Microwave Chocolate Fudge – A Random Recipe
Recently, I cleared out some of my old cookery books and took them down to the charity shop. Then Dom of Belleau Kitchen set the Random Recipe challenge for December as follows: choose a book that you never use, cook something from it and then take it down to the charity shop. Since I’d just given away all my ignored and rarely used books, I had to make a desperate search. Eventually I found half a dozen books that aren’t exactly in the rarely used category, they’re actually in the category of “I really can’t believe that I still have these”. They’re the kinds of books that supermarkets used to sell in the 1980s for 99p and some other very odd books that I think must have arrived from a parallel universe.
It wasn’t a pleasant prospect but in the spirit of the challenge I chose one of these books at random - the “Microwave Cookbook”. This is a collection of Good Housekeeping recipes published in 1985 and I have a feeling that it came free with my first ever microwave. As I picked it up, the book came open at the last page and there before me was a recipe for Quick Chocolate Fudge.
So a short while afterwards I had a plate full of chocolate fudge. It’s not the greatest fudge I’ve ever had, but it’s most certainly not the worst either. Above all, it’s not a lot of effort and that counts for quite a bit sometimes. I’ve amended the original recipe slightly in the light of experience.
100 g plain chocolate, broken into pieces
100 g butter, cut into pieces
450 g icing sugar, sieved
3 tbsp milk
Put everything into a large, microwave-proof bowl. Microwave on High for around 3 minutes or until the chocolate has melted. (Since microwaves vary in power, you need to watch this stage carefully).
Beat the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon until smooth. (In fact, it’s a bit tricky getting the mixture completely smooth and if I made it again I think I’d use an electric mixer with paddle attachments instead).
Pour into a buttered 20.5cm x 15cm (8 x 6 inch) rectangular tin. Place in the fridge for an hour or two until set. Cut into pieces – you’ll get up to 36 bits, assuming you’re not too greedy.
I’m off down the charity shop now, but I’m taking some other things as well to avoid the embarrassment of handing over my sad old cookery books on their own.
It wasn’t a pleasant prospect but in the spirit of the challenge I chose one of these books at random - the “Microwave Cookbook”. This is a collection of Good Housekeeping recipes published in 1985 and I have a feeling that it came free with my first ever microwave. As I picked it up, the book came open at the last page and there before me was a recipe for Quick Chocolate Fudge.
So a short while afterwards I had a plate full of chocolate fudge. It’s not the greatest fudge I’ve ever had, but it’s most certainly not the worst either. Above all, it’s not a lot of effort and that counts for quite a bit sometimes. I’ve amended the original recipe slightly in the light of experience.
100 g plain chocolate, broken into pieces
100 g butter, cut into pieces
450 g icing sugar, sieved
3 tbsp milk
Put everything into a large, microwave-proof bowl. Microwave on High for around 3 minutes or until the chocolate has melted. (Since microwaves vary in power, you need to watch this stage carefully).
Beat the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon until smooth. (In fact, it’s a bit tricky getting the mixture completely smooth and if I made it again I think I’d use an electric mixer with paddle attachments instead).
Pour into a buttered 20.5cm x 15cm (8 x 6 inch) rectangular tin. Place in the fridge for an hour or two until set. Cut into pieces – you’ll get up to 36 bits, assuming you’re not too greedy.
I’m off down the charity shop now, but I’m taking some other things as well to avoid the embarrassment of handing over my sad old cookery books on their own.
OH MY GOD ... I have this dreadful book!... I can't believe it... I think my mother must have given it to me when I was a student fearing i'd not eat properly... genius recipe and so glad you found some more books to donate... that fudge really doesn't look half bad and I guess they'd make decent chrissy prezzies? Thanks for taking part once again Phil.. you're a trouper!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great title of a book! I must admit I had this terrible mistrust of microwaves for ageeeesss. I don't know what I thought would happen but finally now I can just about heat some soup in it without fearing the worst! Maybe I should step it up a notch with this recipe!
ReplyDeleteI've tagged you for the Food Bloggers Unplugged started by Susan from A Little Bit of Heaven on a Plate - hope you can pass it on! Just go to my blog and you will see the questions you have to answer etc. PS I think my Grandma used to have that book in her downstairs toilet!
ReplyDeleteI promise this fudge is genuinely much more pleasant than I'd feared. Well, I'm enjoying munching it, anyway,
ReplyDeletePistachio and Rose - Thanks very much for thinking of me for Food Bloggers Unplugged (and that goes for the other lovely bloggers who've tagged me as well). I really hope that no-one will be offended if I don't join in. The truth is that I just hate talking about myself. I mean REALLY hate it. I hope you'll all forgive me.
Wow - that's a fairly quick and painless way to get a sugar and chocolate hit! It looks a nice texture too!
ReplyDeletewow, microwave cookbook? The fudge actually looks decent. As long as it's edible, hey, why not? :)
ReplyDeletea quick fudge recipe and it looks good! I dont think I have any more microwave cookbooks left but if i did I would also be chosing one of those. So need to go and see what I will be doing for my entry this month!
ReplyDeleteIt looks good!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure my Mum had that book with her first microwave that my Dad and I kindly gave her for her birthday. Ha ha - we'd be shot nowadays if we tried to give her an appliance for a birthday present.
ReplyDeleteI think the fudge looks rather nice.
How did you miss this little pile of reject books when you did your first clear out?
How did I miss these books during my first clear out? You've clearly never seen our spare room and our adventurous approach to storage. I think Lord Lucan might be in there somewhere.
ReplyDeleteOh dear! Hee hee.
ReplyDeleteI didnt know you could make fudge in a microwave. I am recently discovering desserts/sweets that can be made in a microwave. Perhaps I should head down to the charity shop and get this book!
ReplyDeleteThis doesn't look half bad Phil - although I have a feeling that you are such a good photographer that you could make anything look good!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm dreading what recipe will come up once I go through my reject pile!!!!
MMMMMM,...Your microwave fudge looks so tasty & appetizing too! :)
ReplyDeletehaha i'm glad the challenge meant you had a chance to clear that book out! i'm really not keen on microwaves. tried making porridge in it once and it exploded all over. i heard they're really bad for you anyway hmph. since i moved to my new flat, i haven't figured out how to open the door of the microwave oven, but i guess i'll leave it be then!
ReplyDeleteThat looks a lot more edible than I was expecting from Microwave fudge! And a lot less time consuming, plus dispatches with the need for a sugar thermometer and lots of soft ball stage testing. I feel a future experiment coming on... dairy free microwave fudge! Cheers for the inspiration!
ReplyDelete