Maple Syrup Fudge

So we had friends in town this past weekend from Montreal (so much more to say on that later!) and then today, out of the blue, Nicholas asked me if I would make fudge. I recently made chocolate fudge but something tweaked in the back of my brain and I thought to ask "Do you mean chocolate fudge or maple syrup fudge?" and sure enough he meant Maple Syrup Fudge. Oh man. That stuff is ... phenomenal. Seriously. Just the thought and I put on 10 lbs. Luckily, Nick LOVES it so it wont be in the house long (bad parenting?... really not sure).

I am recording the recipe here ONLY because it takes me forever to find it and usually I can only find the French. My French, especially when it comes to foods, is actually pretty decent. But as this recipe calls for tempering of the sugars..... I'd rather read it in my native tongue! NONE of this is my own - all credit goes to Ricardocuisine.com. Though I'd like to thank/curse my friend Annie for introducing me to it :)

Ingredients

• 250 ml (1 cup) 35% 
cream
• 250 ml (1 cup) sugar 

• 250 ml (1 cup) brown sugar 

• 125 ml (1/2 cup) maple syrup
• 30 ml (2 tablespoons) corn syrup 

• 28 g (1 oz) white chocolate, chopped (optional)
• 1 ml (1/4 teaspoon) vanilla extract 

Preparation

1. Line the bottom of a 20-cm (8-inch) square pan with parchment paper, letting the paper hang over two sides and butter the other two sides.
2. In a heavy saucepan, bring all the ingredients except for the chocolate and vanilla to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Attach a candy thermometer in the centre of the pan and simmer without stirring until the thermometer reads 115 °C (240 °F). Remove from the heat and add the chocolate and vanilla without stirring.
3. Place the pan in a cold water bath. Let cool without stirring, until the thermometer reads 43 °C (110 °F) or 20 to 30 minutes.
4. Remove the pan from the water. With an electric mixer, beat until the mixture loses its gloss but is still soft, about 2 minutes.
5. Pour immediately into the pan and spread with a spatula. Cover with plastic wrap and let cool for 1 hour at room temperature or 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Unmould and cut into 2.5-cm (1-inch) squares.
6. Store in an airtight container. The squares of fudge can be made in advance and freeze very well. 



Note

White chocolate in your maple fudge? This is the secret to its creamy texture. It does not take much. A small 28 g (1 oz) square. That does not change the flavour of the fudge.