Black Cherry Fudge

This recipe begin as an experiment. 

Having found fresh black cherry juice at the market, I began to search for

recipes including it as an ingredient. I found very few.  

But the taste of the juice was so good, I just had to try to use it in a recipe,

 especially with Valentine's Day on the calendar! 

 I started by working with my old tried and true "Never Fail" fudge recipe and adjusted the ingredients.  While mixing the cherry and evaporated milk, the color turned a disappointing light brown, so I added red powdered food color. You can also use red liquid color until you reach a pink color.  The color, while cooking,  turned a very deep red; but by the time the other ingredients were added, it became a pleasant shade of pink. 

The end result was a creamy, sweet fudge with a nice blend of tartness from the dried cherries. After tasting the mixture while cooking, I opted for the almond extract. I highly recommend using it to flavor the fudge. It really compliments the cherries.

 Try it and let me know what you think!

Black Cherry Fudge

Ingredients

1/4 cup Black Cherry Juice 

Evaporated Canned Milk

1-1/2 cups Granulated Sugar

2 Tablespoons Butter 

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp Red powdered Food Coloring

1/2 tsp Vanilla or Almond Extract

1-1/2 cups (9 oz) White Chocolate chips

2 cups (4 oz) Mini-Marshmallows

3/4 cup Dried Cherries

1/2 cup Slivered Blanched Almonds

Instructions:

Begin by preparing an 8x8" pan by generously rubbing the bottom and sides with butter.

Chop cherries into fine pieces. 

Mix together with slivered almonds in a small bowl; Set aside.

In a measuring cup, pour cherry juice to measure 1/4 cup. 

Add evaporated canned milk to the cherry juice to measure 2/3 cup. 

Stir in food color.

Pour into a 2 quart saucepan. 

Add butter,sugar and salt; stirring continuously

 over medium heat until mixture starts to boil.

When the mixture begins to boil, stir constantly for 6-8 minutes.

Remove from heat and quickly stir in vanilla or almond extract, mini-marshmallows,

 and white chocolate chips until completely melted. Stir in cherries and almonds.

Pour into  prepared pan, and allow to cool completely.

Cut into squares and enjoy.
Happy Valentine's Day!

Recipe and Photos by Jacque Benson

2012 all rights reserved