Treacle Fudge

Hagrid's treacle fudge becomes notorious among our favorite trio-- they most famously been known to use it to clamp Fang's jaws shut on occasion. But their first exposure to it is while Ron is puking up slugs (delightful), and Harry unknowingly glues his own teeth together with it!

"'He was the on'y man for the job,' said Hagrid, offering them a plate of treacle fudge, while Ron coughed squelchily into his basin" (Chamber of Secrets 115).

I have had rather inconsistent luck with my forays into fudge, but hopefully the treacle fudge recipe from The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook doesn't fail me!

You Will Need (I doubled what's listed here):

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 stick butter

1/2 cup heavy cream 

2 Tbs black treacle (or dark molasses or blackstrap molasses)

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp vanilla

1. Grease an 8" square pan and set aside.

2. Combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, butter, heavy cream, treacle, and cream of tartar in a medium saucepan.

3. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until the butter is melted and the ingredients are combined. Wash down and sugar crystals that form on the sides of the pan with a brush dipped in hot water.

4. Use a candy thermometer and cook without stirring until the mixture is 240 degrees.

5. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

6. Allow the bubbles to subside and let the mixture cool for about 5 minutes.

7. Remove the thermometer and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture loses its gloss and is very thick, 15 to 20 minutes (I went at it for a good half hour, and it was still kind of glossy... I think maybe it should be cooked to 245 or even 250 degrees).

8. Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

9. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Wow, this is some super sweet fudge! It's tasty though, in that strong molasses-flavor kind of way. My batch turned out super soft, and not at all likely to glue one's mouth together. I ended up storing it in the refrigerator so it wouldn't be a complete melted mess. Still yummy though! Enjoy!