Pimp my fudge!

July 28, 2009 1:23 PM

Looking to jazz up my plain-jane homemade chocolate fudge. What are some creative and delicious ideas for fudge flavors and additives?

Lately, I've been getting into fudge-- or at least, getting as far as the Never Fail Fudge recipe from the back of the marshmallow fluff container. While I'm a fan of the nice easy, reliable chocolate version that produces, though, I'd like to start using the plain chocolate as a base for some more creative flavors, more like the sort of thing you'd find at a specialty fudge shop. I've done the classic chocolate-walnut, but so far haven't had the guts to try any other fruit/nut/candy additions.

So I'm looking for nominations for your most mouth-watering and/or unusual flavors of fudge. Ideally, I'd like to stick with chocolate-and-X types of flavors, but I guess I could be interested in other base flavors if there's anything particularly delectable out there. Also, bonus points if anyone can provide any hints on the logistics of adding stuff to fudge (e.g. what items are too wet/too dry/too melty, how and when to mix things in, etc.). Thanks!!

posted by Bardolph to food & drink (29 answers total)

ginger, chunks of it

maple syrup
posted by qbxk at 1:26 PM on July 28, 2009

powdered red chile

bacon (seriously)
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 1:28 PM on July 28, 2009

Peanut butter. Chocolate and peanut butter together is a reasonable hand drawn facsimile of heaven on Earth.
posted by MagicEightBall at 1:29 PM on July 28, 2009

A local restaurant serves a chocolate cake made with a bit of cayenne pepper. Delicious in small amounts.
posted by Raybun at 1:29 PM on July 28, 2009

Berry.
posted by box at 1:31 PM on July 28, 2009

banana

mint

hazelnut
posted by axiom at 1:31 PM on July 28, 2009

Chopped dates (fresh medjool preferably)
posted by Burhanistan at 1:33 PM on July 28, 2009

I've seen chocolate bars with bits of freeze-dried fruits mixed in and they look divine. That would work well with fudge. Freeze-dried fruit is better than dehydrated fruit because it can crumble up into tiny pieces in the batter and it won't be firm and chewy in your fudge. The little flecks just dissolve on the tongue.
posted by HotPatatta at 1:33 PM on July 28, 2009

People adore my fudge and when asked for my recipe, I smile mysteriously and claim an olde family secret. Actually, I use the recipes from Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk, most of which take under 10 minutes and can be made by an armchair on sedatives, as in this recipe for orange nut fudge (many more at that website).
posted by angiep at 1:33 PM on July 28, 2009 [3 favorites]

Basil
posted by nax at 1:34 PM on July 28, 2009

Replace the vanilla extract with stuff like orange, raspberry, or almond; I see mint and hazelnut mentioned above, and they're also tasty.
posted by cheesegrater at 1:37 PM on July 28, 2009

cinnamon and chocolate is amazing
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 1:39 PM on July 28, 2009

Smashed up mint candies. We use candy canes around Christmas time.
posted by advicepig at 1:40 PM on July 28, 2009

Use ~12 oz of white baker's chocolate(or a bag of white chips) instead of the semi-sweet that the recipe calls for. Or use milk chocolate for an extra-sweet, less dark style of fudge. As mentioned above, extracts can be added regardless of the type of chocolate you're using. Some of my bigger "hits" have been milk chocolate/mint fudge and white fudge with orange extract.
posted by owtytrof at 1:43 PM on July 28, 2009

So I'm looking for nominations
Bolded for emphasis. Mmm, fudge.

But constructively, strawberries and cream can work surprisingly well with fudge.
posted by ThatRandomGuy at 1:44 PM on July 28, 2009

Pistachio. Yummy, and green! What more can you ask for. I do advise you to spend a bit more on buying shelled pistachios though. Himself recently found to his cost that shelling pistachios is rather on the tedious side.
posted by car01 at 1:54 PM on July 28, 2009

Currently eating chocolate fudge with chunks of brownies on top and drizzled with caramel. Tomorrow I will be eating white chocolate fudge with cheesecake/cream cheese topped with pieces of cinnamon sugar graham crackers.
posted by idiotfactory at 1:54 PM on July 28, 2009 [1 favorite]

Crush up those hard candy lemon drops and put them in. Very yummy!!!! Seriously, lemon and chocolate are even better than orange and chocolate.
posted by mightshould at 2:11 PM on July 28, 2009

Adding peanut butter works really well. If you're gentle about it, it doesn't really taste like peanut butter but it makes the flavor richer and more complex.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 2:36 PM on July 28, 2009

Rocky road fudge, with peanuts and mini-marshmallows is great. I'd recommend putting the crunchy/chewy toppings on the top of the fudge, instead of swirling it throughout, but that's because I like bark-like candy.
posted by xingcat at 3:39 PM on July 28, 2009

I have made:

-peanut butter
-mint (creme de menthe works well)
-candy cane
-marachino cherries
-raspberries
-raspberry jam
-any nuts (I like to add almond extract and then use pecans, hazlenuts, and macadamia nuts)
-cayenne pepper
-pretzels
-marshmallows
-coconut

In fact, for a while I was selling fudge to classmates as college. I graduated so it's come to a screeching halt, but the website is still up if you want to look for ideas. What the Fudgery?! (This is not a sales pitch, as I am not selling, just a reference!)
posted by firei at 3:51 PM on July 28, 2009

ancho chili powder, cinnamon and almonds.
posted by jadepearl at 4:08 PM on July 28, 2009

Seconding almond extract (at least in real fudge, may not work so well in the marshmallow-fluff kind).
posted by dilettante at 5:46 PM on July 28, 2009

How about lavender fudge, or fudge with broken thin mints?
posted by cucumberfresh at 6:55 PM on July 28, 2009

Adding crasins makes for some awesome fudge. Add when you would nuts.
posted by skynxnex at 7:07 PM on July 28, 2009

Kahlua
posted by easy_being_green at 7:38 PM on July 28, 2009

Basil seeds.
posted by sourwookie at 8:14 PM on July 28, 2009

Seconding chopped-up candy canes. I learned how to make fudge just so I could have this particular combo more often.
posted by dorey_oh at 11:29 AM on July 29, 2009

I made dark chocolate truffles with black pepper this weekend, a ripoff of truffles sold at Celestin in Toronto, which are black pepper and rose petal. To get the pepper flavour I simmered the peppercorns in the cream for the ganache. You could also just grind it. Szechuan peppercorns would also be lovely.

Beer could be interesting, you'd need a really thick dark porter probably.

Fennel seeds maybe.

Sea salt on top, yum! I love salty-sweet.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 7:59 PM on July 30, 2009