Classic Chocolate Fudge

A few weeks back when The Husband and I were moving into our new place (yes, the place where our glorious new oven decided not to work from Day 1, even though our inspector didn’t pick up on it and then the Fisher & Paykel guy who came out and said “it works just fine!” didn’t pick up on it either… which is all actually really fine, because it’s forcing me to use the stovetop to make candy desserts, which is so much fun, because I do have a propensity to bake a lot of banana muffin variations), I got sidetracked while unpacking our Culinary Institute of America Chocolate and Confections cookbook.

The Husband was tinkering in the guest room closet (which means he was surreptitiously reorganizing everything I had already unpacked in the closet, but that’s okay because I understand and respect his need for order), and I was unpacking books in the same room. (Yes, the cookbooks are in the guest room, because doesn’t every guest want to read what Nigella Lawson has to say about dessert before going to bed?) I curled up on the guest bed and went through every single page of the cookbook, mesmerized. And then I came to the fudge chapter, and the rest of my life began.

I’ve made fudge before, as I know you’ll recall. No one ever complained about the Bittersweet Chocolate Pecan Fudge, and everyone inhaled the Fudge-Stuffed Chocolate Cookie Brownie Bars, because you’d have to be a martian not to. But that was fudge for beginners. Fudge when you want the easy way out (which I will want many more times in life, for the record). THIS fudge is official, folks. It’s got 236º written all over it, and it’s full of blood, sweat and tears (well, not really blood or tears), and it creates the most rich and intense and smooth and creamy dessert you’ve fantasized about. Yes, it takes more effort than cracking open a can of sweetened condensed milk (which I will do many more times in life, for the record), but it’s fully and completely (thanks, Tragically Hip, coming to Chicago in January!) worth it. I know you trust me about this. You must make it.

Adapted from the Culinary Institute of America’s recipe…

4 cups sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 oz. (1 cup) unsweetened chocolate, chopped into 1/2″ pieces

1 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 teaspoons espresso powder (optional)

8 oz. (2 cups) chopped toasted walnut or pecans (optional)
1. In a 4-quart saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, cream, milk, salt and chocolate. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pot and cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or heatproof rubber spatula, until the mixture reaches 236º.
2. Pour the mixture into a 9 x 13″ baking pan to cool down before stirring. Leave the pan undisturbed on a cooling rack to cool to 120º or so (about 25 minutes). Do not stir the fudge during this step or you will completely screw it up.
3. Butter a 9″ square baking pan and set aside. (I like to line mine with foil and then butter the foil, but it’s up to you.)
4. Pour the cooled fudge mixture into a large mixing bowl, stir in the vanilla extract, espresso powder (if using), and nuts (if using) and mix on medium speed or by hand using a wooden spoon. If using a mixer, it will require approximately 4 minutes of mixing. Mixing by hand will take about 6-7 minutes. When the fudge begins to lighten in color, lose a bit of its shine and thicken slightly, stop mixing.
5. Pour the fudge into the prepared 9″ pan, and spread evenly with an offset spatula. Allow the fudge to set and crystallize for 1 hour or longer at room temperature; it will lighten in color as it cools. Chill slightly before cutting into desired pieces (if you want neat cutting lines), and serve.
Tips:
- Don’t mess with these instructions. If you stir the fudge while it’s in step 2, you’ve killed your batch. (The sugar is sensitive and likes alone time after being cooked to such a high heat. Don’t argue with it.) Also, fudge gets testy when you’re stirring it (step 4)… when it just starts to thicken and lighten, you’ve gotta pour it in its buttered pan to set OR ELSE it will seize and harden in your mixing bowl. And if you don’t stir it enough, it’ll be too soft. (Regardless- it will all taste amazing and will all be worth the drama of cooking the sugar.)
- Be sure to toast your nuts if you are using them, and allow them to cool to room temperature before adding to step 4. (Simply swirl around a medium-hot frying pan until lightly toasted, or bake in a hot oven for 8 minutes or so.)
- Use a large enough pot or this will boil over. Mine almost did and because of our whole ‘sensitive smoke alarm’ thing, I felt the real grip of panic set in as the bubbles of chocolate and sugar almost overflowed like fudgy lava.
- Like harder fudge? Cook the batch to like 238º or 239º.
- Like softer fudge? Cook the batch to about 234º.
- If you don’t care if the fudge has neat cut marks, then cut it while it’s at room temperature. It will look a little ragged but will still taste insanely great. I chill everything before I cut it so the lines are nice and crisp, but it all goes down the same hole.
- Freeze-friendly? Keep tightly covered at room temperature or refrigerated tightly sealed for longer storage. Or freeze it and enjoy later, again and again.
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December 31st, 2014 | More Sweets Please | No Comments | Tags: Chocolate, Fudgy, Nuts