Cardamom Chocolate Fudge
Cardamom Chocolate Fudge is an easy to make, flavorful, melt in the mouth kind of homemade chocolate. I’ve made this recipe on several occasions and it never fails to please my guests. From parties to engagement gifts, the best part is that you can decorate or roll these chocolatey balls in nuts, sprinkles, coconut, cocoa powder, etc. Dip them in melted chocolate too.
Actually, this recipe came about from a recipe gone totally wrong. Read on to find out what, how and eureka moment.
Disasters in the kitchen!
Generally, many recipes that food lovers come across on other blogs, the internet, recipe books, magazines, television, etc tempt them to save it and try it out some fine day. I too have saved, bookmarked, copied recipes and try them out as and when I can. Many have turned out to be disastrous. While some can be saved or consumed, others have had to be binned and I hate that.
Examples are where dome shaped nankhatai (Indian cookies) have become flat! Caramel custard that sank as soon as it come out of the oven as the recipe called for whipped eggs and high temperature! Now I know better. Dhoklas which refused to rise. However the photos depict a perfect preparation looking smooth as silk, delicious, spongy, well risen, beautiful colour, etc etc.
Now and then such disasters occur. I once followed a famous blogger’s gor keri (mango pickle) and it was like mango pickled in a jaggery syrup! And instead of guiding me where I might have gone wrong, the blogger retorted that I’m probably a bad cook!
Eventually learnt to research different recipes of that particular dish and check out for the similarities. Also comments left by followers and people who have tried the recipes are important. Often, I have posted comments on how the recipe turns out and I find that if I mentioned that the recipe was a disaster, my comment is not published and neither am I asked what went wrong!
So In The First Place What Led to the Disastrous Recipe?
In fact, in 2014-15 I joined 4 different groups that challenge us to prepare a dish every month. At the end of the month it is a new dish learnt and tasted.
One such challenge was from the International Food Challenge, which gives its members recipes from different cuisines of the world. Last month we were challenged to some Afghan dishes. Out of the bolani, biryani, veg dish and the sweet one I decided to try out the sheer payra.
Sheer Payra is a milk fudge, made with milk powder and sugar. The preparation in the photo provided looked perfect and tempting.
So, one fine day with loads of enthusiasm I started preparing the sheer payra. I also wanted to take this for our picnic with other members of my Lions Club. Actually had reduced the sugar from what was required in the recipe. It instructed to boil the sugar syrup till it thickened. Did that.
However after adding the milk powder, it was still very runny and I had to add more milk powder. I put it in the tray to set. Next day, I cut the pieces and tasted one. Oh no! It was just too sweet!! My hubby asked if I had put a kilo of sugar!
Specifically, I hate wasting expensive ingredients and throwing food in the bin. However, I was disappointed as I didn’t have time to make something else for the picnic and I couldn’t take this extra sweet fudge. “All the nuts and spices in it'” I thought. Sadly, put the sheer payra away and took up the newspaper to do a sudoku. That normally helps me to take my mind of something that bothers me. Then halfway through the sudoku I had my eureka moment.
Added some cocoa to balance out the sweetness and to give it a more barfi like consistency. The total makeover was a hit. The unsweetened cocoa reduced the sweetness considerably. Rolled the fudge into balls and rolled them in coconut and nut powder. I loved it and so did the members of my club. I loved the cardamom flavoured fudge.
Luckily, I had jotted down the amount of ingredients used. After a few weeks tried the recipe again – no not the sheer payra but my reconstructed or reinvented version and the chocolate fudge balls turned out absolutely fine.
I’ve actually made over 100 of these for my daughter’s engagement.
Share your thoughts:
Have you been able to save a recipe that has turned out distastrous?
Other Homemade Chocolates You May Want To Check Out:
- With pomegranate stuffed in it Chocolate Truffles make a delish dessert or gift.
- Nutella and Oreo Truffles, I made these for my niece’s pre wedding party. Need only 3 ingredients.
- Easy Homemade Chocolate – made these for the first during Raksha Bandhan.
- Actually cannot remember how many times I’ve made Coconut Chocolate for parties, Weddings and Diwali.
- Choco Coconut Bites – is like having homemade Bounty Chocolate.
- Have no idea why it is called Cold Cake but this is the first homemade chocolate I learnt.
Ingredients Required For Cardamom Chocolate Fudge:
Milk Powder – I prefer using full fat milk powder
Sugar – normal white sugar
Water – tap water
Cardamom Powder
Cocoa Powder – unsweetened
Flavoring – can use rose water, vanilla extract, orange zest or lemon zest
Mixed Nuts – of your choice, chopped finely to add to the fudge
For Coating – can use desiccated coconut, any coarse nut powder, sprinkles or melted chocolate.
You Tube Channel:
CARDAMOM CHOCOLATE FUDGE
Ingredients
FOR THE CHOCOLATE FUDGE:
- 1¾ cup full fat milk powder
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa
- 1 tsp cardamom powder
- 1 tsp rose water optional
- ½ cup mixed nuts chopped
- ¼ tsp salt
- Some soft butter for greasing
FOR COATING:
- finely chopped nuts,sprinkles or coconut or cocoa for decoration
Instructions
- Sieve the milk powder,cocoa and salt to remove the any lumps.
- Add cardamom powder and chopped nuts to the milk powder and mix well.
- Put the sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat.
- Stir till the sugar melts.
- Let it simmer for 4-5 minutes till the syrup is a bit thick. It should be of one thread consistency.
- Add the milk powder mixture and mix well.
- Let the mixture cool down completely.
- Grease your hands with a small pat of butter and roll a teaspoonful of the mixture into a ball.
- Roll it in whatever you are using for decoration.
Notes
- If the mixture is too soft to roll, put it in the fridge for a while.
- Add spices of your choice.
- Can add dried fruits like raisins, cranberries, dates etc to the mixture.
- The fudge will stay good at room temperature for 2-3 days.
Pin For Later:
A little request:
If you do try this recipe then please either
- add a comment below,
- send a picture to my email mayuri.ajay.patel62@gmail.com
- tag me as #mayuri_jikoni on Instagram
- or tag me on Twitter as #Mayuri1962