Sugar-free fudge

Last year during my annual candy-making spree, a friend asked if I could make sugar-free fudge. He's a diabetic, you see, and he and that particular sugar-laden confection don't get along. I said I'd think about it, but don't get your hopes up.

The problem with sugar-free fudge is that sugar doesn't just sweeten fudge, it gives it structure. Sugar provides a crystalline framework for what would otherwise be a gushy chocolate mess, and artificial sweeteners will not do that. I know, you can buy "sugar-free fudge" at the store, but (A) they typically contain "sugar alcohols", which have their own digestive challenges, and (B) the ingredient list reads more like a chem lab than a pantry.

However, now that I'm dealing with my own diabetes, I thought I'd give it a try. Armed with some basic everyday food items and a smattering of food chemistry, I came up with:

Diabetic Fudge

1 8-oz bar of baker's (unsweetened) chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup of heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla
32 packets of Splenda

First, the disclaimer: This is not a Hershey bar. This is some pretty strong stuff. If you don't like the bitterness of dark chocolate, don't go near this. You can see from the ingredient list that it doesn't have a lot of anything else to get in the way of the chocolate.

Step 1: Melt the chocolate. Do this without heating the chocolate any more than necessary; I put in the microwave for 10 seconds at a time until I just start to see some of it melt, then stir it over a low double boiler. The reason for the minimal heating is that the fat in chocolate (cocoa butter) crystallizes in different ways at different temperatures, and the crystals you want to keep (the ones that make chocolate firm) are toward the high side. Look up "tempering chocolate" for more on this phenomenon.

(Incidentally, it's possible that for this particular application, this business of carefully melting the chocolate is bogus; it's just that I automatically do this for chocolate work. I'll try just melting it for the next batch.)

Step 2: Mix together the cream, vanilla, and Splenda.

Step 3: Stir the cream mixture, a bit at a time, into the chocolate. The chocolate will change from a smooth liquid into a muddy paste; that's what happens when the oil in chocolate and the water in cream get together, and it's OK.

Step 4: Line a loaf pan (get the sides too) with foil. Scrape the fudge goo into the pan, smooth it out, and let it cool. (I put it in the fridge, then let it warm to room temperature to cut it.) If you don't have a loaf pan, just shape it into a 3/4 inch tall slab on a piece of foil.

Step 5: When cooled, cut into bits and eat.

Was it any good? I guess so, because my diabetic friend bought most of it. Phooey.

(Update: I forgot to mention one other relevant property of sugar. Sugar is hydroscopic, which means that it tends to soak up water from the environment, and in food that means it helps tie up moisture that otherwise would let bacteria and other baddies thrive. I would guess that sugar-free fudge is therefore more susceptible to that sort of thing than its traditional counterpart. I have to guess, because I never have it long enough to find out.)