So I picked up the calligraphy pen for the first time in years yesterday. The above results are a little mixed. I chose a difficult script (insular majiscule, the script used for The Book of Kells and The Lindisfarne Gospels) and some of my lettering is clunky. I'm not super-happy with the illumination, which always needs to be planned properly...I just did it free-style. However, I am happy that I had a go and I'll keep it up I think.Anyway, here's my recipe for Vanilla Fudge. A good store cupboard sweetie, to be made on rainy half terms when there's nothing else to do! The picture looks a bit pale, the fudge is a darker colour in real life.
Put 100 ml of evaporated milk, 500g (yes 500!!!) of caster sugar and 50g of unsalted butter into a heavy based saucepan. Bring it up to a gentle boil and after five minutes sprinkle a little of the mixture into some iced water. Does the fudge stay together or melt away into the water? If it stays together take it off the boil and beat in a teaspoon of vanilla extract. If the mixture dissolves into the water you need to boil it for another five minutes or so and then test again and add the vanilla. After you've added the vanilla, put the pan back on the heat and stir quite vigorously until the fudge is thick, smooth and a little grainy. Pour into a buttered, lined baking dish and leave to cool. Cut into squares and feed to small children in small pieces.
PS. It is best (in my opinion) when you have some toasted, flaked almonds to sprinkle on top of the fudge whilst it is cooling. I didn't have and almonds in the cupboard, so we have a plain fudge!
5 comments:
Your calligraphy looks lovely to me! I tried to learn a couple of years ago, but my left-handedness proved to be a real problem. Fudge looks good, I might have to make some...oh, dear ;)
blessings,
Niki
Thank you for the compliment Niki! I imagine it's difficult not to smudge the ink when you're a south paw!
PS. What with frozen cookie dough and fudge abounding in this house we'll be keeping the dentist busy this year.
Ahhh, I can almost smell the fudge. Vanilla is one of my favorite aromas.
I'm impressed with your calligraphy! Do you have a brand of pen that you could recommend to a beginner? My daughter received a beginner set for Christmas and we cannot get the ink to come from the bladder. Then I forgot about it until now.
Love the calligraphy chuck, really do. I think it's most pretty.
And yummmmy!
Hi Marie
If her pen is not working you may want to buy her some fibre tip italic pens. They're very good for beginners as they can practise their strokes without worrying about smudges. When she's confident with her lettering you may want to buy her a dip pen and some proper calligraphy ink...painter's ink can clog your nibs. Dip pens are quite inexpensive are the pens which most calligraphers use, they also come with a wide variety of nibs. You can buy them from amazon and art suppliers.
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