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Fudge with Marshmallow Cream
2 cups sugar 2 squares chocolate 1 cup water 1/2 teaspoon salt 4 tablespoons marshmallow cream 1 teaspoon vanilla Put the sugar, water, grated chocolate and salt into a saucepan and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Boil slowly to the soft-ball stage, or 236 degrees F. Remove from the fire, pour it over the marshmallow cream in a bowl, but do not stir. When it is lukewarm, add the vanilla and beat until it is creamy. Pour into buttered pans and when it hardens mark it into squares.
A water-based fudge rather than the more common milk or cream version, with marshmallow cream standing in for some of the richness. The technique is standard crystalline candy work, and the temperatures matter more than the timings.
- Squares of chocolateA square is one ounce of unsweetened baking chocolate, so this calls for 2 oz. Modern bars are usually scored into 1 oz squares; chop rather than grate if the bar is hard.
- Marshmallow creamClose to the commercial jarred marshmallow creme sold today, though period formulations varied and some cooks made their own. Four tablespoons is roughly a quarter cup, a modest amount that softens the grain rather than making the fudge fluffy.
- 236F is the whole recipeUse a calibrated candy thermometer and check it in boiling water first; at altitude, subtract about 2F per 1,000 feet above sea level. A few degrees low gives fudge that never sets, a few degrees high gives a hard, dry block.
- Stop stirring once it boilsStir only until the sugar has dissolved. After that, leave it alone and wash any crystals from the pan sides with a wet pastry brush, or the batch will turn grainy.
- Lukewarm means about 110FThe instruction not to stir after pouring, and to wait until lukewarm, is what produces a fine grain. Beating a hot syrup makes large crystals and a sandy texture; beating at 110F makes small ones and a creamy fudge.
- When to stop beatingThe mass loses its gloss and thickens quite suddenly, usually within five to ten minutes by hand. Pour immediately at that point; a few seconds too long and it sets in the bowl.
- Pan and yieldTwo cups of sugar gives roughly a pound of fudge. An 8-inch square pan gives thin pieces; a loaf pan or 6-inch square gives thicker slabs.