The Cake Doctor

Dear Cake Doctor

I’ve missed half my classes, haven’t read the text book and can’t remember anything I’ve been taught. Please prescribe something to help me through my exams!

Love,

Underprepared

—————————————–

Dear Underprepared

Oh dear. I’m afraid there’s nothing cakey that will guarantee an easy ride through your exams. However, you may still be able to squeeze through with a bit of creativity and enthusiasm. While I would never condone bamboozling, hoodwinking or swindling your way to academic success, shortcuts can be surprisingly effective. Take this chocolate fudge for example – it’s deceptively simple and delectably tasty. There’s no need to take the temperature of your sugar as it boils – rather, the end result’s dense and chewy texture is formed from a mixture of butter, soft brown sugar, evaporated milk and melted marshmallows. Stir in some chocolate and you have chocolate fudge that sets in minutes! It’s quick and clever, without going to all the trouble of mastering the technique of reaching ‘soft’ or ‘hardball’ stage with your sugar.

Once your fudge is set and cut into mouthfuls, all you need to do is decide how you’re going to use it to pass your exams. Share it with your lecturer before he marks your paper? Convince your exam invigilator to let you bring in your notes in exchange for a box? Or just render your answers illegible anyway by smudging it all over the page? Whatever happens on the day of your exam, I’d say a few squares of chocolate fudge will give you the energy to fit in a little more cramming and answer the paper as best you can. Just fudge it!

Best of luck!

Love,

The Cake Doctor x

—————————————–

Complaint: unprepared for exams

Prescription: chocolate fudge (inspired by Lorraine Pascale’s chocolate marshmallow brown sugar fudge)

Ingredients

80g butter

300g soft light brown sugar

125g evaporated milk

200g marshmallows

375g milk chocolate, broken into pieces

Method

Line a brownie tin with aluminium foil and set aside.

Put the butter, sugar and evaporated milk in a non-stick, medium pan over a low heat.

Melt the butter and stir gently to make sure the sugar doesn’t burn.

When the sugar has all dissolved into the buttery, milky mix, tip in the marshmallows.

Turn up the heat to medium and wait for the mixture to start boiling. Make sure it’s not bubbling too vigorously, and turn on the timer for 5 minutes.

When the 5 minutes are up, take the pan off the heat, tip in the chocolate pieces and leave for one minute so the chocolate melts a little.

Now, stir the chocolate in until thoroughly incorporated. You’ll need to move quite quickly as the fudge will start to set, and you still need to spread it in to your pan!

Pour the chocolatey mixture into your prepared pan, cover, and leave in the fridge for an hour or so.

When the fudge has set, tip it out of its tin, peel off the foil and place on a large board.

Then cut into pieces, share, bribe, and devour!

Love,

The Cake Doctor x