Elderflower and Lemon Fudge

The warmer weather means there's now white frothy elderflowers in abundance here, filling the air with their musky fragrance.  That means making lots of refreshing elderflower cordial to sip with ice cubes on balmy days.  But what else to do with it?

I had some leftover condensed milk (from my other summer indulgence of iced coffee) so thought I'd try my hand at fudge. The result was delicious. Smooth, creamy, buttery fudge with the zesty tang of lemon and subtle fragrant hint of elderflower.

If you haven't made any cordial, you could always use good quality shop bought stuff, but it's so easy why not have a try.  I popped about 10 large flower heads in a large bowl with one lemon sliced up.  Sprinkle over 2 tablespoons of sugar then pour over 1/2 - 1 pint of boiling water (depending how concentrated you want it - for this recipe make it quite strong).  Cover with a clean tea towel and leave for 24 hours before straining through a muslin and pour into in a sterilised bottle.

For the fudge, you will need:

approx 200g condensed milk (half a regular tin)
75ml milk
200g demerara sugar
60g unsalted butter
3 tablespoons elderflower cordial
zest and juice of 1 lemon
few drops of yellow food colouring (optional)

First zest your lemon and cut the strips into small pieces.  Line a 20cm square tin with baking paper.

Put all your ingredients into a heavy bottomed pan and heat until the butter melts - stir constantly.  Bring the mixture to the boil then simmer for about 15 minutes.  Be careful as the melted sugar will be extremely hot.

When the mixture has reached 118 degrees c (use a confectionery thermometer), remove it from the heat.   Alternatively you can test by dropping a small amount of fudge into a bowl of very cold water - if it forms a soft ball then it is ready.

Now use an electric whisk to beat the mixture.  Use the fastest setting and beat for about 10 minutes until it becomes thick and creamy.

Pour into your lined tray and smooth out.  Leave to cool before cutting into chunks.

For more elderflower recipes check out:

Elderflower and Rhubarb Cordial

Elderflower and Rhubarb Granita

Elderflower Custard Tart

Elderflower and Dandelion Scones with Elderflower Lemon Curd