Today (July 22nd) is Penuche Fudge day. It completely skipped my mind due to my excitement for the start of the new season of Hells Kitchen.(oops)Normally I would have made this last night so I could take it to work this morning, but … Hey, better late than never, right? For anyone who is not familiar with this New England confection, Penuche fudge attempts to recreate the flavor of the Mexican Panocha, Piloncillio or Panela (being the pressed Raw Sugar “cones”)
2 cups Light Brown Sugar
1 cup Dark Brown Sugar
1 cup Whipping Cream (Heavy Cream works even better)
3 TB Unsalted butter
1/8 tsp Salt
1 tsp Real Mexican or Bourbon Vanilla Extract (Tahitian is too Floral)
1 cup chopped Pecans
Combine Sugars, Cream, Butter and Salt in a stainless or copper sauce pan (DO NOT USE a NON-STICK Pan)
Place over LOW heat and stir until the mixture begins to boil, then remove spoon and add thermometer.
Cook until the syrup reaches 238 degrees (Soft ball)
Meanwhile - Line your 8x8 pan with waxed paper.
Chop the pecans....
Remove from heat, add the vanilla and let it set until it cools to 110 degrees.
Once it reaches a matte finish... Quickly fold in the vanilla and pecans,
Then press into your wax paper lined 8 x 8 pan
To add a little shine to the top, you can brush the surface lightly with more light cream.
Let is cool slightly, then fish it out, pressing lightly with your fingers... Soft ball will give when squeezed.
And when set down on the counter, it will hold it's shape for a few seconds before slowly spreading.
This form of semi-refined sugar is similar to "jaggery" in India (which is derived from Palm sap instead of Cane)
Sadly it seems that a lot of recipes flying around the net now days contain very little Brown Sugar, being comprised primarily of Confectioners’ Sugar. These are often called “No-Cook alternatives”… I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Penuche fudge doesn’t really work like that… I am not trying to be a fudge snob or anything, but the flavor of Penuche requires Brown Sugar and cooking to softball, or it ends up being more of a Vanilla Fudge than anything else… You just can’t fudge penuche... ;)
Penuche Fudge
1 cup Dark Brown Sugar
1 cup Whipping Cream (Heavy Cream works even better)
3 TB Unsalted butter
1/8 tsp Salt
1 tsp Real Mexican or Bourbon Vanilla Extract (Tahitian is too Floral)
1 cup chopped Pecans
Combine Sugars, Cream, Butter and Salt in a stainless or copper sauce pan (DO NOT USE a NON-STICK Pan)
Place over 
Cook until the syrup reaches 238 degrees (Soft ball) 
Meanwhile - Line your 8x8 pan with waxed paper.
Chop the pecans....
Remove from heat, add the vanilla and let it set until it cools to 110 degrees.
Pour mixture into a mixing bowl; beat mixture on low speed until the luster is gone and penuche has a matte finish (this can take quite awhile... 15-20 minutes, depending)
Mine took way longer, but my kitchen was over 90 degrees so I had to break out the frozen chicken to cool the bowl down cause I had hit the 30 minute mark. (at which point the mixer was getting hot too, thus keeping the syrup warm - Vicious cycle)... LOL
Once it reaches a matte finish... Quickly fold in the vanilla and pecans,
Then press into your wax paper lined 8 x 8 pan
To add a little shine to the top, you can brush the surface lightly with more light cream.
If you do not possess a candy thermometer, you can do this the old fashioned way (the way my Grandmother and Great-Grandmother did it)
Place a bowl of cold water near the stove, check the sugar syrup by dropping a small amount into the cold water.
Let is cool slightly, then fish it out, pressing lightly with your fingers... Soft ball will give when squeezed.
And when set down on the counter, it will hold it's shape for a few seconds before slowly spreading.
Now a warning... I should have probably mentioned this at the beginning... NEVER try to make candy on a humid day. I was reminded of this as I flipped past the Weather channel. Evidently the current humidity level in San Diego is 84%... YIKES! This is too high for candy making, but I was already boiling the syrup, so I trudged forward anyway... We shall see what happens come the dawn... I am still waiting for it to set (It's still really warm in my apartment), but I am posting this anyway. Hopefully I will be adding the picture of the cut pieces tomorrow morning... I have high hopes, because the residual syrup set up well on the beater...
Now I must depart for I have a cup of coffee waiting for me... And I get to lick the afore mentioned beater... ;)
07/23/09 - OK, Picture added this morning... Yes, it did set up... Not QUITE as firm as I would have liked, but firm enough and extremely creamy and delicious. So I'm not going to complain. It could have been much much worse considering the high humidity. I am one happy camper, as is the IS/IT department at work... They all have a sugar buzz goin. HA HA !!
Mangia!!
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