National Fudge Day: What a great day to celebrate! My
Aunt Annie made the best
Fudge in the world, but now that I know more
about candy nomenclature, I think she really made truffles. They were
dark
chocolate balls rolled in cocoa. I'll always remember her truffles as
fudge.
However, I had my first taste
of 'real' fudge down
the shore in Atlantic City. Fudge was sold along with Salt Water Taffy
at many of the Boardwalk candy shops.
In honor of National Fudge Day, I'm posting a Recipe Round-Up of
Fudge Recipes that have appeared on DyingforChocolate.com!
Just an FYI: I'm from Philly, and I grew up with
Philadelphia Cream Cheese, so the
Philly Fudge recipe below is an adaptation of the
famous uncooked fudge recipe
developed by
Philadelphia Brand Cream Cheese. It became popular right after
World War II. It really is foolproof.
Be sure to scroll down for all the links to fabulous Fudge!!!
History of Fudge:
Fudge was supposedly invented in the U.S. in the late 1880s. Historians
believe the first batch of fudge resulted from a bungled batch of
caramels, as in
"Oh, Fudge." I don't think so... According to
Wikipedia,
the main component of Fudge was similar to the traditional recipe for Scots Tablet
found in
The Household Book of the Lady Grisell Baillie (1692-1733).
One of the first documented examples of
American
fudge (containing chocolate!) was found in a letter written by
Emelyn
Batersby Hartridge, a Vassar College student, who wrote that a friend's
cousin made fudge in Baltimore in 1886 and sold it for 40 cents a pound.
Hartridge asked for the fudge recipe, and in 1888 made 30 pounds of the
fudge for the Vassar Senior Auction.
Other fudge recipes
in the USA can be traced back to the late nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries.
Mackinac Island fudge ice cream (vanilla ice cream blended
with small chunks of fudge) is still sold on Mackinac Island in
Michigan, and surrounding areas, where shops have been selling fudge to
summer vacationers since the late nineteenth century.
In
The Candy Book (Alice Bradley,
1929) an entire chapter is devoted to fudge.
Fudge is a
crystalline candy, which means that, unlike lollipops, caramels, and
taffy, crystal formation is the key to making great fudge. Tiny
microcrystals of sugar in fudge give fudge its firm but smooth texture.
The secret to successful fudge is getting these crystals to form at just
the right time. Fudge is one of the rare exceptions to the rule that
sugar crystals are not desirable in candy. Tiny microcrystals in fudge
are what give it its firm texture. When the crystals are small enough,
they don’t feel grainy on your tongue, but smooth.
While you
ultimately want crystals to form, it's important that they don't form
too early. Now this is where it gets tricky! The key to successful, non-grainy fudge
is in the cooling, not the cooking. If you disturb the cooling fudge
during this cooling phase, you increase the potential for larger crystals
(seed crystals) of sugar to form too early and thus a grainy fudge
results.
O.K. this is too much for me to take in, not being a candy maker. So how to make fudge relatively easy?
FUDGE RECIPE LINKS
S'mores Fudge: 2 Recipes
Elsie's Double Chocolate Nutty Fudge
Bailey's Irish Cream Fudge
Granny Hollin's Peanut Butter Fudge
Penuche (Creamy Praline) Fudge
Layered Mint Chocolate Fudge
Five Minute Dark Chocolate Coffee Fudge
Candy Cane Fudge
Retro Marshmal-O Fudge
Fanny Farmer Fudge
Triple Chocolate Honey Fudge
Marshmallow Fluff Fudge: 2 Vintage Ads & Recipes
Retro Ronrico Rum Fudge
Peanut Butter Fudge
Six Vintage Holiday Fudge Recipes
Cinderella Pink Fairy-Tale Fudge
Double Layer Fudge
Nutty Fudge (3 recipes)
Goldie's Fudge
Vanilla Macadamia Nut Fudge
Nigella's Chocolate Pistachio Fudge
Creamy Chocolate Fudge
Chocolate Coffee Fudge
Ruth Jordan's Busy Lady Fudge
Foolproof Dark Chocolate Fudge
Easy Million Dollar Fudge
PHILLY FUDGE
Ingredients
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 - 8 ounce package Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
2 Tbsp milk or cream
4 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Dash of salt
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts
Directions
Butter 8 inch baking pan well; set aside.
Melt chocolate in double boiler over hot, not boiling water.
Mix cream cheese and milk (or cream), beating on high speed until
smooth.
Add powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at time, and beat at low speed
until creamy.
Blend in melted chocolate, vanilla, and salt. Beat until smooth.
Stir in pecans or walnuts, but not both.
Press mixture into pan, cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight or until firm.
Cut into 1 1/4-inch squares.
