Grandma’s Old Fashioned Fudge
A couple weeks ago, I mentioned my grandmother’s old fashioned fudge (which she made for so many occasions throughout my childhood) as one of my earliest introductions to fudge. I’m sure no one is surprised to learn that it also has a place on my holiday goodie trays. I’m not going to lie, this might just be my favorite fudge. Nostalgia certainly plays a role in that, there are so many childhood memories attached to the flavor and texture of this fudge. It doesn’t have the soft, silky, creamy texture of a more modern fudge, instead it has a slight snap when you bite into it with a smooth, melt-away finish and it delivers an intense chocolate flavor. It is, of course, sweet, but it is never cloying – I find I can eat much more of this fudge than I can of any flavor of more modern fudges. And, I warn you, it is addictive!
It was actually my mother who shared the recipe for this fudge with me. She sent me a photocopy of a handwritten copy of the recipe with a brief note at the top: “You’ll need a candy thermometer for this one.” As I mentioned in a previous post, my grandmother never used a thermometer when making her fudge and I didn’t yet own a thermometer myself. Despite my mother’s note, I didn’t let my lack of the appropriate tools stop me. Time for a little more honesty…I had some early batches that could only be eaten with a spoon, some that bore a close resemblance to home made Tootsie Rolls (not really the texture we’re going for here) and some that set so hard they could only be sucked on like a hard candy (I really didn’t enjoy that much).
Once I did, finally, obtain a candy thermometer, this recipe became so much easier to master. In my kitchen, cooking this fudge to 238° F yields the best result pretty most of the time (monsoon season being a bit of an exception). If you are somewhere particularly humid you may find that you need to bring it all the way to 240° F to set properly; in an especially dry location, 235° F might be the sweet spot for you. These days, I actually use a silicone spatula with a built in candy thermometer (like this) to keep tabs on the cooking (and cooling) temperature of the fudge (no more accidentally knocking the thermometer off the edge of the pan while stirring!).
Over the years, I have made a few small tweaks to the original recipe. I prefer to use a dark cocoa powder for a more intense chocolate flavor. I also increased the cocoa slightly from 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup. I added a touch of espresso powder, again to enhance that intense chocolate flavor. Finally, I doubled the salt, from 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon – it works well with the chocolate and helps balance out all that sugar just a little bit. The recipe calls for an 8″ x 8″ pan, but I find that makes a much thinner fudge than I like, so I either double the recipe or use a 8″ x 4″ loaf pan to set the recipe in (except for at the holidays when I triple the recipe and use a 10″ x 15″ pan).
Grandma’s Old Fashioned Fudge
Equipment
- pan (8" x 8")
- saucepan (medium to large)
- whisk
- thermometer
- wooden spoon (or heat safe spatula)
- measuring cups (or kitchen scale)
- measuring spoons
Ingredients
- 2 cup sugar
- ⅓ cup dark cocoa
- ¼ teaspoon espresso powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup cream
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Butter an 8×8 pan (or line with non-stick foil or parchment).
- Whisk together sugar, cocoa, espresso powder and salt in a medium to large saucepan.2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup dark cocoa, ¼ teaspoon espresso powder, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Add cream and milk a little at a time, stirring to make a paste.½ cup milk, ½ cup cream
- Add the corn syrup and butter.2 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon corn syrup
- Place over medium heat and stir with a wooden spoon (or a
silicone thermometer spatula ) until boiling. - Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until soft ball stage (235° – 240° F).
- Remove from heat, add vanilla and stir vigorously until creamy. The gloss or color or the mixture will change becoming lighter and more matte just before it is creamy. The temperature will drop to between 180° – 190° F, but the mixture should still be pourable.1 teaspoon vanilla
- Pour into pan (spread to corners if necessary).
- Do not cool completely before cutting; the fudge should still be warm and slightly soft when you cut it into squares (~1 inch). Let it cool completely before storing in an air tight container.
Notes
- Stir in ½ cup finely chopped nuts, such as walnuts or pecans, just before pouring the fudge into the pan.
- Stir in ½ cup chopped Oreo cookies just before pouring the fudge into the pan.
- Replace the milk with coconut milk, and the vanilla with coconut extract. Stir ½ cup of finely chopped toasted coconut in just before pouring the fudge into pan.
Nutrition
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