Johanna's gorgeous grubs

I've been yearning after making Johanna's grubs for ages after she wrote so enticingly about them on her blog. I had absolutely no idea what they were when I first read the name, but more reading revealed that they are part of an Australian attachment to goodies based on condensed milk. Johanna said that they are a favourite of hers, and she's even tried a gluten-free version for her little niece. As I've said before, I rarely use condensed milk but I had bought some to make fudge and then used a regular milk-based recipe instead. There was only one recipe that abandoned tin was destined for, and I whipped up a batch of experimental grubs for the dessert buffet at our new year's party (the other stars were The Scientist's trifle, and some chocolate-orange cupcakes with chocolate-orange ganache).


Johanna's description of how to make the grubs is so sweet that I won't write out the recipe again but just link straight to it. I followed her long method as I wanted to do it properly but the only time-consuming part is crushing the biscuits. I used Rich Tea biscuits and crushed a few at a time until I got to the desired consistency. I used unsweetened coconut but the grubs were still plenty sweet enough, what with the condensed milk, and we tried them both straight from the fridge, and after being stored in an airtight box on the worktop (Johanna's preference). Both were a perfectly sweet bite-sized treat. I quite liked the added chill that the fridge gave them but our party guests and also Vet Mum and Dad who visited the day before gobbled both up. I am rapidly being converted to the many uses of condensed milk! I packed most of the leftover ones up for the Ecos to take away with them after the party - and the only reason that there were any left at all was because The Scientist's trifle was such a total triumph. Christmas is not Christmas in his family without a big trifle made by his dad, and so I suggested that he took on the mantle in our house this year. He's even kind enough to use veggie jelly - even though it means less for him!

Festive ginger fudge

I love making sweets - it's baking plus science equals something that makes your teeth want to curl up (but in a nice way). I made some vanilla fudge for my students at the end of the semester and while good, it was very crunchy. I'd used a Nigella recipe featuring evaporated milk, which is the unsweetened version of condensed milk. Since then I've seen a lot of very enticing recipes for gooey soft fudge on other blogs, including Cupcake Project's fudge with balsamic, Rikki's ingenious cashew-nut fudge, and Heidi's Fantasy-ish Fudge which looks beautiful but contains an ingredient I'm pretty sure is native to the American market only (what is ricemallow cream anyway?). I consulted with my fudge-loving friend Sam (she of the biscuit-receiving RAF boyfriend) and she thought that condensed milk could be the way to a fudgier fudge. I bought some condensed milk to put her suggestion into action but hadn't quite got round to doing anything about it when our veg box turned up this week with a recipe for vanilla nut fudge using simply sugar, butter and milk. Everything else I've made according to the directions of the lovely people at Riverford has been a stunner so I set the condensed milk aside for another occasion (Johanna's grubs, perhaps?) and got stuck in.


I don't like nuts and I couldn't find my second choice of glace cherries (they turned up later, reclining behind a barricade of sugars), so at the last minute I grabbed some glace ginger, and partnered it with some ginger liqueur instead of vanilla essence. I'm happy to report that the fudge was delightfully gingery - not too strident but deliciously tangy. The fudge was definitely fudgier than my last attempt though still a little way from the gooeyness I was envisaging - more of a cruncher than a chewer. I was pleased enough with it to package it up for two particularly special friends though - one is yet to go off in the post so I won't spoil the surprise - and the other was hand-delivered to best-friend Tracy to share with her other half and my Birthday Buddy (Almost Birthday Buddy is probably a little young at 5 months - he can have his own next year). She liked it very much and it was lovely to catch up with her today :) It travelled well and I think it will make a good postable gift as well :)

Ginger fudge (adapted from a recipe leaflet from Riverford Organics)
400g sugar (I used golden caster sugar)
125ml milk
50g butter
100g glace ginger
1/2 tsp ginger liqueur

1. Mix the sugar, milk and butter in the pan and heat gently until the sugar melts.
2. Turn up the heat to a boil and keep boiling and stirring until a sugar thermometer gets to 115C
3. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the ginger and ginger liqueur. Leave to cool for 2 minutes
4 . Quickly stir the mixture until it goes thick and creamy. Pour into a greased baking tin.
5. As the fudge begins to set, score the surface into squares. When it has set, cut into squares and store in an airtight container.