Holiday Ale Candy Cane Truffle Fudge
Jackie Dodd-Mallory
(Senior Editor)
Holiday Ale Candy Cane Truffle Fudge. Only takes 10 minutes, and it’s crazy good.
Winter ales make me glad it’s December. The frozen roads, crowded stores, jam-packed schedules are the price of admission to the best month of beer all year long. We still have some fresh hop beers from hop harvest that happened a few months ago, barrel aged beers are hitting the bottle shops in full force, and winter ales have showed up to join the party.
So…what is a winter ale? Glad you asked, and the answer is both really simple and completely complicated. Basically a winter ale is a beer released in November or December that has a higher than average ABV (about 7% or higher), often maltier and sweeter than your average beer, and features spices often found in holiday meals such as cloves, cinnamon, orange, and nutmeg. Of course there are hundreds of exceptions and many people consider barrel aged stouts (that really don’t fit that definition) to fall under the category of "winter ales." People call these "winter ales," "winter warmers," "holiday ales," or "christmas ales." They make excellent sharing beers due to mostly being sold in the large bomber style bottles and having a generous dose of booze for your pint. The flavors go incredibly well with holiday food, especially if you decide to serve duck or goose as your holiday feast.
Want to try a few? Here are some to look out for, in no particular order:
Freemont Brewing // Bourbon Barrel Abominable
Highland Brewing // Cold mountain Winter Ale
Ninkasi Brewing // Sleigh’r
Widmer Brothers Brewing // Brrr Winter Ale
Hopworks Brewery // Abominable Winter Ale
Sierra Nevada Brewing // Celebration Fresh Hop Winter IPA
Maritime Pacific Brewing // Jolly Roger Christmas Ale
Tröegs Independent Brewing // Mad Elf
Southern Tier Brewing // Old Man Winter
Great Divide // Hibernation Ale
Black Raven Brewing // Festivus Winter Ale
Holiday Ale Candy Cane Truffle Fudge
Ingredients
- 16 wt oz dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips or bar form
- 1/3 cup 102g sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
- ¼ tsp .5g vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup winter ale plus 2 tbs, divided
- 2 standard sized candy canes crushed
Instructions
- Line an 8x8 baking pan with wax paper; set aside.
- In the top of a double boiler over gently simmering water add the chocolate, 1/3 cup beer, and sweetened condensed milk. Stir until well combined and chocolate is melted.
- Stir in the vanilla extract and remaining 2 tablespoons beer.
- Pour into prepared pan. Top with crushed candy canes.
- Chill until set, about 3 hours.
Notes
Comments
Katrina December 2, 2015 um 10:25 am
This sounds like the perfect treat! And I love the list of winter ales – amazing! xx
Jess December 2, 2015 um 2:13 pm
Would this work with white chocolate as well? Thinking of making a layered "double" batch for office holiday treats in a 9’x13″ pan. Or would the beer muck up the color of the white chocolate?
Either way, this just solved my dilemma of "what to make this year?"! Thank you!
Jackie December 3, 2015 um 8:37 am
White chocolate is more difficult to work with because it isn’t actually chocolate it’s cocoa butter and milk solids. it can be really temperamental. I’ve never tried it with beer but I do worry that it would seize.
Jess December 3, 2015 um 10:50 am
I totally forgot about seizing. I will stick with standard brown chocolate… Not sure my 3rd trimester pregnant hormones could handle a seized-up mass of white chocolate! Thank you 🙂
Michelle Lahey December 2, 2015 um 2:34 pm
Mad Elf is one of my favorite winter beers! This fudge looks fantastic – and so festive!
Dena Miller December 3, 2015 um 7:42 am
This looks awesome! Chocolate, peppermint and beer are 3 of my favorite things!! Do you use dark, semi-sweet, milk or a mixture of these chocolates?
Michelle | The Secret Ingredient Is December 3, 2015 um 7:52 am
What a great idea! These sound so good, going to need to try this weekend. Great photos too, so festive!
Kate December 3, 2015 um 2:32 pm
Yum! Have you tried Golden Road’s gingerbread stout? It’s delicious by itself and great to cook with.
Jackie December 3, 2015 um 2:52 pm
I haven’t had any GR beer since I left LA. But with the buy-out I’m sure it’ll now be in Seattle soon 🙂
Jessica December 4, 2015 um 6:45 am
Great and lovely treat for the holidays. Just the thing to get my husband in the spirits 🙂
Jason December 5, 2015 um 12:38 pm
What chocolate works?
Jackie December 5, 2015 um 4:53 pm
I like darker chocolate so I usually grab 62%, that’s my usually. If you like lighter chocolate you can go as low as 40%, but it will be softer and possibly have issues setting up because of the higher level of milk solids, but it should still work just fine
Nathalie January 1, 2016 um 12:01 pm
Hello! 🙂 Normally the word fudge does not evoke any emotions inside me BUT yum yum yum these look absolutely delicious!! – May I have one or two or 10 please ? 🙂 You are doing such a wonderful job and I am looking forward to 2016 and all the new yummy recipes:)
xx