Celebrate The Sublimity Of The Nutty Fudge By Fixing Your Own Batch: Fudge Dessert Recipes

Straight out of the late 1800s, the fudge was made by somebody who seriously loved their desserts. As for the ingredients of this special sweet, it’s mostly a trio of milk, butter, and sugar that is made richer with chocolate and a sprinkling of nuts. 

Where did this dessert and day come from?

There's a bit of back and forth about who first came up with this ooey-gooey dessert called 'fudge', or even why it is called 'fudge'. The word 'fudge' itself first started being used around the late 1700s as a version of the now obsolete 'fadge' (which means 'to make suitable' or 'to fit'). It was initially used as a verb, to mean 'turn out as expected' or to 'merge together'. 

While fudge is thought to be an American invention, its origins are as yet unclear. Multiple stories attribute the invention of fudge to a letter written in 1886 by Vassar College student Emelyn Battersby Hartridge –- this is the world's earliest record of the yummy dessert. In her letter, Hartridge wrote about either her cousin or a schoolmate's cousin from Baltimore, Maryland who had made fudge and sold it for 40 cents per pound. Hartridge got this recipe and proceeded to make 30 pounds of fudge for the Vassar College senior auction in 1888.

Toward the latter decades of that very same 19th century, entrepreneurs on Mackinac Island, Michigan took notice of the Vassar delicacy. Certain shops began crafting their own renditions akin to the college's fudge creation. These fudges found favor among summer vacationers visiting the island and remarkably, some of those original Mackinac establishments continue the tradition of fudge-making to this day. In 1895, the newspaper "The Sun" published a recipe titled 'Fudges at Vassar', marking one of the first printed fudge recipes.

Another origin story revolves around a young apprentice caramel maker in the late 1800s who was tasked with stirring a pot of caramel while his boss served customers. Unfortunately, this pot of caramel became too grainy to serve. As the story goes, to avoid wasting it they let customers have the 'failed caramel' anyway. The customers loved it so much that they named it after the apprentice who accidentally created it.

Yet another story from the late 1800s credits a lecture at a Virginia college on making coffee as being the unintentional inspiration behind fudge's creation when the students ended up making fudge by mistake during the lecture.

In later usage in the 19th century, 'fudge' was used as a verb meaning 'to put together clumsily or dishonestly.' This evolved into the exclamation 'fudge!' before finally referring to the dessert itself. Around this same time in the 19th century, certain shops on Mackinac Island, Michigan, began displaying and selling a product similar to what we know as fudge to summer vacationers.

Nutty Fudge Recipe

Ingredients

• 300 gm white sugar
• 200 gm marshmallow creme (recipe below) 
• 155 ml evaporated milk
• 55 gm butter
• ¼ tsp salt
• 340 gm white chocolate chips
• 170 gm chocolate chips
• 60 gm chopped nuts
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Take a big saucepan and to it, add sugar, marshmallow cream, evaporated milk, butter and salt. Heat over medium heat and boil, stirring frequently. 
2. Once the mixture boils, take off from the stove and add both the chocolate chips. Use a spatula to stir until the chips melt. Now, add the nuts and the vanilla essence. 
3. Grab an 8-inch square baking tray. Use parchment paper or aluminum foil to line it. Pour the contents of the saucepan into it. Pop into the fridge, not freezer, to chill for 2-3 hours.
4. Take it out of the fridge, cut it into cubes or rectangles and eat.

Marshmallow Creme

Ingredients

• 1 egg white (room temperature)
• 180 ml corn syrup
• ¼ tsp salt
• 100 gm caster sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla essence

Instructions

1. Use a hand mixer, normal whisk will take a lot of time otherwise. Set it to high, then beat the egg white, corn syrup and salt. Once it thickens, and doubles in size, reduce the speed to low, add the sugar and beat again. Finally sprinkle the vanilla essence and mix. Extras can be popped into the freezer for up to a month.