Happy (Inter)National Fudge Day! (It’s technically “National” Fudge Day but I’m not going to let Hawaii and Alaska and the “lower ’48” have all the fun.)  So, today involves fudge.

You’re welcome to get in on the fun.  The recipe is so easy it could probably fit into one tweet.  In fact, it *does* fit into one tweet: “Fav #chocolate #fudge #recipe: 1 can sw. condensed milk, 2c chocolate.  Heat milk, stir in choc, melt completely. Stir. Refrigerate.  Done.”

Today Involves Fudge - The Chocolate Website Photo

Well, sort of.  There wasn’t exactly room to clarify that 1 can = 14oz, or that you can use whatever chocolate you want.  (The fudge pictured used two types of chocolate because that’s what was on hand.  One type was El Rey Milk Chocolate and the other shall remain nameless because there are those who would not even consider it chocolate.  I consider it chocolate 99% of the time when I’m on a budget and the other 1% of the time I like to expand my horizons and refine my palate and….fudge recipe.  Right.  Sorry.  Moving on:

Unless you have a fancy double boiler, the process goes more or less like this: Condensed milk goes in the glass bowl. Glass bowl goes in a saucepan half full of water. It gets heated up but not boiled.  Add the chocolate and stir until it is completely melted and mixed. Be vigilant and make sure siblings (or offspring or whoever you happen to have around) don’t stick spoons in when you’re not looking, because they’ll inevitably show up once they start smelling it.  Pour the mixture into a 9×9 pan lined with wax paper and stick it in the fridge for a few hours. It’s amazing that just two ingredients can create such a creamy, rich, decadent treat.

(Did you know that there are some fudge recipes that don’t even call for chocolate?  Shocking.  Isn’t “fudge” short for “chocolate fudge”?!  Kidding.)

I realized on June 12th that (Inter) National Fudge Day was coming up and thought it really was a shame I didn’t have any new fudge pictures to share. Fast forward to June 15th at 6:00pm (as in, yesterday evening), I thought it REALLY was a shame there weren’t any new fudge pictures and it was pointed out to me that it was also REALLY a shame that there wasn’t any fudge around either.  Oh, and that it would likely be sunny enough to take a picture or two in the morning before leaving for work, if some fudge materialized by then.  Sold.

Today Involves Fudge - The Chocolate Website Photo 2

There was momentary disappointment last night when I put my foot down and said there would be no premature fudge tasting and that it had to stay intact until picture-taking time. Besides, I didn’t want to fudge the amount of time the recipe says to keep it in the refrigerator.  (C’mon, surely you didn’t think I’d be able to manage this entire story without a single fudge joke, did you?)

Enjoy today; I’m going to enjoy mine.  The fudge in the photo is NOT going to last long.

Allow me to set the stage for the time my photographer went on strike…

Location: Non air-conditioned house
Season: August
Props: Two flexible lamps with their necks craned, Pixar-style, so they’re cheerfully peering inside the lightbox.  Additionally, there is a halogen lamp off to the side, emitting enough heat to rival an oven.
Operation Code Name: Kill Spot (As in: Turn the lights off when they’re not needed so we don’t die of heat exhaustion.  Not as in: Do away with Fido.)

lightbox1

READ MORE→