Today post is brought to you by Karen, my Mom. As I have already posted, she makes great Christmasy treats. Check out the Lollipops and the Bread Dough Wreaths we used to make with her as kids. I’m excited for her to share her own Mother’s Famous Chocolate Fudge. She has passed the how-to on to me and we are now passing it on to you.
Karen/Mom:
I enjoyed watching my own parents make fudge during my growing up years at home. When my husband and I got married we wanted to start making our own fudge. We found an old piece of marble and used it for many, many years until one of our kids gave us a brand new marble slab. A marble slab is used for cooling the hot liquid fudge mixture.
When making fudge, never be in a hurry. I like to use low temperatures to start with to melt the chocolate with the cream.
Grandma Passey’s Chocolate Fudge:
- 2 squares Baker’s unsweetened chocolate (no substitute), shaved or chopped
- 1 cup thinned cream (1/2 cup whipping cream and 1/2 cup milk OR 1 cup half and half)
- 3 cups granulated sugar (place sugar in a small bowl for easy pouring)
- 2 T. dark Karo Syrup
- Dash salt
- 1 – 2 T margarine or butter
- 1 t. vanilla
- walnuts, chopped – Optional
On low heat, melt chocolate with 1/2 cup thinned cream, stirring constantly. When melted and thickened, continue to stir while adding another 1/2 cup cream, sugar, dash salt, and Karo syrup. Stir in circles, scraping the sides to get all the sugar crystals. Turn the heat to medium high, stirring constantly mostly in the middle of the pan until ready to boil (the sides of the pan will start to bubble).
WHEN THE MIXTURE STARTS TO BOIL, DO NOT SCRAP THE SIDES OR IT WILL ALL GO SUGARY. Place the candy thermometer in the pan and cook to soft ball stage on lowered heat. (Warning – a math degree required to read the following: The soft ball stage is different for everyone even though the thermometer says what it is. So you will need to find your actual boiling point with water and then subtract 212 from the number you have as your boiling point. Take that number and subtract it from the “soft ball” degree of 240, and that is the temperature where your household should be at “soft ball” stage. Whew!) The second it reaches the desired temperature which is a soft ball stage, pull off the heat and add the butter and vanilla, stirring in the middle (again, no sides) with a clean spoon until melted.
Pour onto marble slab. JUST LET THE FUDGE POUR OUT OF THE PAN WITHOUT SCRAPING THE SIDES OR BOTTOM. Cool to lukewarm (the edges will cool faster than the middle). Feel the edge of the fudge with your palm to see if it has cooled some.
Beat the fudge with a metal pie-shaped spatula, scraping the fudge off the marble slab. (Have a clean butter knife there to help scrape the fudge off the spatula.) Be aggressive with hand motions, moving up and down, turning the spatula up and over, up and over… scrape, scrape. This takes some arm strength, so I suggest having a few extra arms around to help with this process.
Then the shine disappears and just starts to become a dull finish. If you add chopped nuts, fold in just as the shine disappears. (Marie doesn’t like nuts, so we didn’t pour any here.) Scrape up quickly before the mixture hardens, and knead quickly into a large soft ball of goodness.
When soft and pliable, divide the fudge and make into rolls, or place the fudge in a square pan and cut into squares using a knife. Wrap the fudge in plastic-wrap, then foil or wax paper. The fudge should last up to a week or two, but we’ve never tested that out because it is always gone after a day!
Thanks, Mom. Now that I have learned how to make my own Chocolate Fudge, I don’t have to put in any walnuts. My family thinks I am crazy, but I think that the nuts just get in the way of the yummy velvet fudge. Do you put nuts in your fudge?
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Hi Maroo!
I actually took some time at lunch to look at your blog. I was missing you! Great blog entry! It was so fun to see you and mom making fudge. I could see myself there, and smelling the aroma and eating the warm fudge. YUM! I didn’t bring my Marble to Catalina!! AAAH! I am wanting to make fudge. Do you think I could just pour it onto some new Granite countertops? Or would that ruin the countertop? I do have my thermometer. Love you!
Oh Yum Yum Yum! This reminds me of when I was little and my dad would make fudge on the marble slab all the time. He hasn’t done it in ages, but now I really want some!
I gotta say… I like my fudge WITHOUT nuts. Smooth, velvety, yummy chocolatey fudge without any interruption from those pesky walnuts is the only way to go.
Also, the beating of the fudge is a very entertaining process to watch (and listen to) – you should take some video and post it on YouTube.
I agree with Jordan. No nuts! Smooth is the best!
All I’ve got to say is, YUM! I love your mom’s fudge – sooo good. And, I’m w/ Jor on this one – no nuts, although I don’t mind a little mint or peanut butter mixed w/ the chocolate…Thanks again for watching the boys the other night, and for the book – can’t wait to read it!
I can’t wait to get fudge on Christmas eve! I always end up eating my whole log that night then end up stealing little bites from my sisters’ logs.
Someone has got to speak up in favor of the nuts.
Fudge without nuts is like a kiss without a hug. A shower without a warm towel. A taco without salsa. A trip to California without a Tommy burger. A day without sunshine. A bathroom break without a good book.
That might not be the right metaphor here.
A road trip without sunflower seeds. A football game without a hot dog. A cloud without a silver lining. A dog without his boy. A fire without the flame. A hamburger without the cheese. A shake without the ice cream.
A night’s sleep without a dream. A Friday without a paycheck. A summer without a pool. Fall without the leaves. Winter without snow. Spring without snow. (Hey, we live in Utah.)
Christmas without kids. Basketball without Nike. Music without lyrics. (Sorry Beethoven.) The ocean without waves. A world without friends. A book without pictures. (We’ve got little kids.) Balls without air. Shampoo without mint. Flowers without pedals. Bunnies without ears.
Better stop there. It’s getting a little weird.
Nonetheless, get with it people. Open up to the world of fudge filled with nuts.
Fun comments from family and friends. Neffgang, you kill me. Is that Bri or Steph speaking? Steph told me yesterday that it is nuts all the way for her too. I know my Dad would agree with all of those metaphors. If I make plain fudge, he will dip his in chopped nuts.
I have also added a 1/2 cup of crushed peppermint to the fudge at the point when you would add nuts and Mint Fudge is delish!
Neffgang said it all. Nothing to add except – how did all you no-nuts-in-the-fudge people become my relatives?! No nuts – not fudge!
(However, if you will keep this a secret, I made Darryl a little without nuts, ’cause he doesn’t like walnuts…. and how did he get to be my kid and not like walnuts, eh?)
I use straight, heavy whipping cream — no thinning; I also use white Karo not dark. Variations on a theme. And then — I never leave it just fudge — I always dip, and people love my chocolates. Just gave a little box of them to the Bishop at Tithing Settlement. He still wanted to know if I was a full tithe payer……. [Hey, that's for me to know, and you not to know... :o).....]
Where do you get all the energy, Marie?
Love ya. Aunt Gwen
I cant wait to make your fudge I would love some about now i will accept it with or with out so please make some and i will give you my address hehe just kidding but would love some at any rate thank you for the lovily recipe Have a great weekend love and Blessing Cheyenne Renard in Henderson Nevada Legacy Ward
is there an alternative to the marble slab? can I not make fudge if I don’t have one?
I love fudge, I have not made it this way before. If you know anybody that does contract work, such as laying floors, they can get you a scrap piece of marble. Some of the large hardware stores will cut you off a piece if you ask them. You can also buy it as square floor tiles. A little pricey, but it is so worth it! I have one that is a huge chopping block. I never cut on it, because it is too heavy to move out of it’s storage place. This will put it to good use.
I love fudge with and without nuts. I seem to make it with more than without.
Linda – There are fudge recipes that don’t require a marble slab. This recipe makes very old fashioned fudge and I’ve not tried it any other way. But if you just type “homemade fudge” into google, it should bring up lots of recipes. OR if you want, you can pick up a marble scrap at a hardware store like Cindy #13 suggested. That’s just what we did.
No nuts in my fudge, please!! I agree that they “just get in the way of the yummy velvet fudge.” Plus, sometimes you’ll get a nut that has a bitter, nasty flavor, and it ruins the whole thing and leaves a bad taste in your mouth, literally.
Haha im dying of laughter.
And uhm I’d prefer…no nuts! lmaoo! (: