1) Use bulk Splenda, not the stuff in the packets. There are [at least] 3 types of Splenda -- the super-concentrated stuff that comes in packets, the bulk Splenda for baking, and a mix of sugar and Splenda that is also for baking. Obviously you don't want the latter, either, because you don't want the sugar. Smart & Final usually has bulk Splenda, it comes in a resealable bag. You substitute it for sugar 1-for-1.
I have bulk Splenda. I buy it in quantity at Costco. The filler in the bulk Splenda doesn't thicken, so I figured I'd save it for when it is markedly easier to use the bulk stuff than the packet stuff, such as when I want a dry ingredient that disperses like sugar.
2) Cream cheese? Peanut butter? What kind of alien (or Yankee) cookbooks do you read? Cornstarch is also icky. What's wrong with plain old all-purpose flour? Or at the least mostly flour with a bit of arrowroot powder (say, a tablespoon or so) added in.
Most of the recipes for sugar-free fudge I came across on the net contained one or the other. There's one folks seem to rave about that calls for "one square of unsweetened chocolate," but nowhere is the size of the "square" defined in any of the printings of this recipe I've read.
As for thickeners, I don't know the details, but arrowroot supposedly doesn't work well with dairy products. I hadn't thought to use flour, but I guess it's a possibility.
3) I don't know how stringent you want to be about the sugar-free part. If you can bend slightly, then using a mix of unsweetened, bittersweet, and semisweet chocolates will yield a much better product. This recipe will give you the general idea. For the record, the brownies this produces are just a little too light and "cakey" for me; if I made it again I'd cut the flour in half and add a tablespoon or so of arrowroot to make up for it (see above).
I used dark sugar-free chocolate in test batch #2 (I'll post about it shortly). The sugar-free is a necessity, as I'm a brittle hypoglycemic.
4) Use a truly excellent vanilla extract. It will improve the end product far more than you might think. The Madagascar Bourbon stuff is the best I've ever found, although the Tahitian is no slouch. Most upscale groceries (even Lunardi's and Cosentino's) have the Madagascar Bourbon vanilla extract. Then, whatever the recipe calls for, double or triple it. And this is coming from someone who doesn't really like vanilla shakes or pudding.
I use a high-quality extra-strong vanilla extract I got in Mexico (I think the stuff is double-strength even though it isn't documented as such). The stuff does not contain coumarin (the infamous rat poison that shows up in cheap Mexican "vainilla"), and I paid big $$ for it, relatively speaking.
5) Use very fresh free-range eggs. Ideally they will have a yolk that is almost more orange than yellow, and if you break open an egg and cup the yolk in your hand it will have high physical integrity and stand up like a little dome. Pastry chefs pay top dollar for eggs like that, because they know what wonders they can work in baked goods.
I hadn't thought to try using eggs in the fudge recipe. They never showed up in the fudge recipes I was looking at.
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Date: 2008-01-02 04:50 am (UTC)I have bulk Splenda. I buy it in quantity at Costco. The filler in the bulk Splenda doesn't thicken, so I figured I'd save it for when it is markedly easier to use the bulk stuff than the packet stuff, such as when I want a dry ingredient that disperses like sugar.
2) Cream cheese? Peanut butter? What kind of alien (or Yankee) cookbooks do you read? Cornstarch is also icky. What's wrong with plain old all-purpose flour? Or at the least mostly flour with a bit of arrowroot powder (say, a tablespoon or so) added in.
Most of the recipes for sugar-free fudge I came across on the net contained one or the other. There's one folks seem to rave about that calls for "one square of unsweetened chocolate," but nowhere is the size of the "square" defined in any of the printings of this recipe I've read.
As for thickeners, I don't know the details, but arrowroot supposedly doesn't work well with dairy products. I hadn't thought to use flour, but I guess it's a possibility.
3) I don't know how stringent you want to be about the sugar-free part. If you can bend slightly, then using a mix of unsweetened, bittersweet, and semisweet chocolates will yield a much better product. This recipe will give you the general idea. For the record, the brownies this produces are just a little too light and "cakey" for me; if I made it again I'd cut the flour in half and add a tablespoon or so of arrowroot to make up for it (see above).
I used dark sugar-free chocolate in test batch #2 (I'll post about it shortly). The sugar-free is a necessity, as I'm a brittle hypoglycemic.
4) Use a truly excellent vanilla extract. It will improve the end product far more than you might think. The Madagascar Bourbon stuff is the best I've ever found, although the Tahitian is no slouch. Most upscale groceries (even Lunardi's and Cosentino's) have the Madagascar Bourbon vanilla extract. Then, whatever the recipe calls for, double or triple it. And this is coming from someone who doesn't really like vanilla shakes or pudding.
I use a high-quality extra-strong vanilla extract I got in Mexico (I think the stuff is double-strength even though it isn't documented as such). The stuff does not contain coumarin (the infamous rat poison that shows up in cheap Mexican "vainilla"), and I paid big $$ for it, relatively speaking.
5) Use very fresh free-range eggs. Ideally they will have a yolk that is almost more orange than yellow, and if you break open an egg and cup the yolk in your hand it will have high physical integrity and stand up like a little dome. Pastry chefs pay top dollar for eggs like that, because they know what wonders they can work in baked goods.
I hadn't thought to try using eggs in the fudge recipe. They never showed up in the fudge recipes I was looking at.