Chocolate Walnut Fudge

This recipe is Nirvana for all of us who are admitted chocoholics! There’s depth from unsweetened chocolate and intensity from bittersweet. Plus crunchy nuts.

Yield: 81 pieces

Active time: 25 minutes

Start to finish: 1³/₄ hours

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

³/₄ pound (12 ounces) good-quality bittersweet chocolate

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate

¹/₄ pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, sliced

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup evaporated milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Vegetable oil spray

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9 x 9-inch baking pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil, allowing it to extend over the top of the sides. Spray the foil with vegetable oil spray.

2. Place walnuts on a baking sheet, and toast for 5 to 7 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove nuts from the oven, and set aside.

3. Break bittersweet chocolate and unsweetened chocolate into pieces no larger than a lima bean. Either chop chocolate in a food processor fitted with a steel blade using on-and-off pulsing, or place it in a heavy re-sealable plastic bag, and smash it with the back of a heavy skillet. Place chocolate and butter in a mixing bowl, and set aside.

4. Combine sugar and evaporated milk in a deep saucepan, and cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to boil. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, for 15 to 18 minutes, or until mixture registers 236°F on candy thermometer, the soft ball stage.

5. Pour hot mixture over chocolate and butter, and whisk until smooth. Stir in walnuts and vanilla.

6. Spread fudge evenly in the prepared pan. Refrigerate, uncovered, for 1 to 2 hours, or until cold and set. Lift fudge from the pan with the foil, and cut into squares.

Note: The squares can be stored refrigerated for up to 1 week. Place them in an airtight container with sheets of plastic wrap in between the layers.

Variations

Add 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder to the milk for mocha fudge.

Substitute pure orange extract for the vanilla, and substitute ¹/₂ cup chopped candied orange peel and ¹/₂ cup dried cranberries.

Vassar College, one of the Seven Sister schools, is the birthplace of fudge. In 1886, Emelyn Hartridge, a Vassar student, reported that this thick confection was being sold in Baltimore for the astronomical sum of 40 cents a pound, so she made thirty pounds of it to raise money for the Vassar Senior Auction. From there its fame spread to other women’s colleges such as Mt. Holyoke and Smith, and then into actual cookbooks.