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Christmas Kegs in the Kitchen

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Team Dave are getting in the festive spirit with some Christmas Ale Jaffa Fudge!

The bearded man with the big sack is due any day now, and in the spirit of all things merry and bright, we thought we’d get a little bit experimental in the kitchen and chuck together a Christmas recipe for you all to enjoy. Now as you know, we’re partial to a beer or two, so naturally we’ve included a healthy dose of the good stuff in the ingredients. Let us know what you think, and a very Happy Christmas from all of us at DBT!

RECIPE

  • 455g dark cooking chocolate
  • 1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
  • 1/2-teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Zest of 1 orange
  • 1/3 cup of Christmas style ale; plus 3 tablespoons extra to add at the end (we used MacBatch Oak Aged Heavy Ale)
  • 3/4 cup of Allens Jaffa’s, crushed.

METHOD

  1. Lightly grease & line a 20 x 20cm tin with either wax or baking paper.
  2. Add chocolate, condensed milk & 1/3 cup of MacBatch Oak Aged Heavy Ale in a bowl over a simmering pot of water. Stir until combined & chocolate has melted.
  3. While the chocolate is melting crush the Jaffas. Wrap them in a clean tea towel & thump with the flat side of a meat tenderiser.
  4. Once the chocolate has melted add the orange zest & stir through.
  5. Stir in vanilla extract & remaining 3 tablespoons of ale.
  6. Pour mixture into prepared pan & sprinkle with crushed Jaffa’s.
  7. Chill until completely set. About 3 – 4 hours.

AND THE END RESULT…

Not bad at all, even if we do say so ourselves! For those with a sweet tooth, the fudge certainly hits the spot, but the addition of the ale takes the edge off and gives this a real point of difference. At 7.4%, MacBatch is not for the faint hearted. It’s handcrafted using the finest barley that’s malted by the growers on their farm, and then goes through a special kettle caramelising process before being aged on oak for two months. The whole process gives it a really beautiful, intense flavour, which still shines through in the fudge.

We must admit, we did suffer a minor drama when it came to the Jaffa crushing (Handy Tip: Don’t try and do this with a knife, you’ll spend the rest of your evening with your head under the fridge trying to recoup the escapee fragments!), but using such an icon Aussie lolly – they’ve been around for donkey’s years, since 1931 to be precise – does give the dish a nice patriotic twist, making it an ideal Chrissy gift if you’ve left your shopping to the last minute!

Overall, it’s pretty straightforward to make, and shouldn’t take more than half an hour from start to finish. Just make sure you leave it to set for a good few hours (we know, the temptation is hard to resist!)

Keep your eyes peeled for more Kegs in the Kitchen news coming soon…

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