Fudge tarts

During my college years, a particular bakery in our hometown (map it to India's Southernmost Kerala) was, by far, the happiest place on earth- was way before I discovered Disneyland. From an array of sweetmeats to fantastic finger foods, housed behind shiny glass displays, this spot was where you wanted to be in order to get fed well. Additionally, it was the hang to meet friends, to sip a "Sip Up" or two and supplant a week's meals with bags of rolls, pastries and sandwiches.

Ann's Bakery introduced these incredible shortcrust mini pies, known as fudge tarts,  to the Kerala bakehouse scene. 
They were the dessert epitomy of decadence for a college kid's budget.

I'd gleefully walk off with at least a dozen of these gems, at the time costing me less than Rs. 50 for a box of 12 and few decades worth of lightning metabolism.

Though not exactly what the Western world knows as fudge, the velvety chocolate candy that's sold in blocks, the "fudge" in today's tart is actually a toffee-like caramel, embedded with raisins and cashews. 

Moving far from the Kottayam original only made me long for my favorite dessert more than I could ever admit. The necessity to feed my craving led in creating my own tart of fudge.

Till date, I have made and consumed hundreds of batches.

It may not be the same, but poses as a fine imposter, and an incredibly good must try.

So, from the magic ovens of Ann's to mine, which may possibly be transferred to yours, I bring you the famous fudge tart.

Fudge Tart  Recipe:

Tart Shell:
 Readymade pie crusts work great when you're in a hurry. If you're really pressed for time you can substitute with the frozen/refrigerated tart shells. Just follow the directions on the back of packages. But if you're feeling ambitious, here's a recipe for a basic pie/tart dough.
Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp baking powder
• 8 tbsp cold butter (1 stick)
• 2- 3 tbsp cold water

Method:

• In a food processor, combine flour, sugar and salt and baking powder.
• Cut butter in tablespoons and into flour mix  and pulse at 1 second intervals until butter is scattered throughout and mixture resembles cornmeal consistency.
• Sprinkle in cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time and pulse with each addition until dough forms.
• Knead slightly and shape dough into two equal sized discs. Wrap individually in plastic wrap.
• Refrigerate for half an hour or up to one day.
• Once chilled, take one disk out of refrigerator and roll to a thickness of 1/4 ' thick. If dough is tough, allow to soften a few minutes before rolling 
• Preheat oven to 370 degrees.
• Using a medium size glass or cup with a mouth 3 inches in diameter or a cookie cutter, press into flattened dough to  make  3 inch discs.
• Press discs carefully into individual wells of muffin pans. Make sure to cover the bottom and press along 1/4 of the sides up. Repeat with remaining disc.
• Prick  a few holes in the bottom of the crust with the tines of a fork.
• Bake 8- 10 minutes or until light brown in color.
• Allow to cool slightly before filling.

Fudge filling:

Ingredients:

• 3-4 tbsp caramel syrup
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 can condensed milk
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup salted cashews 

Method:

• Put first three ingredients in a heavy bottomed saucepan  and bring to a boil on moderate heat
• Boil for 3-4 minutes, until slightly thickened, scoop-able, but, not too dense consistency.
• Take off heat.
• Add raisins and cashews. Stir to combine well.
• Allow to cool slightly.
• Dollop a tablespoon into the baked tart shells.

These were the first pictures published with the post. Taken from my then Panasonic camera( and I'm not blaming the camera here), my abilities to frame and click food were quite limited.

Notes:

Caramel syrup:

Heat 1 cup of sugar  in a heavy bottomed saucepan over a high heat. Without stirring, just swirl pan a few times to combine. Let the sugar dissolve . Bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium, continue to simmer  for 8-10 minutes.Slowly swirl pan or stir with a spatula, to even out color and to keep mixture from burning. Bring the color of the melted sugar to a deep amber color( I like a near Coca Cola tint).
Turn off heat. Cool a bit and use 3-4 tablespoons for this recipe.

Leftover fudge can be refrigerated for unto 2 weeks. Once refrigerated, heat in microwave or thin out with a few drops of warm milk or cream and use as topping for ice cream, cheesecake. From spoon to mouth is quite the awesome experience too. Try not to share the spoon.

***Pictures and slight ingredient updates made 6/29/2020

The few hideous pictures I've kept on publish is just so you can see the difference in my picture taking capabilities. Though, I still have a long way to go, I think my skills have improved somewhat satisfactorily.***