Jealous Sweets - a review and giveaway

I must admit that I've been waiting for a review request from Jealous Sweets for quite a while. Not only is one of their founders a local lad, and went to the same school as my children, but their entire range of luxury sweets is also vegan, halal and gluten-free. 

Founded by old friends Imran Merza and Taz Basunia, Jealous Sweets were created as a luxury vegan/vegetarian/halal brand for adults, as an alternative to premium boxes of chocolates. They are stocked in the food halls of Selfridges and Harvey Nichols and in luxury hotels. They have also been endorsed by celeb. chefs including Tom Aiken and Jamie Oliver.

As a vegetarian, it's great to find a brand of sweets which tastes good, looks good and is free from gelatine, artificial colours and flavours.The range include Yummy Bears, Tangy Worms, Fizzy Friends, Wild Cherries, Grizzly Bears and Sour Beans...

"Naughty doesn't have to mean nasty - Jealous Sweets are full of natural fruit juices, free from artificial colours and flavours. With flavours like Grapefruit & Orange, Morello Cherry & Pineapple and Pomegranate, Jealous Sweets are a firm favourite of chefs such as Tom Aiken and Jamie Oliver, as well as the world’s most luxurious hotels as a mini bar staple. As they’re beautifully presented in gift boxes they also make a very interesting, alternative gift!"

I loved the design of the of the individual 50g (RRP £2.49) boxes, and can see them fitting in very well as mini-bar snacks in boutique and luxury hotels, Eid gifts or even as wedding favours. The taste didn't disappoint either; all of the varieties I tried were delicious, with a real fruity kick. My favourites were the Fizzy Friends, which were an upmarket version of a certain tangy but gelatine filled popular sweet! In case a 50g box isn't enough, there are also 200g gift boxes retailing at £8.99. 

I must admit that these sweets aren't in my normal price range, but I would buy them (or would love to receive them) as a gift. If you can't find a local stockist, you can buy them online here.

You can win a gift bag of Jealous Sweets, by entering below and leaving me a comment. Competition closes at midnight Sunday 10th May 2015. UK Only

Integrity Statement

I received some complimentary Jealous Sweets products to review/give-away. All views expressed are genuine. 

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Cherry & Almond Microwave Fudge

With Christmas looming, I thought I'd blog an old family favourite recipe for traditional fudge, which makes a great homemade gift. I've adapted the cooking method, so it's made in the microwave, but you could make it on the hob in a large pan if you prefer. I would suggest that you have a trial run first as recognising the right consistency and colour can be a bit trial and error, unless you have a sugar thermometer.

Top tips: Do use a LARGE Pyrex (oven-proof glass) bowl for this...a plastic bowl will melt at the temperature the sugar reaches, and the mixture will bubble up a lot as it boils. The glass bowl and fudge mixture will be EXTREMELY HOT, so please do use oven gloves when you take the bowl in an out of the microwave. 

• 1 tin sweetened condensed milk
• 8oz/200g caster sugar
• 4oz/100g butter, softened
• 2 tbsp golden syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1oz/25g flaked almonds
• 3oz/75g glace cherries, halved

Put the condensed milk, sugar, butter and syrup in an large oven-proof bowl, stir.
Microwave for 2 minutes on medium. Stir and repeat, until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved.

Heat on high for approximately 10 minutes, stirring every minute or so, until the mixture changes to a dark golden-brown colour, thickens and starts setting a little at the sides of the bowl (see the middle image below).

If you have a sugar thermometer, you need to reach 120C/235F, alternatively, drop a little of the hot mixture into a cold cup of water. It should form a soft ball.

Remove from the microwave and allow to cool, without stirring for 5 minutes.
Mix in the vanilla and beat with a wooden spoon until you can feel the mixture starting to thicken and set. If you find that the fudge isn't setting at all, reboil for a further couple of minutes.
Add the cherries and almonds and stir in.
Pour into a greased and lined 7"/20cm square tray and smooth out with the back of a spoon. Allow to cool for an hour or so, before marking into pieces. 
Cool fully before removing from the tin.
Store layered between sheets of grease-proof paper, in an air-tight box (in the fridge), until you are ready to bag it up for gifts.

Keeps for 2-3 weeks (if you haven't eaten it all within a couple of days!).

Alternatives: Omit the vanilla, cherries and almonds and change the flavourings to make different fudges: try rum & raisin or coffee & walnut for example. 

To make hot fudge sauce for ice cream or profiteroles, add 125 ml/½ cup of evaporated milk to the above ingredients. Melt as above and then boil the mixture for around 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until you have a smooth, golden sauce. Add the vanilla but omit the cherries and almonds. Pour into sterilised jam jars, seal and refrigerate for up to 3 weeks. Re-heat to serve.

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Perfect Honeycomb/Cinder Toffee

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Miss K and I decided that we wanted to have a go at making some honeycomb (also known as cinder toffee, Crunchie and hokey pokey depending on where you live). I've tried making this a couple of times before with varying degrees of success, so I scoured the internet looking for the 'perfect' recipe. I found that some recipes used vinegar and bicarbonate of soda, while some just used the bicarb; some recipes included butter and some didn't and some required a sugar thermometer while others didn't! So in the end, I settled on one of the most simple recipes I could find, after googling 'perfect cinder toffee', which was on  a blog called Cream Until Fluffy...which sadly no longer exists.

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After reading the comments, I decided to use a sugar thermometer (I boiled the sugar and syrup to between 140C and 150C or  between the 'soft/'hard crack' stages - the colour is a good indication if you dont have a sugar themometer) and I reduced the amount of bicarb by half (2 level tsp). Apart from that, I followed the recipe and method exactly. 

The only problem I encountered was getting the stuff out of the tin after it had cooled. I thought I had greased my (non-stick) tin really well, but obviously not well enough. It took me some time and determination to chisel the honeycomb out, but most of it did come out of the tin eventually! I would recommend greasing the tin, really, really well...or maybe line the tin with greased parchment paper.

As you can see from the photos, the honeycomb looks good and I can tell you that it tastes even better!

• 200g caster sugar
• 2 tbsp. water
• 4 tbsp golden syrup
• 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

8″ square tin, well buttered.

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Combine the sugar, water and syrup in a saucepan. Put the saucepan on a low-medium heat and allow it to dissolve, stirring occasionally.
Turn the heat up slightly. Do not stir at all.
Allow it to simmer for 3-4 mins until it darkens a little – no darker than maple syrup though.

Take the pan off the heat and quickly beat in bicarb. for a few seconds. Pour it into the well greased tin and leave to cool and set. Something in the region of 3 hours. Chop, splinter and cut with a knife. Store in an airtight tin.

Recipe and method reproduced by kind permission by Anna of Cream Until Fluffy.
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