A fantastic, easy and virtually full-proof recipe!
Ingredients
300 gms caster sugar
1 tbsp golden syrup
100 gms unsalted butter
100 mls double cream
1 tsp vanilla extract or paste
Method
Using a few drops of sunflower oil on a piece of kitchen paper, lightly oil a 15x22cm baking dish, or similar small dish.
Put the sugar, syrup, butter and cream in a saucepan, making sure it’s not more than a third full as the mixture will bubble when it boils. Heat gently, stirring all the time, until the sugar has completely dissolved – tip the pan to make sure there are no crystal still visible on the base.
Stop stirring. Put a sugar thermometer in the pan and turn up the heat. Let the mixture boil hard until it reaches 116 degrees C (soft ball stage). This may happen quite fast or could take up to 15 minutes or more, so keep a sharp eye on the thermometer. I found that the fudge reached that temperature in under 10 minutes.
Take the pan off the heat and leave to stand for 10 minutes.
Add the vanilla and beat vigorously until the mixture thickens, becomes slightly grainy and starts to come away from the base of the pan. This can take up to 10 minutes. Again, I found that the mixture took only a couple of minutes to get to this stage.
Tip into the prepared dish, smooth and leave to cool.
Mark into squares with a sharp knife while it’s still slightly soft. Leave for 2 to 4 hours to firm up completely and then remove from the dish.
The Quirk and the Cool 