Cake Mix Fudge

Four things happened at the same time this week:

1. Steve needed to bring a potluck item to a Cub Scout committee meeting.
2. I finished watching another batch of lessons from the outstanding Food Photography class I'm taking (affiliate link) and was anxious to do another photo shoot.
3. Trevor had a friend over for a 6-hour playdate.
4. I saw a recipe for a version of cake mix fudge for the zillionth time.

Combine those four things and this is what you get:

Cake Mix Fudge

2 c cake mix
2 c powdered sugar
1 stick butter
1/4 c milk
1/2 c chocolate chips

Combine dry cake mix and powdered sugar in a microwave-safe bowl. Stir until blended. Add butter and milk, then microwave for 2 minutes. Immediately remove from microwave and stir to combine. Add chocolate chips and stir again. Spread fudge into a 8x8 foil-lined pan. Gently press sprinkles on top. Refrigerate until completely chilled, then cut into 1" squares.

I like how kid-friendly this recipe is. The only heat source is the microwave, so I didn't have to worry about the kids using the stovetop like when making traditional fudge. 

The instructions call for putting the fudge into a foil-wrapped dish and refrigerating until it is firm. Not surprisingly, the kids weren't crazy about having to wait. And then I made matters worse by taking the finished fudge into the dining room (the best light in the house) and photographing it instead of immediately serving them!

Since they were clearly going to explode if they didn't get fudge stat, I cut some pieces and let them at it. 

Then I returned to the dining room for more photos. Some of my favorite lessons from Andrew Scrivani's class have been about propping and styling. I don't think I've ever taken an action shot of myself cutting, so that was fun to try. 

Then I put down the knife to see what that would look like. Again, it's not a photo I would ever have thought to take, but I'm happy with it. I like that it shows the brand of knife I use and the fact that I'm left handed. I like the mess of sprinkles around the cutting board. 

I tried some close-ups next. 

And then I backed out slightly to get this shot and the leading image. 

As before, these photos are not processed except for some cropping and, obviously, adding the watermark. While they have plenty of technical flaws, I think the composition is interesting and together they make a more complete story than my food photography used to do.

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