Well, folks…here they are…the recipe reviews you’ve been waiting for! This week I tested – and tasted! And tasted a little bit more…two wonderful recipes from our Girls’ Night sponsor, Baileys.
I made Baileys Fudge and Baileys Chocolates, which are actually truffles…yum! See my post below for the recipe downloads. And so, without further ado, here are the play-by-plays and taste-tester opinions!
Baileys Fudge
Let me just start out by saying that anything with 2/3 cup Baileys in the ingredient list has got to be good! And is it ever! This recipe was very easy to make up, but is very easily halved (or even quartered) because it yields an astonishing FIVE POUNDS of fudge!!! (Yes, any friends, family, neighbours, kids’ teachers, mailman, etc. of mine, you know you’re getting Baileys Fudge for Christmas, right?)
So my first tip is, if you’re making the full recipe, use a very large saucepan. Like a stock pot. Or a dutch oven. Seriously. Once the 1/2 lb of butter, 4 cups of sugar and can of evaporated milk starts to boil, you will be very near to an incredibly sticky mess in a standard large saucepan.
Second tip: the recipe calls for 1 can of evaporated milk, but it doesn’t specify which size. There is a parenthetical remark that says (1 oz) (1 to 12). I have since done some research and discovered that the correct can size is 12oz (Baileys recipes are authentic from the UK where they have not yet converted to metric). So, for your shopping purposes, that would be the large, or 355 ml (or gram) can that you want.
Here’s a pic of all the wonderful cold ingredients waiting to be melted by the hot ingredients!
Mmmm…yes, chocolate chips (three full packages!), marshmallow fluff (two full jars!) and – wait for it – 2/3 cup of Baileys!
And here’s a pic of part – yes, only part – of the fudge setting:
And a delicious sample of the final product!
Final Fudge Tip: my first batch (yes, I made a second half-batch) was a bit soft, and at first I couldn’t figure out why. I wondered if perhaps I used too much evaporated milk? But no! After some simple interrogation, I found out that my two children and two of their friends (all of whom were in the house at the time of the great fudge bake-off) nabbed several handfuls each of chocolate chips from the big bowl before I added the other ingredients. So the fudge didn’t set as hard as it should have, due to a significant reduction in the solid ingredients! After discovering this transgression, I made myself a half-batch, with the correct amount of chocolate, and it came out perfectly. Ahhh…children. Such a joy, aren’t they? Incidentally, my children absolutely adore the fudge (they are justifiably restricted to the first, softer batch).
There is not a lot Baileys in this fudge recipe, but the flavour comes through remarkably well. It definitely tastes like Baileys fudge…not just chocolate fudge. As for my husband, he had to be surgically removed from the kitchen or he would have taken a knife and fork to the entire five pounds!
But the real test of this (and the next) recipe came when I served it at my latest ladies’ night gathering, at which I was (conveniently) the hostess. The girls were blown away! So, you know what that means, right? You have to go out and make this fudge now!
Baileys Chocolates (aka truffles)
Well, there’s nothing quite so decadent as a chocolate truffle, especially when it’s a Baileys Chocolate truffle! This recipe was also very easy to follow, and yielded unbelievably delicious results. Here it is:
Using the Cuisinart food processor, I pulsed the sugar a few times to make it a bit finer. This is important because the recipe calls for caster sugar – this is just what the Brits call "superfine" sugar. But if you don’t have any, can’t find any, or don’t want to buy it, just pulse regular old granulated sugar in the food processor (or blender) a few times. FYI, caster sugar is finer than granulated sugar, but not as fine as powdered, or icing sugar. It’s important not to substitute icing sugar because it contains corn starch (prevents it from clumping) which can affect your recipe.
Okay, so once the sugar is a bit finer, add the egg yolks, and still using the metal blade, process until the mixture becomes pale. You can use the food processor with the metal blade in place of a whisk or hand mixer (or stand mixer, in fact) in any recipe that calls for whisking, whipping or beating. Here’s a pic of the result (actually I whipped it a bit more after this…you want it a bit paler).
Cooking tip: if you don’t have a double-boiler, use a Pyrex (or similar heatproof bowl) over a saucepan to achieve the same result. Also note that in this stage you want to cook the custard (that would be the egg yolk/sugar mixture) for a good while until it begins to thicken. The recipe says until it "coats the back of a spoon", but this stuff is viscous to begin with, so it will coat the back of a spoon no matter what. Just make sure you don’t pull it off the heat too soon, or your truffles will be a bit soft.
In the next step, you mix boiling cream with chocolate to create a ganache, which will then be mixed with the custard to create the truffles!
Brit Translation #2: single or light cream, as the recipe calls for, is deceptively named. The cream you want is actually the 18% cream, often called "table cream" or "coffee cream" in Canada. And, a word to the wise, this recipe will not suffer if you use heavy or whipping cream (35% fat). Don’t skimp on the fat, folks…these are truffles you’re making here! You will only ever eat one or two at a time, and the point is to make them rich and sumptuous. Plus, they won’t set properly if you use less than 18% fat cream.
Here’s a pic of my ganache – I separated it into two parts so I could add the Baileys separately. Why? Because I decided to try the new Baileys flavours out in this recipe. So I made half Baileys Mint Chocolate truffles and half Baileys Caramel truffles. Ouch. The flavours are amazing!
You need to let the truffle mixture set (i.e. freeze) before you roll out the balls. The recipe calls for 30 mins in the freezer but I’d go for 2-3 hours depending on how cold your freezer is. You want the consistency to be firmer for the rolling stage.
Rolling Tip: be prepared to get dirty! Your palms will be covered in chocolate from finger-tip to wrist, as the warmth of your body melts the velvety truffles! I got the kids to help with this step, and I wish I’d taken a picture of all our chocolate hands. Needless to say, cleanup was delicious! As for technique, it’s just like rolling balls with playdough. Have fun!
As for the final product, these truffles turned out dark (I used 70% cacao dark chocolate), rich and velvety, with a distinct taste of the two Baileys flavours. I strongly, strongly recommend trying this simple but very rewarding recipe. Oh, but be sure to take a picture before the ladies come over…I forgot and now here I am…truffle-less and with no picture to show you of the final product. But perhaps that’s the best endorsement of all!