Spring Rain and Cornish Fudge
There has been a lot of rain down here in the South East this week - if the garden wasn’t springing up, I would think we were only at the start of the season. All this rain and being by the sea reminds me of childhood holidays in the beautiful county of Cornwall and that gave me the thought to make Cornish Fudge...this is how my brain works.
There are two elements that make this fudge Cornish; one is the addition of Cornish clotted cream (Roddas is my favourite, but use any you can find) and the other is sea salt - inspired by coastal walks and beach days.
The combination of sweet and salty is addictive, but it needs to be sea salt rather than table salt - I know it sounds odd, but sea salt has a softer flavour and works better with the fudge.
You will need a sugar thermometer for this recipe as you need to get the mixture to a certain temperature, they are easy to find from cookware shops and online and don’t cost the earth. They are simple to use, clipped to the side of the saucepan and can be used when making all sorts of sugary treats and jams.
Cornish Fudge
227g clotted cream
227g golden caster sugar
100g golden syrup
pinch of sea salt flakes
Line a 15cm square tin with baking parchment.
Place all the ingredients into a medium sized heavy based saucepan and clip in the sugar thermometer. Put over a medium heat and slowly allow the ingredients to melt and bubble together. Stirring occasionally.
Keep an eye on the thermometer rising, you want the mixture to reach 120ºC. Then remove off the heat and leave to cool for 1 minute, before carefully stirring with a wooden spoon. The mixture will start shiny and then turn matt and thick in texture.
Pour the fudge into the prepared tin and scatter with a final pinch of sea salt (optional). Leave in the fridge to cool and set for 1 hour.
Tip the block of fudge out onto a chopping board and cut into bite sized pieces - it will be crumbly so some fudge may flake off, but that's the perk of being the cook as you can eat those bits up!
Store in an airtight container for 1 week, or bundle them up into little cellophane bags and give them as gifts.
I am eating a piece as I type and I am immediately transported in my mind back to Cornwall, where the winds can be blustery and the air is fresh and salty.
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Take extra care when heating sugar up to high temperatures, as sugar burns are not fun!
