Winery Road Fudge

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About a year and a half ago I started toying with the idea of starting my own business.  I was going to sell homemade marshmallows in various flavors, rocky road and granolas.  Derek and I started brainstorming flavors and had friends taste test our creations.  Well my Lupus reared its ugly head and I began to realize that hustling around making all of that product and trying to “peddle my wares” was not going to be possible.  It’s still a dream I have for some day in the future, but in the meantime I still have recipes for all those great treats we tested out!  One of them being this fudge.  We were thinking of a way to incorporate a wine flavor into something.  I started experimenting with a wine-flavored marshmallow. We thought about how well cherries pair with chocolate and how wine pairs with chocolate.  Turns out the trio together is spectacular!  The combination of dark chocolate, sweet wine-flavored marshmallows and slightly tart and chewy dried cherries is just fabulous!  We’ve thought of several names for this fudge, but this is the one that finally stuck.  It’s a play on the fact that this is another version of my original (semi-sweet chocolate, vanilla marshmallows and walnuts) rocky road recipe.

I recently made a batch for Derek to bring to work and realized it was too good not to share with all of you!  I will admit that this is not a recipe that can be made quickly because you have to make the marshmallows and let them set and then make everything else and let it cool before cutting the fudge into squares.  All that being said, the whole process is worth it, I swear.

Let’s head down the winery road!

As I said, you’ll start with the marshmallows.  First you’re going to make a wine reduction.  This will concentrate the wine flavor and also ensure there isn’t too much liquid added to the marshmallows to prevent them from firming up. Simmer the red wine over medium heat in a small pot or saucepan for about 5 minutes or until it’s reduced by about half. It will still be fairly liquid and that’s ok.  Don’t venture far from this because it can burn.  Use a wine with a bold flavor that you like to drink.  If you already don’t like the flavor of it, that’s only going to intensity when it’s reduced.  Set the reduced wine aside in a bowl.

Now you’ll make the marshmallows.  The method is the same as my vanilla marshmallows.  Start by putting the gelatin in the bowl of a stand mixer and pouring over half the water.  Let that sit.  Now pour the other half of the water into a small sauce pan. Add the corn syrup, salt and sugar and stir. Put that over medium-high heat and cover.  Let it cook for 4 minutes.  Then take the lid off and clip a candy thermometer on the side of the pan and turn the heat down to medium.  Cook about another 8 minutes, stirring occasionally until the mixture reaches 240°.

Now to the mixing!  With the whisk attachment on, turn your mixer on low to start blending the water and gelatin (it should be firm). Carefully pour the sugar syrup into the bowl, letting it stream down the side. Once all the syrup has been added, turn  your mixer on high speed.  Let it whip for about 10 minutes or until the mixture is bright white and fluffy.

While that’s mixing you’re going to prep your pan.  Grease a 9″x13″ pan lightly with vegetable shortening.  Then sprinkle in some powdered sugar and spread it around.  The powdered sugar is going to help make it easier to get the marshmallows out later.

Once the mixture has fluffed up, turn the mixer to low and add 3 1/2 tablespoons of the wine reduction.  Mix until the wine reduction is completely integrated.

Now pour the marshmallow fluff into your prepared pan.  Let that sit for 2 hours.

Now you can cut up your marshmallows!  You’re only going to use half of the pan for the fudge.  The other half you can put in your cocoa, coffee, for s’mores or just to munch on.  Yum! Generously sprinkle a cutting board with powdered sugar.  Take out the slab of marshmallow from the pan.  It may take some pulling if it’s stuck to the bottom in places.  Now dip a sharp knife, pizza cutter or bench scraper in more powdered sugar and cut the slab into 1″ squares.

The half that you’re not going to use right now can be stored in a Ziploc bag or a sealable container with some powdered sugar sprinkled in so they don’t all glob together.

On to the fudge!  Put about an inch of water in a medium pot and simmer on the stover over medium-high heat.  Then put the chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk and butter into a heat-proof bowl and set that bowl on the pot with the boiling water in it (essentially, you’re making a double boiler).

Stir the mixture occasionally and take it off the heat once all the chocolate and butter is melted.

Now stir in the dried cherries.  I like the dried Bing cherries from Trader Joes because they are nice and big.  Use whatever you can find that tastes good.

Then you’ll fold in the marshmallows. Stir them in until all of the marshmallows are covered in chocolate.  Some of them may start to melt and that’s fine, you’ll just have a pretty light pink swirl going through your fudge. 🙂

Lay some parchment paper in a square baking pan and pour in the fudge mixture.  The parchment paper is going to make it easier to get the fudge out of the pan once it’s solid.

Let the fudge cool for at least 2 hours to firm up.

Take the fudge out of the pan and turn out onto a cutting board and remove the parchment paper.

Now cut into squares.  I cut mine into 16, which makes for a pretty generous piece of fudge.  You could easily get 24 pieces out of this and still a nice serving.  The fudge will last a week in an airtight container.

Enjoy!