Opera Fudge
Four cupfuls sugar
Two cupfuls cream
One-fourth teaspoonful cream of tartar
One teaspoonful flavoring
Put the sugar and cream in the kettle and put over fire, stirring gently but constantly. Add the cream of tartar, and put the thermometer in when it begins to boil. Move the thermometer very often to stir under it. Boil to 238°. Pour on the slab and allow to stand until it is perfectly cold. Do not scrape the kettle. If a platter is used, it must be made ice-cold before pouring the fudge on. When it is thoroughly cooled, turn it and work it as cream fondant until it works up into a firm mass. Cover it with a damp cloth for forty minutes or one hour, when it can
be taken in the hands and worked up in any way desired. It may be cut into squares or worked into a roll and sliced down. If you wish to make a chocolate fudge out of this, take a portion of it in the hands and work into it enough melted chocolate to give it the desired color and flavor. Press it out in a cake and one-half inch in thickness, and
set it away for several hours before cutting it into squares. Work chopped candied cherries, candied citron, and nuts into this fudge if desired. This fudge takes longer and is harder to cream up than the cream fondant. If it turns to sugar, it has either been stirred too harshly while cooking, or you began to cream it before it was entirely cold.
If it should sugar, do not attempt to make the same batch into opera fudge, but it can be boiled over and made into another fudge. Do not have your slab more than just moist when pouring this candy upon it. (See “Getting Marble Slab Ready”) Opera fudge is excellent molded for center and then dipped in chocolate or dipping cream as for bon-bons. For variety, portions may be colored pale pink, pale green, caramel, or chocolate, and flavored with rose, wintergreen, almond, vanilla, or other flavoring. Press the portions out to one-half inch in thickness, allow to set for several hours, and then cut into squares; or each portion may be pressed out to one inch in thickness and then lay one on top of the other, making three layers deep, then press or roll them out to one inch in thickness, allow to stand for several hours and then cut into squares. In this way any arrangement of colors desired may be made.
