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Cooking With TechyDad: Fudge

December 23, 2010 TechyDad Cooking, Photos, Recipe

Last year, I wrote a pair of blog posts about some fudge I made. During the year, I meant to do a Cooking With TechyDad segment about the fudge, but never got around to it. With the holidays in full swing, I decided to pull out the old fudge recipe again and this time I took photos. Let’s begin shall we.

First, of all, you’re going to need to devote your full attention to the fudge for 10 minutes or so. So lay out your ingredients ahead of time and make sure there won’t be any distractions. For the ingredients, you’ll need chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract. You can also add a mix-in. I like using Andes baking chips, but you can also use mini-M&Ms (the big ones are nice too but leave the fudge tough to slice), peanut butter chips, nuts, etc. If you don’t want to use a mix-in, no problem. Plain fudge tastes good also.

Now that your ingredients are out, get an 8 inch by 8 inch baking pan and line it with aluminum foil. Lightly grease this with cooking spray.

Now, measure out 2 cups of chocolate chips and 1 1/2 cups of your mix-in (if using).

Put the chocolate chips in a small saucepan and pour in the condensed milk.

Now stir it over low heat for about 10 minutes or until smooth.

It won’t look like it’s doing much, at first. Then it reaches what I like to call the “chunky chocolate milk” stage. (That’s a technical term.)

As you can see below, we’re almost ready, but it is still a bit lumpy.

Ok, *now* we’re done.

At this point, you need to act fast. Removing the fudge from the heat long will cause it to harden up in your saucepan and nobody wants that. First, toss in any mix-ins you might be using and give the fudge a few stirs to distribute it all around.

Now, pour the fudge into your 8 inch by 8 inch pan. Smooth it out as best you can, but don’t worry about it looking perfect. Jagged edges are part of homemade fudge’s charm.

Stick the fudge in the fridge for 1 1/2 hours (overnight is fine too). This happens to be one of my favorite parts. No, not putting the fudge in the fridge. Scraping the pot and eating the bits of fudge left behind. YUM!

Once your fudge has set, take it out of the fridge, remove it from the pan and carefully peel off the foil. (Some might stick to it, but it should all come off relatively easily.)

Now you have a big block O’ fudge.

This is nice and all, but I don’t think it looks nice to be nibbling on a hunk of fudge that size. So let’s slice it. Since it was in an 8×8 pan, it’s only fitting to cut it into 8×8 slices. This way, each piece of fudge is 1 inch by 1 inch (approximately).

Make the first slice about halfway in.

Next, cut each of these pieces in half and each of the resulting pieces in half. Now, you have 8 strips of fudge.

Turn the fudge 90 degrees and repeat the cuts.

There you go! 64 pieces of wonderful fudge.

Here’s a close up of the mint, plain and M&M fudge I made.

This recipe makes a *lot* of fudge.

You could easily make a few batches, wrap them up nicely (e.g. using those Chinese food containers that you can buy from craft stores) and give them as gifts.

Now, if you don’t mind, I think I’ll eat a piece of fudge. *om nom nom nom nom nom nom nom*

Wordless Wednesday: Ever Have One of Those Days Where You Try Lighting a Candle But Light Dynamite Instead?

December 22, 2010 TechyDad Disney, Photos, Stress, Wordless Wednesday

Duncan Hines Apple Carmel Decadent Cake Mix and Vanilla Glaze Review

December 16, 2010 TechyDad Cooking, Food, Photos, Review

I love cooking and baking. (Maybe you could tell from my Cooking With TechyDad posts.) While I appreciate creating dishes from scratch, I’m not ashamed to turn to box mixes either. So when I was given the opportunity to review Duncan Hines’ new Decadent cake mixes and glazes, I jumped at the chance.

I received the Apple Carmel and Triple Chocolate cake mixes and the Vanilla and Chocolate glazes. The chocolate (both glaze and mix) review will appear in a week or so. For now, I’d like to focus on the Apple Carmel cake mix and Vanilla glaze.

First some information on the cake mixes and glazes:

Duncan Hines®, the well recognized brand that has been helping families create delicious memories for 60 years, introduces the latest breakthrough in deliciousness at the baking aisle – Decadent Cakes and Glazes. Only Duncan Hines now offers the most premium, indulgent cakes that one can find outside of a bakery. Duncan Hines new Decadent Cake Line with two new incredibly indulgent offerings – Duncan Hines Decadent Triple Chocolate Cake with real chocolate chunks and rich fudge and Duncan Hines Decadent Apple Caramel cake with real apples and rich caramel. With more people entertaining at home and looking for better quality desserts, these decadent cakes are perfect. Both cakes contain zero grams of trans fat and NO hydrogenated oils. They are available in cake baking section of supermarkets nationwide in 20 oz size boxes at a SRP of $2.99.

Simultaneously, Duncan Hines launches Decadent Glazes, a one of a kind glaze designed to elevate the baking experience with a whole new way to top your desserts. Available in Chocolate and Vanilla, Decadent Glazes help home chefs create spectacular desserts with professional results. Only Duncan Hines offers this versatile topping to complement your baked goods or any dessert with a touch of sweetness and flavor. What separates Decadent Glazes from frosting is they are not as heavy or sweet as frosting and are convenient to use. These glazes are available in a 10 ounce squeeze bottle at an SRP of $2.49.

Ok, now on to the cooking. The mix includes two components. The normal “cake mix” portion and the caramel mix-in portion. These were really simple to prepare. Mix in the required ingredients into separate bowls and you’re good to go.

Notice the lumps in the cake batter. No, I didn’t neglect to stir enough. Those are apple chunks. We’re not talking apple flavoring here, but actual apple chunks!

For a normal cake, the caramel would go in first followed by the apple cake mix, but I decided to make this as a bundt. This meant mixing the batter first and then tossing it all into my bundt pan.

Baking took longer than the box said, but I attribute this to the bundt pan versus normal cake pan. As with any mix, you should use the box listed times as guides but realize that many factors (e.g. oven temperatures) can change cooking times. In any event, I was soon greeted with a finished apple-caramel cake.

I let the cake cool overnight and the next day it was glaze time. I was impressed by how simple this was. Simply remove the bottle’s cap, microwave the bottle for a short while, replace the cap and pour your glaze. Leftover glaze (and we had lots left over) can be refrigerated for later microwaving.

Looks delicious, doesn’t it?

Here’s a slice….

… Oh, rats. I just realized we haven’t perfected web-to-plate delivery technology. Oh well, take my word for it, this was quite tasty. The cake was extremely moist and the glaze was sweet but not overpoweringly so. The cake didn’t last long at all and now I’m itching to try the chocolate ones (as I’m a huge chocoholic). This is definitely a product I’d recommend and one I’d eat again.

Disclaimer: This post was written for Family Review Network & Duncan Hines who provided the complimentary product for review in exchange for my honest opinions.