Fudge squares for special treat

Press, 15 August 1984, Page 15

Fudge squares for special treat

Alison Holst’s

Food Facts

If you like making rich, unbaked mixtures using biscuit crumbs as a base, you will enjoy making these chocolaty squares. You can add different extra flavours, if you like. For example you can: © Top the chocolatewainut base with vanillaflavoured chocolate icing. 9 Add peppermint essence to the base and/or the icing. Leave icing white, if desired. • Put finely grated tangelo and orange rind in with the crumbs and/or icing. ® Add lightly toasted almonds to the base instead of adding walnuts. Flavour the chocolate icing with almond essence. 0 Use rum essence to flavour both the chocolatewalnut base ad the chocolate icing. Don’t be too heavy handed with the flavourings added. It takes about 12 hours for the flavours to blend and mature. Base:— llOg butter % cup brown sugar % cup milk

'/4 cup cocoa 1 tsp vanilla or other flavouring 1 packet milk arrowroot or malt biscuits %-% cup chopped walnuts Icing:— 1 cup sifted icing sugar 1 tb cocoa 1 tb soft butter Flavouring to taste Boiling water to mix Method Put the butter, brown sugar, milk, and cocoa together in a pot. Heat until the butter melts and the sugar is no longer grainy. Add flavouring. Crumb the biscuits finely using a food processor or blender, or by putting them in a plastic bag, banging and rolling them with a rolling pin, and sieving them (and re-roll-ing the coarse crumbs). Combine the crumbs, nuts, and cocoa mixture. Mix well, then press into a pan or on to a tray, to form a slab about a centimetre thick. Flatten the top and sides with a fish slice, or any other flat implement. To make the icing put the sifted icing sugar and cocoa in a food processor

or bowl. Add the butter and a little essence to flavour the mixture, then add boiling water a few drops at a time, mixing with the metal or plastic blade, or a knife, until smooth and spreadable. Taste and add more essence if necessary, and spread over the almost cold fudge mixture. Press walnuts, almonds, cherries, etc., into the icing. When the icing is set and the base is quite cold and firm, cut into 30 to 40 small squares.