Vanilla ice cream with homemade fudge pieces - recipe

Fudge is a firm favourite in our house...well it has to be as I have been practising and practising how to get it right! :)

Even so, before I started practising, I have always loved it.  It's so creamy and smooth. 
I have been toying with a recipe and I know there is a myth about fudge being really hard to make, but it's not, honest.

Here's my recipe, it makes a delish, smooth fudge.  The tray never lasts more than 1 day, that's the sign of a good fudge!

Ingredients:

  • 397g can condensed milk
  • 150ml milk
  • 450g demerara sugar
  • 115g butter
  • You will also need...
    20cm square tin lined with baking parchment
     
    Step 1:
    Place the ingredients into a large non-stick saucepan and melt over a low heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.



    Step 2:
    Bring to the boil then simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring continuously and scraping the base of the pan. Take care while the mixture boils and during stirring as the fudge will be VERY hot! To test its ready drop a little of the mixture into a jug of ice-cold water. A soft ball of fudge should form. Or check with a sugar thermometer if you have one (approx 118°C).




     
     
    Step 3:
    Remove from the heat and beat the fudge until very thick and starting to set (about 10 minutes).  


    Step 4:
    Pour into the prepared tin and leave to cool before cutting into squares.


    Ice cream is so versatile. You can adapt it to almost any flavour you wish. Who doesn't love it? 

    It's also so much better home made, rather than shop bought.  Home made ice cream has four simple ingredients and then you can jazz it up with any other flavour you want.

    Here's my basic vanilla ice cream recipe, which you is delicious on it's own or you can add different flavours (e.g mint, strawberry, orange etc etc).  I'll be added my home made vanilla fudge to the vanilla ice cream.  This makes about 1.5 pints of ice cream.

    Vanilla ice cream (custard based) recipe:

    Ingredients:
    4 egg yolks
    4oz (100g) caster sugar
    1.5 pint (300ml) milk
    1.5 pint (300ml) double cream
    2 teaspoons vanilla extract

    Pour the milk in a saucepan and slowly heat it to boiling point. In a bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar together and then still beating pour over the milk. Return the mixture to the pan and stirring constantly heat it until the mixture forms a film over the back of a wooden spoon. Do not let it boil or it will separate.

    Remove the pan from the heat, leave it until cold and then stir in the cream and vanilla.

    Pour the mixture into the ice cream maker and set it to churn. Once the mixture is at it's desired consistency you can add your chosen flavouring (fruit, crumbled biscuits etc)

    If you don't have an ice cream maker, you can do this part by hand.  Pour into a contain with a lid. Put it in the freezer. Let it be for about an hour. Take it out and stir it, until the ice crystals break down and disappear. Return to the freezer for another few hours. Take out of the freezer and stir again.

    Depending on your consistency, you may need to repeat this stir and refreezing a few times. 

    Here's my finished product!

    Vanilla ice cream with home made vanilla fudge.
    You can, of course, add any additional flavour to the vanilla ice cream.  I've made a mint ice cream and a strawberry ice cream.  They were both delicious (so I've been told, I never got to try it!!)

    Enjoy!