Easy Chocolate Hazelnut Fudge
The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Chocolate, by Christine McFadden & Christine France, p. 243
Makes 16 squares
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1-1/2 cups sugar
large pinch of salt
1/2 cup hazelnuts, halved
2 cups chocolate chips
- Generously grease an 8-inch square cake pan [or, for a double batch, a 9x13 pan -E&L]
- Place the evaporated milk, sugar and salt in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Lower the heat and simmer gently, stirring, for about 5 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat and add the hazelnuts and chocolate chips. Stir gently with a metal spoon until the chocolate has completely melted. [It's easier to tell when the chocolate HAS completely melted if you wait to add the nuts until it hits that point -E&L]
- Quickly pour the fudge mixture into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Let cool to set.
- When the chocolate hazelnut fudge has set, cut it into 1" squares. Store in an airtight container, separating the layers with wax paper or baking parchment.
[We didn't make the book's suggested variant, but here it is in the interest of completeness.]
Two-tone fudge: Make the Easy Chocolate Hazelnut Fudge and spread it in a 9-inch square cake pan, to make a slightly thinner layer than for the main recipe. While it is cooling, make a batch of plain fudge, substituting white chocolate chips for the regular chocolate chips and leaving out the hazelnuts. Let the plain fudge cool slightly before pouring it carefully over the dark chocolate layer. Use a metal spatula to spread the plain layer to the corners, then set aside to set as before. Cut into squares.
LYNDA SAYS: This was so good that when I started typing in the recipe, I had to go eat another square. We chose this recipe because we already had a long menu and it claimed to be easy - it was. We put the tail end of the fudge's can of evaporated milk in the spinach feta quiche. Nonstick pots, even if you otherwise hate 'em, make for MUCH easier clean-up after boiling extremely sticky stuff.
EMILY SAYS: Yum. The hazelnuts really weren't that obvious, but the fudge itself was quite tasty. Remember to give it plenty of time to cool!