Demerara Toffee Fudge Bars with White Chocolate and Sea salt

Should I even bother typing an intro to this? I mean, with a title like that, I know you’re already thinking ‘Get in mah belleh!!!’ and working out how you can get to the shops and back in the quickest amount of time. I’m thinking it too. ‘Cos I know how flipping amazing these are!

For those of you still reading, let me break it down for you: cocoa shortbread, slapped with a thick layer of fudge, slathered with white chocolate and sprinkled with salt flakes. Jip, that’s fat on top of sugar, on top of butter (somewhere a dietician just quit her job cos she discovered what I do for a living… awkward!). BUT the key here is that it’s not just any sugar - it’s scrummalicious sugar (there are just too few food adjectives out there okay - inventing my own starting now).

I’ve used the crunchy caramelly Natura Demerara sugars for the job (Demerara sugars is crystallized from the first press of sugarcane juice). The Light Demerara is perfect for shortbread - the texture is fine (like wiggling your toes in beach sand!) so it dissolves while baking but still adds flavour. The Dark Demerara has gorgeous amber crystals (so pretty I used them as decoration on top of the white chocolate) which are perfect 

for making a kick-ass caramel fudge. I’ve realised that sugar is so much more than 

just adding sweetness and using proper unrefined sugar will add heaps of 

flavour to your baking!

In my opinion, the best part, is the sexy off-cuts! I pretty much spent the entire morning munching on them while shooting - don’t think for a second they made it back into any sort of storage container (what is this ‘storage container’ you speak of? What is it used for?!). 

Well, now my camera is covered in fudge… Wait, my camera is covered in fudge!

Now, go bake yourself happy while I contemplate whether licking my camera is socially acceptable…

P.S. This is what was left of the batch:

Demerara Fudge Bars with White Chocolate and Sea salt

Makes 16-20

Shortbread base

150g cake flour

30g cocoa powder

130g butter, cut into blocks

60g Natura Light Demerara Sugar

Demerara Filling

130g milk powder (full-fat if possible)

150g Light Demerara Sugar

210g salted butter

100g Natura Dark Demerara Sugar

160ml boiling water

Topping

200g white chocolate, melted

Sea salt flakes

Dark Demerara Sugar, for sprinkling

Grease and line a 20 x 20cm baking tray with baking paper. 

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius (160 if you’re using a fan-forced oven).

Combine the flour, cocoa, sugar and butter in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix until it forms a soft dough. Alternately, get your fingers dirty and rub all the ingredients together until well combined. 

Press the dough into the prepared baking tin and prick the base with a fork. 

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool completely. 

To make the Demerara fudge layer, place all the ingredients in a  blender and blend for 1-2 minutes or until smooth and combined. Pour into a saucepan and stir continuously over a low heat until all the sugar has dissolved. 

Bring to the boil and cook until the mixture turns golden brown and reaches soft ball stage (118C on a sugar thermometer). To test if it’s ready, drop a small amount into a small cup filled with tap water, it should form a soft, pliable ball. Remove from the heat and immediately pour over the shortbread. Allow to cool completely. 

Spread the melted white chocolate over the top of the toffee then sprinkle with a little sea salt and the Demerara sugar. Allow to set then cut into bars using a hot knife. 

Disclaimer: This post has been sponsored by Natura Sugars who produce a range of really special sugars that are unrefined and made according to traditional Mauritian sugar-making techniques. The sugars are non-GM, non-irradiated and unbleached with no preservatives, colourants or syrups added which basically means they are pure, natural and packed with flavour! 

Chocolate rum 'n raisin fudge

If I told you I've always loved the combo of rum 'n raisin, I'd be lying. It reminds me of the days my grandparents would come home from shopping and announce there was ice cream for dessert, only for me to later find out that it was rum 'n raisin flavour. The disappointment that tub of ice cream brought me was something I could only describe in a couple of days worth of therapy. It was a grown-up flavour that ruined a perfectly good scoop of ice cream, if you'd asked me!

But I was a pretty bright kid and with my insatiable sweet tooth, it didn't take me long to persuade my tastebuds to like it so I wouldn't have to skip dessert (I think the deadly sin 'glutton' is appropriate here!). Rum 'n raisin was reserved for the adults, it was sophisticated and I would feel rather classy (and clever) 'enjoying' it. So now, when I think of rum 'n raisin, I feel exactly that; classy. 

So here's a classy chocolate fudge recipe which feels like it should be stored in an antique tin. I'm pretty sure it would taste even better that way. 

Chocolate rum and raisin fudge

Makes 24

½ cup raisins

¼ cup rum (or 1 tsp rum essence in ¼ cup water)

400g dark chocolate, chopped

395g tin condensed milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

50g butter or margarine

Line a 20cm square cake tin with non-stick baking paper.

Combine the raisins and rum and allow to stand for at least 1 hour.

In a heavy-based saucepan, combine the chocolate, condensed milk,  vanilla and butter and stir over a low heat until melted.

Increase the heat and stir for a few minutes until the fudge is smooth and thick. Stir in the raisin mixture.

Pour into the lined cake tin and refrigerate until set.

Cut into squares and store in an airtight container.

Remember to hop on over to Facebook and like my page for recipes and sweet stuff. I also tweet about some cool things every now and then and Instagram my bakes (if I remember to snap them before I devour them!) 

Microwave condensed milk fudge

Last week I found myself in a rather problematic situation - standing in front of my grocery cupboard with the incredibly difficult decision of what snack will best suit my rainy-day snuggling and Grey's Anatomy marathon... Just when I was about to give up and accept that my fluffy pink slippers would have to be swopped for boots (as a Lindt mission to the shop around the corner was obviously in order), I spotted a tin of condensed milk! 

In our family, condensed milk is the god of all things sweet, sticky and yummy. If the pantry was stocked with any kind of chocolate, sweet or biscuit you could imagine, the condensed milk would be the first to go. Always. Whether enjoyed straight out the can, with a teaspoon, or boiled in the tin to a thick gooey caramel.  Oh, but of course I'm forgetting fudge! One of the biggest debates in our family occurs when my mom whips out a tin of condensed milk after dinner and asks the same question which immediately jumped to mind while I was standing and eyeing that tin...

 Tin versus treat? Condensed milk or fudge? Can against confection. Much um’ing and ah’ing occurred before I settled on a batch of fudge – not, of course, without cleaning out the tin with my finger afterwards!

Mom's Lazy Microwave Condensed Milk Fudge

(makes 36 pieces)

125g butter, melted

2 cups castor sugar

1 tin (385g) condensed milk

1t vanilla extract

Combine butter and castor sugar in a large microwave safe bowl. 
Add condensed milk – do not stir. Microwave on high for about 10 minutes (stirring after 1 minute each time) or until a deep caramel golden brown. To test the fudge, smear a little of the mixture onto a plate or cold surface. If it sets, it's done. 
Allow to cool slightly and beat with a wooden spoon until the fudge starts to set. 
Pour into a 20cm square tin lined with baking paper and allow to set before cutting into squares.