Fudge Part III: Chocolate Espresso & Pomegranate

Rolling out the last two flavors of fudge from Wednesday's candy making: Chocolate Espresso and Pomegranate.

Both of these also turned out great and the chocolate espresso fudge almost needed a little sign to tell folks to keep their hands off it, I was getting worried I wouldn't have enough to photograph today.

The Pomegranate is something new and I was debating what kind of chocolate to use for this recipe. I've made dark chocolate pomegranate truffles that were really good and I thought a fudge version would also go over well. However, I wanted something colorful on my fudge tray, so I went with white chocolate for just that reason and it looks and tastes great.

So without further ado, let's get to the fudge.

Chocolate Espresso Fudge



Not so Humble's Chocolate Espresso Fudge:
yields roughly 64 pieces

2 cups granulated sugar
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream (40% milk fat)
1/4 cup Kahlua coffee liqueur (or an additional 1/4 cup heavy cream)
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1-3 teaspoons instant espresso powder
7 ounce jar marshmallow creme

Line a 9x9 inch pan with foil and coat with a little nonstick spray.

Combine sugar, butter, Kahlua (if using) and cream into a heavy bottomed sauce pan-- again, recommending non-stick pan for candy making--and bring to a boil over medium heat stirring constantly. Once boiling, attach a candy thermometer and reduce the heat to a hair above medium low and continue to stir for 7-10 minutes until your thermometer reads 234°F.

Once your mixture hits the appropriate temperature, remove from heat and grab a wooden spoon. Add the chocolate chips stirring vigorously until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Sprinkle in the espresso powder while stirring, add more or less depending on how strong you like your coffee, or in this case, coffee fudge. Add the marshmallow creme and mix until well blended.

Pour the mixture into your pan and allow to cool for several hours, until firm.

This fudge would be even better with a chocolate covered espresso bean on top of each square, but alas, I couldn't find any in my pantry. Grr!

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Pomegranate Fudge



Not so Humble's Pomegranate Fudge:
yields roughly 64 pieces

3 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup POM wonderful 100% pomegranate juice
1/3 cup heavy cream (40% milk fat)
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
2 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon LorAnn's pomegranate flavor*
7 oz jar marshmallow creme
a little red and royal blue food coloring

Line a 9x9 inch pan with foil and coat with a little nonstick spray.

Combine sugar, butter, pomegranate juice and cream into a heavy bottomed sauce pan--once again, recommending non-stick pan for this--and bring to a boil over medium heat stirring constantly. Once boiling, attach a candy thermometer and reduce the heat to a hair above medium low and continue to stir for 7-10 minutes until your thermometer reads 234°F.

Once your mixture hits the appropriate temperature, remove from heat and grab a wooden spoon. Add the white chocolate chips stirring vigorously until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Add the flavoring, food coloring and marshmallow creme and mix until well blended.

Pour the mixture into your pan and allow to cool for several hours, until firm.

*1/2 teaspoon LorAnn's pomegranate flavor
This is a highly concentrated candy flavoring, found in most baking/candy making supply stores. You can also find it oneline here: Pomegranate Flavoring, 1 dram

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Alternatively you can cool both of these fudges in your fridge, if like me, you can't wait that long. Large chunks will also freeze well if tightly wrapped for a month or two.

I should also post a quick note on why I am such a fan of nonstick when it comes to my candy making as I continue to recommend it without any word as to why.

The primary reason for my use of a good quality nonstick pan for candy making is that it simply makes my job of keeping the sugar off the sides of the pan so much easier.

Undissolved and crystalized sugar can ruin a batch of candy, making it gritty. This is not grit from a few rogue grains of undissolved sugar in your syrup or a few specks of sugar clinging to the pan, but rather that these grains set off a chain reaction of crystallization in your saturated sugar syrup. The more concentrated the syrup, the easier it can crystalize.

Many candy recipes nowadays include corn syrup or some other form of sugar to help interfere with sugar's crystallization. With fudge, you often see marshmallow creme used because of its hefty payload of corn syrup effects not only the texture and sweetness but guards against gritty fudge.

By combining the marshmallow creme and a non-stick pan for my fudge recipes I don't have to worry about crystallization. Now for some of my recipes will no doubt call for washing down the sides of a pan with a damp pastry brush, but at least for these fudge recipes, you can get your candy without all the effort and anxiety.

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