15-minute chocolate walnut fudge recipe

Fudge isn’t meant to be made just by chocolatiers; homemade fudge can be easy if you know a few tricks. First, while many recipes call for heavy cream, we found that sweetened condensed milk worked better; it’s stable and won’t separate if overheated. Next, we tackled flavor: Some fudge tastes just like cubes of sugar, but we wanted ours to have intense chocolate flavor. Combining a full pound of semisweet chocolate with a small amount of unsweetened chocolate did the trick. We found that the quality of the chocolate used greatly affected the flavor and texture of the fudge. We prefer Ghirardelli semisweet and unsweetened chocolate in this recipe. Finally, we determined that the addition of walnuts was essential; the crunchy bits of chopped nuts added a crucial textural element. If you prefer, you can use toasted nuts in this recipe. Make sure to remove the fudge from the double boiler before the chocolate is fully melted. If the chocolate stays in the double boiler too long, there’s the possibility of the chocolate separating and producing a greasy fudge. This fudge will become drier in texture the longer it’s stored. Store the fudge, tightly wrapped in plastic, in a cool place for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 3 months. If frozen, allow ample time to let it reach room temperature before cutting. Fudge is great for gifting; to make a double batch, double the amounts of all the ingredients and make the fudge in a 13 by 9-inch baking pan. In step 2, use a large heatproof bowl and Dutch oven containing 4 cups simmering water.