to make too. I love chocolate flavor.I really happy to find your blog.I will try to make it.Its very easy. its really delicious.Thanks for share it..

Gloria Baker said...

I love fudge and love Nigella!

Nickki said...

I love this fudge and make it at Christmas for gifts. I've never made it with cherries before but I will definitely try it now :-)

Karen S Booth said...

I am impressed! SO many blog challenges in one go and a PERFECT fridge raid snack too! THANKS so much!

Caroline said...

Janice - thanks - I hadn't realised how many challenges this would be eligible for!

Johanna - I'll have to try again though - what a hardship!

Brydie - I'd happily send you some. It would make a great afternoon treat.

Foodycat - yes, I suspected as much. I'll skip the butter next time. I wondered if it was necessary to get the chocolate and condensed milk to mix but I'm sure it's not.

Dom - yes, some skills are definitely dangerous to acquire.

Anne - it can be hard to ignore fudge in the freezer!

CC - good plan.

Katie - it did indeed taste great. I liked the cherries in it and it was really soft and fudgy, not crystalline at all.

Miss C Flash - glad you've found me, hope you're enjoying the posts here. It was really easy to make, I'd thoroughly recommend it.

Choclette - yes, chocolate is a funny ingredient to work with. I obviously need more practice ;-)

Adan - it's a lovely easy recipe, glad you like the blog, thanks for leaving a comment.

Gloria - I think you'd love this recipe then!

Nicola - I think it's probably a fairly adaptable recipe. Ginger would be great too I think.

Karen - yes, it's sitting in the freezer calling to me!

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