I recently made a discovery about fudge: the deliciousness to effort ratio is VERY high. Huh?!? I mean that for all of the deliciousness that a good piece of fudge brings, the effort needed to make it is very low.

Some friends of mine hosted a taco night the other night and I wanted to make a quick and easy dessert to share. I rifled through my pantry for inspiration and found a can of sweetened condensed milk with a recipe on it. A fudge recipe. A super easy fudge recipe, at that. The recipe had three ingredients and four steps; I was sold. I decided to spice up the recipe by adding cinnamon to it and calling it “Mexican Chocolate Fudge.” The perfect taco night dessert.

The fudge turned out delicious but we all agreed that it was more of a mix between fudge and truffles. But it worked for us. If you’ve ever made fudge before, you probably know that many fudges are made with more ingredients than what I’ve listed below, such as butter, marshmallows, and sugar. The fudge recipe listed here is much firmer than other fudges, which can be a bit soft or gooey, but this firmness makes the fudge very rich so you just need a small bit to feel satisfied.

Mexican Chocolate Fudge
Makes 64 small pieces of fudge

3 cups (18 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons Saigon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Line an 8-inch square baking pan with wax paper.

Combine chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk in medium, heavy-duty saucepan. Warm over lowest possible heat, stirring until smooth, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in cinnamon and vanilla extract.

Spread evenly into prepared baking pan. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm. Lift from pan; remove wax paper. Cut into 64 pieces.
Note: The pieces of fudge will be small, but if they were any bigger the richness of the fudge would make you sick when you ate it!

I participated in an Iron Cupcake Challenge today!

What is an Iron Cupcake Challenge? This competition is loosely based on The Food Network’s Iron Chef in that a different flavor/ingredient is chosen each month and participants must bake their best cupcake based on the given flavor, then bring their cupcakes to the competition to be judged by a panel of three expert bakers/foodies. Additionally, a portion of the proceeds from each challenge go to a different charity every month. I was so happy to spend a night tasting cupcakes for a good cause – who wouldn’t have fun at an event like this!

The theme this month was “Thanksgiving.” There were 15 creative and delicious entries, which ranged from a sweet potato casserole cupcake to a pumpkin spice cupcake to a chocolate cupcake sculpted to look like a roasted turkey. I created a cupcake that was a sweet twist on stuffing with gravy. I, unfortunately, did not win this time, but am already excited to participate in the next!

A Sweet Twist on Stuffing with Gravy – Cupcake Style
Makes 24 cupcakes

Cupcakes:
¼ cup butter
1 cup pecans
1 cup cranberries
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 granny smith apple, diced into small pieces
1 angel food cake (store-bought or homemade), cut into ½ inch cubes
1 cup heavy cream
3 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two 12-inch cupcake tins with silicone (preferred) or paper cupcake liners.
2. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
3. Add pecans, cranberries, and spices; sauté lightly for 3-4 minutes.
4. Add apple and sauté until tender, 5 more minutes.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together heavy cream and eggs. Set aside.
6. Transfer pecan, cranberry, apple mixture to a large bowl. Add ½ of the angel food cake cubes and stir gently to combine.
7. Add cream and egg mixture, stir to combine, and then add the remaining angel food crumbs. Stir a few times to combine, but do not over-mix.
8. Gently press stuffing mixture into cupcake tins. Fill cupcake liners to brim.
9. Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until tops of cupcakes are golden.
10. Let cupcakes cool in tins for 10 minutes; transfer to a cooling rack. Let cupcakes cool completely before frosting with Brown Sugar Icing (below).

Brown Sugar Icing:
½ cup packed light brown sugar
4 tablespoons milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups sifted powdered sugar

1. Combine brown sugar, milk, and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
2. Heat until butter is melted and brown sugar is dissolved.
3. Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla and powdered sugar.
4. Let cool slightly (but not all of the way) before using.

Thanksgiving may be over, but the good eats don’t have to be. Give the recipe a try and let me know what you think!