Fantasy fudge is also known as chocolate marshmallow fudge and is a classic holiday treat. Creamy and smooth, the rich chocolate squares literally melt in the mouth. Normally, fudge is made from cream, sugar, and butter, and the cooking process is slightly complex. Fantasy fudge, on the other hand, is very easy to make and very hard to get wrong. Packed in festive packaging and colorful ribbons, homemade fantasy fudge squares make very popular gifts.
The classic recipe for this delicious dessert calls for marshmallow creme, sugar, margarine, and evaporated milk. Chopped nuts, vanilla extract, and semisweet chocolate chips are some of the other major ingredients. Evaporated milk has approximately 60 percent of its water content removed. It is unsweetened and normally found in grocery stores in cans. The marshmallow cream is made of dried egg whites, sugar syrup, and corn syrup.
Found in tubs or jars, this soft and thick marshmallow cream is extremely sweet and slightly fluffy. Cooks use it in fudge because it prevents the sugar from crystallizing, ultimately saving the fudge from gaining a grainy texture. The sugar crystals stay small thanks to the marshmallow coating. Cooks take care to check the expiration dates when buying both the evaporated milk and marshmallow cream.
Instead of using semisweet chocolate chips, cooks may substitute bittersweet chocolate for a different taste. Some recipes call for using chunks of chocolate, but chocolate chips are much easier to work with. Butter can also be used as a substitute for margarine. Before starting on the fudge, cooks toast the nuts for better flavor. They preheat an oven and place the nuts on a baking sheet in the center.
They toast the nuts for about 10 minutes or until they turn a light brown color. Walnuts and pecans are some of the traditional nuts used in fantasy fudge recipes. Once the nuts cool down, cooks chop them into coarse, little bits. They mix the marshmallow cream, salt, sugar, and butter in a saucepan and stir it occasionally until it comes to a boil on medium heat. They allow it to boil for around five minutes until it caramelizes a little.
Cooks removes the mixture from the stove and stir in the chocolate chips. Once the chocolate blends in completely, they mix in the vanilla extract and toasted nuts. The fantasy fudge is ready to be poured into a greased baking pan or one lined with aluminum foil. After the cook pours the fudge, they smooth down the top with a wooden spoon and allow it to cool.
When completely cooled, cooks remove the fantasy fudge by upturning the greased pan or by lifting the foil by its edges. They cut the fudge into pieces of the desired shape and size and store it in airtight containers. It's necessary to wait for an hour or more before cutting up the fudge because it needs some time to harden. They also place tinfoil or wax paper between the layers of fudge to prevent them from sticking to each other or losing their shape.