Coffee & Walnut Fudge

This homemade Coffee & Walnut Fudge recipe is far from shy and retiring. It’s robust, packed with flavour, and the coffee flavour cuts through the sweetness of the confectionery beautifully. It’s a great alternative fudge flavour!

I think it’s fair to say that I’ve gone slightly fudge mad in recent months! There’s been quite a foray into the world of homemade fudge here in the Only Crumbs Remain kitchen.

And why not when it tastes oh so good, is relatively easy to make and lends it’s self incredibly well to being the carrier for a host of different flavour combinations. And if that wasn’t enough, let me tell you that friends and family will be your bestest friends ever (bestest ever I tell you ?) when you share your creation ….. that’s assuming you’re prepared to share!

Just last week another batch was sliced into with Mr E commenting how much more flavoursome it is than shop bought fudge. I openly admit that I used to love treating myself to the occasional bag of shop bought mass produced fudge. Invariably I would opt for a vanilla fudge, and yes that shop bought fudge was nice. But since making our own we can honestly say that homemade fudge is far far tastier than the mass produced stuff.

Homemade fudge carries so much flavour! And this homemade Coffee and Walnut Fudge is definitely no exception.

This coffee & walnut fudge actually came about by accident. Though don’t you just love it when that happens?! A lovely friend of Mr E’s had very kindly given me her food paste colours that she no longer needed, and as a way of saying ‘thankyou’ I made a batch of fudge. I knew that she’d particularly enjoyed our Double Chocolate Fudge in the run up to Easter, but not having quite enough light brown muscovado sugar to hand, I chose to make up the quantity with some dark muscovado instead.

Oh boy! That relatively small amount (about 100g) of dark muscovado really gave the fudge a dark deep rich flavour. Mr E, when he sampled it, commented that he picked up some coffee notes! Now that set off a chain of thought.

Coffee fudge! Coffee and walnut fudge! Why should that classic flavour combination just be reserved for cake. Ooh, I could imagine how amazingly deep and flavoursome it could be. And so our homemade coffee and walnut fudge was born.

This fudge definitely isn’t shy and retiring. It’s Rich. It’s robust. It’s flavoursome. It packs a punch. The smooth fudge texture is punctuated with chopped walnuts, and then finished with a half walnut for good measure, whilst the coffee cuts through the sweetness of the confectionery beautifully. There’s a lot to love about this homemade fudge recipe.

The richness of the fudge means that only one piece is required to satisfy any confectionery craving (well, that’s the theory!) meaning that there’s more to share with friends and family. And rest assured, if you choose to keep it for yourself, fudge keeps incredibly well for 1-2 weeks when kept in an airtight container, and even up to 3 weeks when the container is stored in the fridge (though do remember to allow it to come back to room temperature to allow the flavours to re-awaken before enjoying it).

So, here’s how to make Coffee and Walnut Fudge.

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Coffee & Walnut Fudge

by Only Crumbs Remain April-20-2017

This homemade Coffee & Walnut
Fudge recipe is far from shy and retiring. It’s robust, packed with
flavour, and the coffee flavour cuts through the sweetness of the
confectionery beautifully. It’s a great alternative fudge flavour!

Details

Prep time: 5 mins Hands on time: about 40 mins Yield: 25 large pieces

Specific Equipment
Large heavy based pan, which holds a volume of at least 3L
Digital Sugar Thermometer (or see note e below)
20cm x 20cm Brownie Tray (or similar)

Ingredients

For the Fudge

400ml Double Cream
135ml Milk
135g Unsalted Butter
400g Caster Sugar
200g Dark Muscovado Sugar
Pinch of Salt
75g Milk Chocolate, broken into small pieces
2 tbsp Coffee dissolved into 3 tbsp boiling water (we used Douwe Egberts Pure Indulgence Dark Roast) (see note f)
80g Walnuts, chopped

To decorate the Fudge

25 Walnut halves

Method

1. Prepare the tin. Lightly grease and fully line the brownie tin. Ensure that the greaseproof paper goes beyond the rim of the pan, this will help to remove the fudge once it has firmed up2. Melt the ingredients. Place the double cream, milk, butter and sugars into a heavy based pan. Place over a low heat to allow the ingredients to melt. Constantly stir using a wooden spoon. Ensure all of the ingredients have completely melted before moving onto the next stage – you should no longer hear or feel the granulation of the sugar. Pay particular attention to the ‘corner’ of the pan when listening for sugar granulation.3. Affix the sugar thermometer. Set the digital thermometer to 116C /241F (soft ball stage) and attach it to the side of the pan. Ensure that the thermometer is secure and not touching the base of the pan. (Alternatively use a thermospatula which has the thermometer built into the spatula, or see note e below). 4. Boil. Increase the heat under the pan to allow it to come to the boil whilst stirring all of the time. Boil the mixture, whilst continuing to stir, until it reaches 116C / 241F (soft ball stage). Please be careful – the mixture is very hot! You may find it helpful to wear an oven mitt in case of splashes from the sugar. 5. Leave alone. Once the required temperature has been reached, remove the pan from the heat and leave it undisturbed to cool down to 110C / 230F. This will only take a couple of minutes.6. Begin to flavour the fudge. Add a pinch of salt and the broken milk chocolate. Mix. The chocolate will melt into the fudge easily. Add the chopped walnuts. 7. Beat. Beat the mixture with the wooden spoon vigorously until it is no longer shiny. You may find that oil is released from the chocolate at this point. Keep beating the mixture, it will gradually re-combine with the fudge.8. Pour into the brownie pan. Pour the chocolate fudge mixture into the prepared tin. Smooth it into the corners.9. Decorate. Neatly position the walnut halves over the top of the fudge so that each piece, once sliced, will have a walnut half. Use your hand to gently push the walnuts into the fudge. 10. Cool. Set aside to cool at room temperature for at least three hours to firm up.11. Slice in cubes. Once fully cold and firm use the excess greaseproof paper as handles to remove the fudge from the tin. Use a sharp knife to slice the fudge into bite sized pieces.12. Enjoy!
Notes:
a) Remember, this is incredibly hot! Do stir the syrup carefully so as to avoid splashing yourself. b) Keep animals, children and other vulnerable people out of the way when making fudge. c) When heating the mixture and waiting for it to reach 116C / 241F it will feel as though the temperature is stuck at around 104C / 220F for ages. Be patient and keep stirring, it will eventually move and will then increase fairly rapidly. d) Once portioned, store the fudge in an airtight container. It will be good for 1-2 weeks at room temperature but will last for up to 3 weeks if stored in the fridge. e) If you’re making fudge without a thermometer, it can be tested by dropping a small amount of fudge into a glass of cold water. It will form a ‘soft ball’ (or if you prefer your fudge a little firmer aim for ‘firm ball’ stage) when it is ready. Have a few drinking glasses by your oven hob filled with cold water before starting to make your fudge. Before testing wait for the molten sugar to climb up the sides of the pan and then drop back down. Boil for a further 3-4 minutes and then start to test. f) Avoid using too much water to dissolve the coffee as this will result in the fudge being too soft.

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Coffee & Walnut Fudge

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