More sweets..

Another one of the sweets I made at Christmas was Tiffin, which can be made in different ways. The recipe I use regularly is one which my sister-in-law gave me years ago when she first introduced me to it. I now have little additions and tweaks of my own that I sometimes use also.

It is very more-ish and usually a hit with anyone who likes chocolate - although there are nuts in it too, so probably not very popular with those that suffer from allergies to nuts! You could alter the recipe slightly to suit, however.

Here's the recipe for this delicious sweet:

Tiffin:

Ingredients:

1/2lb (8 oz) Digestive biscuits (or any plain biscuits)
1 Tbsp Caster sugar
1 Tbsp Drinking Chocolate or cocoa powder
1 Tbsp (or more, if preferred - I often add more of this) Golden Syrup.
1/4lb (4oz) Margarine
6-8oz Cake Chocolate (the more the better, it's nice to have a thick layer of choc on the top!
4-6oz each of Glace cherries and walnuts.

Method:

• Crush the biscuits inside a large food bag, using a rolling pin the make them almost the size of bread-crumbs. You can leave larger bits in if you like, it just makes the mixture stick together easier if the biscuits are finely crushed.
• Chop the glace cherries and walnuts into tiny pieces - again this is up to you, but I prefer to chop them very small so that I can cut through the tiffin easier when it is set.
• In a saucepan, melt the golden syrup, margarine and sugar to create a runny sauce consistency. I have also added a few drops of vanilla essence at this point as a variation, or some runny honey.
• Add the cocoa powder, crushed biscuits, cherries and walnuts to the pan and mix well. Press the mixture into a greased tin or one lined with parchment paper. ( I usually use a lasagne dish for this, too!)
• Melt the chocolate either in the microwave according to the manufacturer's instructions, or slowly in a pyrex bowl over a pan of boiling water. Once it is melted, pour the chocolate over the top of the tiffin mixture, spread evenly and refrigerate until set.
  
• Cut into small, bit-sized squares and eat!
  

Home made sweets

I thought I would share some of my home-made sweets with you - not literally, unfortunately, since that would be rather difficult unless you lived nearby and popped in for a cuppa one day!

I made a selection of sweets for Christmas presents this year (2009 actually, so technically last year!) and gave them to my immediate family members in the cute little gift boxes pictured here. I bought the gift boxes flat-packed from Ebay and they are useful for anything that is difficult to wrap in the conventional way, so I will no doubt be going back for more soon!

I thought you might like to see the recipe for these tasty treats, too, so have included them here just in case.

The recipe for White Chocolate & Cranberry Fudge was taken from a free leaflet that came with the shopping one week from Tesco, and it was the first time I'd made it, but it was a huge success so I will be doing more throughout the year as birthday gifts for people.

White Chocolate & Cranberry Fudge

Ingredients:
350g (12oz) granulated sugar
25g (1oz) unsalted butter
175ml (6fl oz) can evaporated milk
100g (31/2oz) dried sweetened cranberries
300g (10oz) white chocolate, chopped.

Method:

• Cut a piece of baking parchment large enough to line a 1kg (2lb) loaf tin. (I used a rectangular shaped lasagne dish, which worked just as well!)
• Put the sugar, butter and evaporated milk in a large heavy based pan. Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved completely.
• Bring to the boil, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. It is a good idea to set a timer for this.
• Immediately remove from the heat then add the cranberries and chocolate
• Allow the chocolate to melt (the smaller the pieces, the quicker it will melt) then quickly stir the mixture and pour straight into the tin/dish. It will thicken immediately.
• Spread into the tin/dish (I used a silicone spatula for this) and chill for an hour or so until firm. Cut into squares.
  

I then placed small squares of parchment paper in between layers of the fudge in these little boxes:



These would also make a lovely gift for your loved one on Valentine's Day! (or you could pretend they are for your loved one and help with the eating of them yourself!