Yesterday I made butter tablet (aka crumbly fudge) for my father-in-law’s birthday.
This is the basic recipe, without flavourings or ‘bits’, but you can add whatever you like to it…
125g butter (I use salted)
1kg golden caster sugar
250ml full fat milk
397g tin condensed milk
Over a low gentle heat, melt the butter, then add the sugar and milk, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
Bring to the boil and simmer for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally so the bottom of the pan doesn’t burn (yes, I learned the hard way!).
Add the condensed milk – stir it in really well and simmer for a further 15 minutes, still stirring occasionally.
The you can either use a thermometer to check when it’s 115C or, like me, dribble a baton a cold plate to see how it sets. As it cools (be careful not to burn fingers!), it should roll easily into balls.
Once at this stage, you can give it a good stir and add any extras – flavourings, raisins, cherries, etc. – then pour into a greased tin, adding decorative toppings such as chocolate chips if you wish. Most recommend a 30cm x 30cm tin, but I tend to pour it into serving bowl as I don’t have a tin of that size.
Then, leave it alone! It needs to dry out, which works best overnight.
Once set you can cut it into pieces – I tend to break it into ‘rocks’ rather than perfect squares, but if you want nice squares try a hot knife to slice it.
Yum! Fill your boots, but go steady, it’s quite a sugar hit!