Old-Fashioned Cooked Chocolate Fudge with Flaky Salt

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Real candy-shop fudge, not the marshmallow-cream shortcut: sugar and evaporated milk cooked to the soft-ball stage, enriched with bittersweet chocolate and butter off the heat, then beaten by hand until it turns from glossy to matte. That beating step is what builds the tiny sugar crystals that give true fudge its dense, melt-on-the-tongue snap. A candy thermometer and about twenty minutes of patience are the only real requirements.

Ingredients

• 1 tsp unsalted butter, softened, for greasing

• 2 cups granulated sugar (400 g)
• 1/3 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder (30 g), sifted
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 3/4 cup evaporated milk
• 2 tbsp light corn syrup
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces
• 6 oz bittersweet chocolate (60–70%), finely chopped
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/2 tsp flaky sea salt
• 1/2 cup toasted walnuts or pecans, chopped (optional)

Instructions

1. Butter an 8x8-inch pan, then line it with a sling of parchment paper, leaving overhang on two sides. Butter the parchment lightly too. Set it near the stove along with a candy thermometer, a wooden spoon, and a small bowl of water with a pastry brush.
2. In a heavy 3-quart saucepan (off the heat), whisk together the sugar, sifted cocoa powder, and fine sea salt until no cocoa lumps remain — this dry mixing prevents cocoa clumps later. Whisk in the evaporated milk and corn syrup until smooth, then add 2 tablespoons of the butter.
3. Set the pan over medium heat and stir constantly with the wooden spoon until the butter melts and the sugar fully dissolves, about 4–5 minutes. Rub a little of the mixture between your fingers; it should feel smooth, not grainy. Brush down any sugar crystals clinging to the sides of the pan with the wet pastry brush.
4. Clip on the candy thermometer so the tip sits in the liquid but not touching the bottom. Bring to a boil and stop stirring completely. Cook at a steady, moderate boil until the thermometer reads 237–239°F (114–115°C), the soft-ball stage, 8–14 minutes depending on your burner. If it threatens to boil over, lower the heat slightly rather than stirring.
5. Immediately remove the pan from the heat and set it on a wire rack. Scatter the chopped chocolate, the remaining 4 tablespoons butter, and the vanilla over the surface. Do not stir. Leave the thermometer in place.
6. Let the pan sit completely undisturbed until the thermometer reads 110°F (43°C), 20–30 minutes. Resist the urge to stir or move it — agitating hot fudge is what makes it grainy. Stir in the nuts now if using, at the start of the next step.
7. Now beat: stir vigorously with the wooden spoon, scraping around the pan, for 5–10 minutes. The mixture will first become smooth and glossy as the chocolate melts in, then thicken, dull to a matte finish, and start to hold the trail of the spoon. Stop the moment it loses its shine and feels stiff — a few seconds too long and it sets in the pan.
8. Scrape the fudge into the prepared pan at once and smooth the top with an offset spatula or the back of a buttered spoon. Sprinkle evenly with flaky sea salt while the surface is still tacky.
9. Let set at cool room temperature, uncovered, for at least 2 hours (do not refrigerate). Lift out by the parchment, and cut into 36 squares with a large sharp knife, wiping the blade clean between cuts.

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Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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