Christmas baking is one of my favourite parts of the year. I open up the recipes that are marked as ‘December only’ and we overload on sugar and chocolate for a brief magical spell. Memories are made as those first scents of cinnamon and cloves mingle, and we are transported back to countless Christmases through time.

Yet, if you are anything like me, you also only remember halfway into the first batch of sugar cookies that you really don’t enjoy this. When the flour is billowing from the bench to the floor and sticky hands are wielding cookie cutters like weapons – your voice echoes out in increasingly shrill tones and you ask yourself, ‘why didn’t I choose something easier?’

I have the answer for you. Christmas fudge.

I make this year after year and it literally takes five minutes, one bowl and the finished product is ready in a couple of hours. One batch makes a generous amount and it works so well as neighbourhood gifts, teacher presents or just to savour after the kids have gone to bed. The kids love helping out breaking up the chocolate and stirring the bowl, and there is no stovetop or oven required (which will be great for when summer actually starts to kick in).

My obsession clearly knows no bounds because I have made seven different versions of the fudge in December so far. From white christmas (white chocolate, coconut, cranberries and almonds), to rocky road (dark chocolate, clinkers, marshmallows and raspberry lollies), jaffa (dark chocolate, orange zest), peanut butter (dark chocolate, peanuts, peanut butter), nutella (milk chocolate, hazlenuts, nutella), candycane (white chocolate, candycanes, peppermint essence), and salted caramel (milk chocolate, scotch fingers, salted caramel sauce and brazil nuts). And most of these are variations I haven’t tried in the past.

So, if you have a spare five minutes, three blocks of chocolate, a can of condensed milk, a tablespoon of golden syrup and 1/4 cup of butter – you are all set to make some magic! Check out the recipe here, and let me know which one you make!