Cocoa nib fudge

I love fudge as much as the next person. At least, I used to. But with every 365 days I add to my life, my sweet tooth seems to be just a little bit less sweet. As if it’s not enough that one has to contend with sagging and spreading, one’s palate apparently also develops ideas of its own. Increasingly I find myself having to alter recipes that have always been favourites, like this fudge recipe. It’s gran’s and it never flops. The texture has that wonderful graininess I associate with any halfway decent fudge. But at the same time it manages to be creamy and it’s not too hard, just perfect in my view. It’s also achingly sweet.

I did not want to tamper with gran’s butter and sugar quantities because I was scared it would mess with the texture. Instead I found a different way of cutting the sweet – by adding loads of bitter cocoa, turning it into chocolate fudge. I made it a bit more adult by adding a dash of brandy too. But the real star of the show here is the cocoa nib outer layer. The deep earthy nuttiness of the cocoa nibs is a fabulous counter for the sweet fudge, and their slightly crunchy texture contrasts nicely too. A recipe of yesterday, made just a touch more modern for today. I think gran would have approved.