Christmas Fudge

At 10pm last night I decided I'd quite like to try my hand at making fudge. I have to say that I'm not a huge lover of that real chalky type, so I went online and did a little research. It seems the more you beat it the chalkier it becomes. So here is my take on fudge with a Christmas twist. Oh yes, and I use homemade mincemeat so there is a good glug of booze and fab flavours, but if you use shop bought I'd add a shot of something to the mincemeat and the zest of an orange.

1 can of condensed milk (397g)
120ml double cream 
100g unsalted butter
450g soft light brown sugar

For the Christmas-ness-i-ness
150g good mincemeat
Zest of a clementine
50g cranberries
60g chopped pistachio 

In a large saucepan melt the condensed milk, cream, butter and sugar over a low heat until everything has dissolved.

Bring to the boil then simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring continuously making sure to keep scraping the base of the pan. To test the fudge is ready drop a little of the mixture into a jug of ice-cold water. A soft ball of fudge should form. Or check with a sugar thermometer (I used my Lakeland spatular one) (about 116°C). For a more crumbly fudge heat to 118 and beat until very firm (see next stage).

Remove from the the heat, add the mincemeat and zest then beat with a wooden spoon until it thickens and starts to firm up. Pour into a lined 2 pint loaf tin and sprinkle with the nuts. Leave to set in the fridge overnight before cutting into pieces.