Bounty (or Almond Joy) Fudge

You know, I’m my own worst enemy when it comes to stumbling upon good, easy, cheap, frugal etc etc recipes. They soon become my ‘go to’ recipes and my mind is always ticking about how I can change the flavours. Doesn’t everyone think about food constantly like I do? This fudge recipe came about when I was dreaming thinking about candy bars and I wondered how I could transform one of my favourite bars into my microwave fudge recipe and it worked. I was pleased how well it worked out.

In my Best (& Easiest) Sweet Recipes for Gift Giving ebook, I have two fudge recipes. There’s the two ingredient fudge you can make from a couple store bought ingredients and a good standby but I much prefer this recipe made with basic pantry ingredients that just about everyone should have on hand. There’s no stirring on the stove, no special ingredients. Just whack it in the microwave to melt the butter and/or chocolate.

I would go on to say this is the best ever fudge recipe I’ve ever come across and it will be my standard for all different flavour combinations.

If you don’t know what “Bounty” or “Almond Joy” candy bars are, they are delicious creamy coconut centred bars, smothered in chocolate with the Almond Joy bar having an additional whole almond. I didn’t add the almond in this recipe but you could quite easily add one whole almond every inch, approximately where you’d be cutting the fudge, or crush them and sprinkle on top of the chocolate.

As usual, I was stretched for time and I swear, this fudge was made in about 10 minutes flat. It doesn’t take long to set either so early taste testing was possible. I don’t want to serve my family something that was inedible, right?

There was no time for fussing so I just pressed the coconut layer onto the chocolate fudge layer, smothered it in chocolate and it was done.

The result was amazing. I reckon it cost less than $5 to make and there was heaps of it. 

This is yet another recipe to put in the ‘vault’ as my go to fudge recipe. I can’t wait to try making it into other flavours. Did I say that? Just don’t let the scales know!

 

As a special offer to my readers, I’m offering my Best (& Easiest) Sweet Recipes for Gift Giving ebook at 50% off so you can try this fudge recipe and the other recipes in the book for last minute Christmas gift giving. Just enter FUDGE50 as the coupon code to receive the discount. All it will cost is a bit of loose change. This will be your ‘go to’ sweets recipe book when it comes to making fudge, coconut ice, marshmallow and all those other family favourites that people love to receive and people love to buy at bake sales and fetes. Below are the variations to the recipe in the ebook. Hope you give it a try. It’ll be a book that you can pass down to your children for easy sweet making.

 

Variation to Fudge (1) Recipe in ebook

Additional ingredients:

• 1/2 cup coconut
• 1/2 cup chocolate melts
• Additional 1/2 cup chocolate melts for topping
• Additional 1/4 cup crushed almonds for topping (if making Almond Joy fudge)

1. Omit cocoa powder from ingredients.
2. Halve mixture.
3. To one half add 1/2 cup coconut.
4. To other half add 1/2 cup melted chocolate.
5. Press chocolate half of mixture into a 9″ x 9″ square pan lined with baking paper.
6. Lightly press the coconut layer on top.
7. Spread 1/2 cup of melted chocolate on top.
8. Refrigerate until set.

Note:
You could change the chocolate to dark or white.
For “Almond Joy” fudge, sprinkle with crushed almonds before setting in fridge.

{Bounty} Coconut Chocolate Cupcakes

You’ve heard that saying “you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear”? Well, that’s what my photography is like. A food photographer, I am not. If I bake something, it could take a day and a half before I get the final product and then I’ve got to try and take a photo, usually around 10:00pm at night and usually with children trying to stall going to bed. I’ve got no idea about lighting, aperture (is that the word?) or whatever. I’m afraid you’ll just have to take my word for it that it tastes nice and is worth making.

I’m not sure how I came about this idea for a cupcake (probably watching too much “Cupcake Wars”) but I was inspired by one of my favourite candy bars, the “Bounty”. Its very similar to the American “Almond Joy” but without the almond.

I decided to do my ‘old faithful’ cake recipe with coconut added and then topped the cake batter with an amount of coconut macaroon mixture and then finished with a chocolate ganache. The cake turned out lovely and dense and although I can feel the texture of coconut, a bit of coconut essence or even coconut milk may have made for a more intense coconut flavour (or even a shot of Malibu coconut rum if you’re that way inclined).

It’s a simple cake with an extra layer of coconut goodness and a rich chocolate ganache topping. I hope you give them a go and don’t rely on my photos for inspiration. I really need to do some kind of photography course or finish off my baking at a respectable hour.

{Bounty} Coconut Chocolate Cupcakes

• 1 and half cups plain flour
• 1 cup coconut
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 6 tablespoons oil (I use canola)
• 1 teaspoon bicarb soda
• half teaspoon salt

Macaroon mixture:

• 1 egg white
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup coconut

Chocolate ganache:

• 100gm dark chocolate (or milk chocolate if desired)
• 125ml thickened cream

1. Preheat oven to 180 C (375 F). 
2. Combine flour, sugar, coconut and water in a bowl. 
3. Add vinegar, oil, baking soda and salt. 
4. Mix with beaters until smooth.
5. Fill cupcake papers to 3/4.
6. For macaroon mixture, beat egg whites until white. Slowly add sugar, one teaspoon at a time until thick, white and glossy. Slowly fold coconut through and spoon teaspoonfuls of the mixture onto the cupcake batter.
7. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until golden.
8. For ganache, place broken up chocolate and cream in a microwave proof bowl and heat at 30 second intervals until chocolate has melted (for this quantity I did it twice for 1 minute).
9. Allow to cool. Before mixture hardens too much, you can dip the cupcakes straight into the ganache or wait until it cools even more and the ganache could be piped onto cupcakes.

This recipe made 12 Texas sized muffin tin cupcakes and 8 mini cupcakes.