Sucre à la crème – AKA Vanilla Fudge

A last minute request to bring a sweet contribution created a moment of panic in my life last night. Normally, such a request would be welcomed and what to bring along would be a no brainer. I have been known to have a freezer full of amazing cookies and treats ready to be distributed as host gifts and served every Christmas and New Year’s eve (even left overs well into March!). Christmas baking has been my trademark for over 30 years: cookie baking started as a way to stretch my poor student’s budget and still get into the spirit of giving. Over the years, my humble beginnings evolved to an extensive production of delectable treats fancy decorated sugar cookies to chocolate truffles and everything else in between. These treats were so popular I was actually selling them for a while but had to stop at one point because I couldn’t keep up with the orders. At the height of this Christmas baking madness, three chick friends of mine would gather at my house for a massive, two-day bakefest event. We would turn out 16 to 18 kinds of goodies, rolled, dusted, pipped, glittered and all wrapped up for the freezer. The bakefest stopped a few years back but I still managed to produce 6-7 different cookies every year since, the «must have» family favourites. Well this year is a bit different: baking has never made it on the «to do» list. Nada! Not one morsel to be found in the house. And I do not even have enough chocolate chips to whip up something last minute. Except for… Microwave vanilla fudge! My sister made this several years ago: no one knew it was such a cheater recipe: this fudge was sooooo creamy and sooooo decadent. So here it is, a super easy, panic-free, mess free «Sucre à la Crème» even my grandmother would have been proud of! And it will be perfect to whip up last minute and proudly bring along to this evening’s event.

Sucre à la crème

Line a 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper and grease with butter OR use non-stick aluminium foil

In a large microwaveable dish, combine the following ingredients:

• 1 cup heavy cream 35%
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 tbsp corn syrup

Cook in microwave on high for 8 to 12 minutes, depending on your microwave. What you are looking for is a mixture that bubbles a fair bit. When the bubbles start to be more opaque and heavier, your mixture should be ready.

Remove from microwave and add 2 tbsp butter.

Let rest for 5 minutes.

Using an electric mixer, beat the mixture for 2-4 minutes until it starts to thicken and turns a bit paler. Pour into prepared dish. Let set completely before cutting in pieces.

Troubleshooting: microwaves each have there own personality so figuring yours will be the biggest challenge for this recipe.

1. If the fudge is too soft, it means it was undercooked a bit. Solution:  keep it in a jar and spread it on EVERYTHING! Heck, just use a spoon and enjoy it that way!!!
2. If your fudge turns out dry and crumbly, it means you overcooked the mixture. Trial and error is to only way to gauge this one to adapt to your microwave’s power. But no panic! And do not throw your fudge away if it is a bit harder than you would have liked. Dry and crumbly fudge makes a fabulous topping for any cake. Or even use these crumbs as a nice festive topper for pancakes, crêpes, French toast etc.
3. Figuring out your microwave’s power may be a great way to create easy peasy edible gifts, from fudgy crumbles to a caramel spread. No such thing as ruined batch of Sucre à la crème. Well, unless your burn it that is LOL!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!