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Aunt Dee's Chocolate Fudge

Source of Recipe

From "My Mother's Southern Kitchen" by James Villas


Recipe Introduction

"Mother's sister, Jane Theiling (my Aunt Dee), is the world's most hopeless chocoholic, a lady who literally cannot get through a day (in Charlotte, in East Hampton, traveling in Europe, anywhere) without eating chocolate in one form or another. It's no surprise, therefore, that her fudge is the richest, sweetest, smoothest, most addictive ever created - so addictive, in fact, that when she worked at Merrill Lynch in Charlotte and took a batch to the office that hadn't 'made' correctly because of the weather, her co-workers simply ate the chocolate with a spoon! Curiously, in all those years Aunt Dee had never written down the recipe, or even formulated the ingredients, so when Mother and I asked her to share the secret for this book, all she could do was simply tell us generally how she makes the fudge. After following her directions the best we could, Mother could only say 'This takes great patience.'"

List of Ingredients

• 3 cups sugar
• 5 to 6 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• Dash of cream of tartar
• Dash of salt
• 3 Tbsp dark Karo syrup
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 6 Tbsp (¾ stick) butter


Recipe

In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, cocoa, cream of tartar, salt, and syrup and mix well. Gradually add the milk, stirring till well blended. Place the pan over moderate heat and stir till the mixture just boils, taking care not to scrape the sides of the pan or stir after it boils. Continue to boil till the mixture reaches the soft ball stage (238°F on a candy thermometer), tested by dropping a small amount of it into a cup of cold water and seeing whether it is firm when rolled between your fingers.

Remove the pan from the heat, add the vanilla and butter, stir till well blended, and place in a larger pan of cold water to cool slightly. Begin beating on low speed with an electric mixer and gradually increase the speed till the fudge loses its shine and becomes very thick.

Place a large sheet of wax paper on a counter, pour the fudge onto the paper, and spread evenly with a rubber spatula about ½-inch thick. Let cool and cut into 1½-inch squares.

Makes about 25 squares