Best melt in the mouth vanilla fudge recipe
Photo: Homemade vanilla fudge
Danny loves fudge. A few weeks ago he bought some fudge in Newmarket. It was inedible, chewy, tasteless stuff. Danny has a sweet tooth and a passion for cheap sweets and even he couldn’t get beyond the first mouthful and threw the rest away.
Somewhere in the back of my mind I remembered making fudge as a child – or rather watching my mum making fudge. We used to make sweets as Christmas presents individually wrapped in cellophane like little jewels.
I trawled the internet for recipes – there were millions of them but this one by Nick Dudley-Jones caught my eye. The recipe had been passed to him by a Pastry World Cup winner and Grandmaster Chocolatier.
This fudge is made using double cream – and beware it is totally moreish. Where this recipe differs from most is that the fudge is beaten as it cools. The results are spectacular a true melt in the mouth fudge. In fact this is the best fudge that I have ever tasted.
Making fudge can be a messy business so use a long handled wooden spoon and stand well back from the saucepan during the stirring stage as it is apt to spit in a gloopy sort of way.
Danny and my mum spent quite some time ‘admiring’ the gate side stand/sampling the fudge on Boxing Day. I give away free samples to tempt fudge lovers to buy a small bag.
Next project is home made toffee. Any one got a good recipe out there?

Comments(15)
Thank you for your comments. And a bit of silly bath time fun with the Frothing Sea Monster trick!
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oo yum-planning on next year’s christmas gifts. . .my dtr. wants to make choc lollipops for her baby shower favors using that nasty tasteless waste they call meltable chocolate you find in craft stores! ugh-if it doesn’t taste good why bother?
mmmm I love homemade fudge – beating it is essential in my book for that almost grainy meltiness that distinguishes hm fudge from mass produced
For toffee: the crunchy kind? I made this version this year and it turned out very well: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2005/12/chocolatealmond.html
The baking soda is important to lighten the texture and make it pleasantly crunchy instead of rock hard. I also added a little blob of corn syrup right at the beginning, with the sugar, to prevent premature crystallization (golden syrup would do the same thing). 300 degrees F is the hard crack stage, so about 150 degrees C.
We use a splatter guard designed for frying pans to prevent spitting and yet leave the top open for steam.
Thank you for that recipe, I have made some fudge this year with walnuts and vanilla, it has a nice texture but very sugary. It’s a sottish recipe and is crumbly, I have looked for a decent chewy fudge recipe, so I’ll give this ago.
Fudge cooling as I type! Used up leftover extra thick cream, watered down (should that be ‘milked’ down?). This site is such a bad influence on me!!!!!!!!
Hi petoskystone
I agree. Decent chocolate goes a long way too.
Hello Rachel
Yes hm is best. It’s jumping off the gateside stand very fast!
Hi Redfox
Thank you so much for pointing me in the direction of this. And thanks for your tips, much appreciated.
Hi Joanna
That’s a brilliant idea. Thank you – I would never have thought of that. TKMaxx here I come!
Hello Tamara
This is crumbly, melt in the mouth fudge. Not chewy.
Hi Suky
I’d imagine that it would be best milked down. I’d love to hear how it turns out!
Have you tried adding ginger to your fudge? I buy ginger fudge from Tebay services when I’m passing and I can’t leave it alone!
I think I needed to boil it a little longer as it is still a little bit soft for my taste but the flavour is out of this world. Will def. try again. Some of it will go in a late Christmas hamper I am making for a friend. Well, she is a very good friend!
Hello Pamela
Ginger fudge sounds good, I’m definitely going to experiment with that.
Hi Suky
I’m going to try boiling it for a bit longer next time as mine didn’t become golden brown although it did reach the soft ball stage.
I know it’s a while since you asked for a toffee recipe but this one is definately worth a try!
Grandma’s stickjaw toffee
6oz butter
7oz condensed milk
8oz soft brown sugar
8oz golden syrup
Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the sugar and syrup and heat gently to dissolve the sugar. Stir until it boils then add the condensed milk. Boil steadily for about 20 minutes, stirring all the time with a wooden spoon. It will thicken and go a medium ‘oak’ colour. It is ready when it reaches the soft ball stage- drop a small amount into a saucer of cold water and it should form a soft, round ball. Pour quickly into a greased tin (11” x 7”). Leave to set and get completely cold before breaking into pieces.
I’ve also made it using evaporated milk instead of condensed milk with equally good results.
Just made a batch of this and it is cooling.
I wondered if you have you tried any variations ?
I was thinking of adding rum soak raisins to the next batch
Ps it tastes good hot ……..
I was wondering once you have made this how long does it keep for?
Hi mrsb85, i was wondering the same thing! Am wanting to make some as little christmas gifts but i need to know how far in advance i can make it!
Ooops many apologies mrsb85 and wiggle_pink. I’ve been chained to my sewing machine!
As the fudge contains cream it doesn’t keep for ages – it’s perfect for 10 days so has to be made quite close to Christmas. I’d also advise keeping it in the fridge.