This recipe yields a very smooth and creamy texture on the palate. However, the taste of the coffee was very dominant and the ginger did not come through in the fudge flavor. The addition of the toasted ginger cake did not do much. Even though the cake was toasted and chopped, it disappeared in the warmth of the fudge when stirred in. Other than that, I found it to be very sweet. In researching other fudge recipes, the sugar content is a little high for the amount of fudge that the recipe makes.
If you make candy on a regular basis, then this particular recipe should not be a problem. The special flavor combination is quite unique for fudge. More tweaks will need to be made in order to create a balance between the coffee and ginger.
Since this recipe is from the UK, it was given in oz or milliliters and grams. The oz and gram conversion to cups results in fractions, so I am submitting it with the original measurements. You can either weigh the ingredients or use a conversion chart to cups and round up or down.
Gingerbread Latte Fudge
adapted from BBC Food
Ingredients
500 grams or 1 lb 2oz sugar
75 grams or 2 and 1/2 oz sliced ginger cake
150 ml or 5 oz heavy cream
50 grams or 1 3/4 oz butter
135 ml or 4 1/2 fluid oz whole milk
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground espresso coffee
50 ml or 2 oz water
Set your oven to broil. Then prepare a 7 inch square cake pan by greasing the interior and lining with parchment paper.
Place the cake slices on a baking sheet and place under the broil to toast. Keep a close eye, so they do not get too brown. Then turn slices over and toast the other side. Remove pan and let the cake cool. Chop into small pieces. Your pieces do not have to be exactly the same size, but remember that each piece of fudge is only 1x1 inches.
Pour water into a large, deep saucepan and place over high heat. Once it comes to a boil, remove from heat. Turn heat down to low and wait about 10 minutes. Fill the saucepan with the cream, milk, butter and sugar. Put saucepan back over heat and stir. It will take about 15 minutes for the butter to melt and the sugar to dissolve. Take out a small heat proof bowl.
Clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan. Turn the temperature up to medium high. When the mixture reaches a simmering point, it should be bubbling. Hold at this point by making adjustments to the heat. The mixture will need to reach a perfect temperature of 241 degrees Fahrenheit or 116 centigrade. Once idea temperature is achieved, remove from heat and pour 1/4 of the mixture into the heat proof bowl. Set the heat proof bowl aside.
The mixture in your saucepan is the main fudge and the bowl will be the "latte" topping. Add the ginger spice and coffee into the main fudge batch and beat for 1 minute. Once blended, mix in the ginger cake pieces. Beat again for a few minutes. It will thicken and pull away from the sides of the pan-it has reached the correct consistency. Pour into prepared tin.
Take the heat proof bowl of candy and beat a few times. Drop spoonfuls over top of main fudge and marble with a skewer or toothpick. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or cool at room temperature for a few hours prior to cutting and serving.
Tips and Notes:
1. Chopped gingersnap cookies may do better in this recipe than cake.
2. My topping was not like a foamy latte, so it may require more cooking time than suggested.
3. Beat time after you add the ginger cake pieces may vary, mine took longer than 2 minutes to thicken.
4. The chunks of cake/cookie in a cut piece of fudge were not visible and did not change the texture. For something more visible and crunchy-increase the measurement.
5. To insure success, you will need a candy thermometer.
**LAST YEAR: Pistachio Schoolboy Cookies**