These days the store shelves are packed to the brim with sweets in all colours, flavours, shapes and sizes. If you have a sweet tooth like me, then this is a huge temptation and one that I usually cannot resist. The result is that there is always a decent-sized stash of mass-produced sweets hidden in secret places in my house… just in case someone (usually me) gets a craving for something sweet after dinner.
However, I recently thought back to how my grandmother spoiled us with homemade fudge and realised that it’s not that difficult to make your own sweets. In fact, there’s something very satisfying and rather fulfilling about the entire exercise and it’s certainly much more impressive to be able to say you made it yourself. Of course, homemade sweets also make a great gift if you’re in the mood to spoil someone special!
Turkish Delight
Ingredients
¼ packet of gelatin
¼ cup water
1 teaspoon orange essence
750g sugar
½ cup water
Juice of 2 lemons
Red food colouring
Method
Soak the gelatin in the ¼ cup of water. Place the sugar and the ½ cup of water in a pan, add the gelatin and lemon juice and bring to the boil while stirring. Let it boil for eight minutes and then add the orange essence. Add a few drops of food colouring to the mixture and stir. Rinse a square or rectangular baking dish in cold water. Pour the mixture into the dish and leave overnight. Cut into cubes and roll them in a mixture of sifted icing sugar and cornstarch.
Milktart fudge
800g sugar
250g butter
250ml milk
250ml condensed milk
10ml vanilla essence
10ml cinnamon
Method
Place all the ingredients in a pot and bring to the boil over a low heat, while stirring with a wooden spoon. Keep stirring until the mixture turns golden brown (about 25 to 30 minutes). Remove from heat and beat on low speed with an electric hand blender until creamy. Grease a 30cm x 20cm baking pan and pour the mixture into it. Let it cool completely and then turn out on a cutting board. Cut the fudge into squares with a sharp knife.
Date squares
Ingredients
1 packet Marie biscuits
185g butter or margarine
½ cup sugar
250g dates, chopped
Glazed cherries (optional)
Coconut
Method
Place the biscuits in a plastic bag and break into smaller pieces with a rolling pin, but not too fine (i.e. not crumbs). Place the biscuits in a mixing bowl. Place the butter, sugar, dates and cherries in a pan, mix and heat until the butter has melted. Pour the melted mixture over the biscuit pieces and mix well. Scoop into a greased baking dish of approximately 20cm x 15cm and press down firmly. Leave it to set. Sprinkle with coconut and cut into squares.
Peanut brittle
Ingredients
1 cup white sugar
½ cup syrup
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup water
1 cup peanuts
2 tablespoons butter (softened)
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
Method
Place the sugar, syrup, salt and water in a large pan. Cook for 8 to 12 minutes over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved, and the mixture begins to boil. Stir frequently to prevent the mixture from burning. Add the butter and let it boil for a further 15 minutes. Stir occasionally (test by dropping a small amount into ice water – if it forms a hard ball, it’s ready). Mix in the peanuts. Remove the pan from the heat and add the baking soda. Immediately pour the mixture into a greased baking tray. Let it cool completely. Break into pieces and enjoy!
