Fungus Fudge

“Raggy, rook! Writing!” I’m not trying to say “lighting” or “lightning.” I really do mean “writing” because this is the beginning of the Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School post! I love Scooby-Doo and I have quite the soft spot for this movie. Most of Shaggy’s and Scooby’s adventures involve some guy in a costume, but every once in a while, they have to face off against real deal monsters. And when Shaggy takes on a job as a Gym Teacher/Coach (With Scooby and Scrappy as assistants, of course.) at Miss Grimwood’s Finishing School for Ghouls, the guys get a little more than they bargained for. (He should’ve paid a little closer attention to the name.) Miss Grimwood’s isn’t the typical fancy finishing school. It’s full of girl ghouls with some very famous fathers. We’re talking the mightiest monsters in the world: Count Dracula, The Werewolf, Frankenteen (Frankenstein’s Monster), The Phantom, and The Mummy. Now it’s all fun and games training the girls for their annual volleyball match against the neighboring Calloway Military School, but things get downright dangerous when the Witch of the Web, Revolta, kidnaps the girls and tries to turn them evil.

But long before Shaggy ever lays eyes on Miss Grimwood’s and meets the girls, he’s, in typical Shaggy fashion, most excited to get to the school to try some of its fancy cooking. Unfortunately, the food is anything but fancy. The garden is full of rotten fruits and vegetables. (They make sure to weed out all the fresh stuff.) And thick, tasty-looking steaks are reserved for the Venus Flytraps. The goodies for the school’s big Halloween Open House include Swamp Brownies, Caterpillar Cookies, and Poison Ivy Punch. Even when Colonel Calloway stops by to arrange their volleyball game, he is offered refreshments with the Grimwood flair. Tea and sweets seems harmless enough to Miss Grimwood, but the Colonel isn’t a fan of Fungus Fudge and Toadstool Tea. If you couldn’t tell by now, I kind of have a thing for making weird food, so Fungus Fudge is right up my alley. I have no clue just what kind of fungus Miss Grimwood uses in her fudge, so I thought that typical, non-poisonous mushrooms would be a safe bet.

Recipe makes 9 large pieces of fudge.

Ingredients

4 ½ cups sugar

6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped

1 ¾ cup, plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream

2 ¼ tablespoons corn syrup 

6 tablespoons butter, cut into chunks

1 ounce dried mushrooms, processed into a fine powder (I used a blend that included porcini, shiitake, and oyster, but it all comes down to flavor preferences.)

Directions

Grease an 8 X 11 inch baking dish.

In a large saucepan, combine sugar, chocolate, heavy cream, and corn syrup. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar has dissolved and the chocolate has melted. Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the saucepan and cook the mixture, without stirring, until the thermometer reads 234 degrees F.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the butter and mushroom powder. As much as it pains you, don’t stir the mixture until it drops to 130 degrees F. Stir the fudge until it’s well-blended, thickened, and loses its shine. Pour and spread evenly into the prepared pan and let it sit until firm. This could take about 4 hours. Slice the fudge and eat up!

I guess my Fungus Fudge wouldn’t meet Miss Grimwood’s standards because it doesn’t taste moldy, but I’m more than happy with it. There is a little bit of a mushroomy earthiness to it, but it works really well with the chocolate. If I were on a strict military diet, I’d break it for a piece of this fudge. Colonel Calloway took one bite of Miss Grimwood’s and dropped it, (Right into Matches’ mouth.) but I think he’d like mine. And I know Scooby-Doo would like it too because he had no qualms with the piece he stole from Shaggy. Would you expect anything different?

Tune in next week for more Cartoon Cravings!