Cherry Garcia Bites

CHRISTMAS IN 2 DAYS! I am on a glorious hype at the moment. RATM hilariously got the number 1 single, presents are under the tree and advent calendars down to the last window... and for the first time in living memory it has snowed during the actual Christmas holidays. The roads surrounding mine are beautiful, especially in the evenings; when the street lights come on the ground  really does sparkle. Yes, it's going to be a good one :)

Which brings me to the subject of this post! I resolved to make something by way of a contribution to this little gathering, and having discovered we had some white chocolate in the fridge, created... this.

Basically these are little squares of cherry and almond 'fudge' with a biscuit base. They take under an hour to make (the method for the topping is courtesy of Nigella Lawson, whose pistachio fudge was a massive hit when the grandparents came over), plus chilling time, no baking necessary, and make great presents. Plus, as my sister's friends pointed out amid squeals of delight, they taste exactly like Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia ice cream!

To make about 32 squares you will need:

200g white chocolate, broken into pieces

1 397ml can condensed milk - I used Nestle Carnation

30g (about 6tsp) butter or margarine

150g shortbread biscuits

50g dried cherries, chopped (as big or small as you like but at least in halves)

50g or more blanched almonds

Also anything you want to dust the top with - I used a mixture of desiccated coconut, chopped almonds and icing sugar, but I'm sure plain icing or flaked almonds, or even marzipan, would be equally good.

First, prepare the base. Break the shortbread biscuits into small chunks, then pack into a plastic bag and bash/crush with a rolling pin until fine and powdery (this is also marvellous stress relief). Mix in a bowl with 1/3 of the condensed milk to make a kind of 'dough' and spread this evenly over the base of a baking tray, cake tin or something similar. Make sure your container isn't too wide, a nice thick base is preferable I think :) Put this in the fridge to chill for the time being.

Meanwhile melt the white chocolate in a large pan, along with the butter and the other 2/3 of the condensed milk. If you want you can set aside some of this mixture, as a plain white layer to spread over the very top of the fudge. Then go ahead and add the almonds and cherries, along with the almond essence - this is very much to taste but I found about 1.5 tsp was plenty, so use with caution!

Also don't forget, the longer you boil it, the harder fudge goes when it sets. Personally I like quite a squidgy layer on top of the biscuit so I took it off the heat almost straight away.

Pour the fudge over the biscuit base and leave to cool, then transfer to the fridge for several hours, until it has set as much as you think it will! While you wait set aside some quality time for you, the spoon and the scrapings from the pan. Seriously. Finally, dust the fudge with sugar/almonds, or top with icing, and then cut into squares - 4 slices one way, 8 the other. Don't worry if size and shape varies a bit though. My father calls this rustic appeal..

After this they can be eaten straight away, or stashed in the freezer for random munching when the mood strikes you - no need to thaw either! They will seem quite small but the fudge is very rich and you will find one is almost definitely enough to satisfy sweet cravings; they reminded me of the mini bites range in M&S, but oh so much cooler for being homemade. Enjoy, and merry Christmas :)