Tablet Fudge

When I was growing up we went to Scotland a lot, it's so close to Northern Ireland that it was a staple long weekend away, getting the ferry over and driving to different little towns etc. One of my favourite things was always Scottish tablet fudge. Luckily there was a little shop on Abbey Street in Bangor that also sold homemade tablet so my addiction could be supported at home too.

I was never allowed to try and make it myself when I was younger, I have a bit of a reputation for burning myself (most severe resulted in me ending up in A+E and with a big bear paw bandage for several weeks) so now that I am a proper grown up n'all I decided to give it a go.

Its quite a simple recipe, but a good un,

Simply one tin of condensed milk, 1kg of sugar and 100g of butter, and a bit of milk to "damp" the sugar as you bring it to the boil. Also a good splash of quality vanilla. (or you could use vanilla sugar)

1kg of sugar looks like a hell of a lot, and it is, but this recipe makes a hell of a lot of fudge, so I guess it works out ok?!

You basically bring all the ingredients to the boil, and simmer for around 20mins, you really need to constantly stir the mixture or the sugar will caramelise and the fudge will have little flecks of caramel/burnt sugar through it. This can be a bit of a pain to be honest, it is not a recipe to do if you are impatient.

 One of the easiest ways to check its done is to work a little bit of the mixture on a cool plate, if it starts to harden and crystalise its ready.

Alternatively you can use a sugar thermometer and get it to 118-120 degrees, which I like to do purely cause it makes me feel a bit like a mad scientist.

Once up to temperature you need to beat it really vigourously until the texture starts to feel grainy and a bit stiffer, hard to describe but you can really tell the difference. This is strenuous, which was a good excuse not to go to the gym tonight. Logic?

Once ready just pour it into a buttered tin and let it set, usually overnight. And then just cut it into pieces.

And thats it, pretty simple but does take a bit of work. It really makes loads though, we now have a tin full of it in the kitchen and I've posted some off to my Dad for fathers day this weekend.

Sophie x