White Chocolate and Baileys Fudge

Are there two better things in the world than white chocolate or Baileys? 

If there are, I need to hear about them – stat.

Having a sweet-toothed predisposition I love anything creamy, sweet and vanilla-flavoured, which pretty much covers both white chocolate AND Baileys. Throw the crumbly caramel consistency of fudge into the mix and you can positively guarantee my mind (or should that be taste buds?) will be blown.

Unlike many alcohol-spiked fudges (I’m looking at you here, rum and raisin), you can actually taste the Irish cream liqueur in this Baileys fudge. Which leads me to say that if you’re considering making this but you’re not really enamoured with the taste of Baileys, then please just don’t bother.

I would always recommend using a sugar thermometer when making this white chocolate and Baileys fudge – it just takes all of the guess-work out of it and makes life much easier for you. But if you don’t have one, then a good rule of thumb is to keep the mixture gently bubbling for at least eight minutes once the heat has been turned up to allow it to heat to a high enough temperature to set. 

Alternatively, when you think the consistency is right, take a tiny spoonful of the caramel and drop it into a bowl of cold water. If it immediately solidifies (and resembles crumbly fudge) then you should be good to go. If it doesn’t, keep heating – and stirring – until you reach this stage.

White Chocolate and Baileys Fudge

Recipe by Julia

Servings

36

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Ingredients

• 5 fl oz (150ml) Baileys

• 2 fl oz (50ml) milk

• 2 tbsp (30g) butter, plus extra for greasing

• 1 3/4 cup (350g) caster sugar

• 9 oz (270g) white chocolate, chopped

Directions

• Grease and line a 20×20 square baking dish.
• Pour 2/3 of the Baileys into a deep saucepan placed over low heat. Add the milk, butter and sugar and stir occasionally for around 10 minutes until the butter has melted and the mixture is smooth.
• Pop your sugar thermometer into the pan and turn the heat up to medium. You need to stir the mixture continuously from this point, to ensure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Once the temperature has reached the ‘softball’ stage on your thermometer (115C / 240F), your fudge is ready.
• Remove the heat from the pan and stir in the white chocolate and the remaining Baileys. You’ll need to be quick to combine all of the ingredients fully until the chocolate has melted, as you fudge will start to solidify fairly quickly.
• Tip the fudge into the prepared baking tray and spread into an even layer. Leave to set until completely cool (1-2 hours), then cut into small squares and serve.

Notes

• See guidance in the post about what to do if you don’t have a sugar thermometer.