Chocolate Marshmallow Walnut Fudge with Flaky Sea Salt

Peeps, I don’t know about you, but I have a dad who is super into fudge—like super. I mean, if I’m being honest, he’s probably even more into jelly beans than fudge, but I’m not planning on trying my hand at homemade jellybeans anytime soon. And if you’d asked me a few years back whether I’d ever be making him homemade fudge, I would have said no.

But here we are, with this Chocolate Marshmallow Walnut Fudge, a recipe that turned out to be both easier and more beloved than I ever expected. For this recipe, I recommend Diamond of California Walnuts; they toast evenly, taste fresh, and don’t get lost in the intensity of the chocolate.

The book, in case you are new around here, is chock full of vintage recipes, from my collection of vintage recipe pamphlets, that I have twisted and tweaked for the 21st century baker. And I am here to tell you that there are a LOT of fudge recipes in my old-fashioned booklets. Like A LOT. And here’s the thing: when choosing to include recipes from the pamphlets in my book, I decided to – of course – include recipes for things I love, like cake and cookies, but to also include recipes for things that I might not love, but that were ubiquitous amongst the pages of booklet after booklet. Fudge is just such a “thing,” as though it might be sacrilegious to say, I am not remotely fond of fudge, as it is just a tad too intensely chocolate-y for my taste – and this coming from a chocolate lover. I know . . . 
But including a recipe for fudge in The Vintage Baker turned out to be a blessing for three reasons: first I discovered that fudge could be made super easily, as long as the recipe called for a can of sweetened condensed milk. I am very much into easy, and not so into asking folks (or even myself) to bring sugar to a certain temp, which means playing around with tricky candy thermometers, and worrying about grainy fudge due to an improper temp. Second, once the book launched, and I started making fudge for events, and to gift to industry food folks, etc., I realized I had something truly delicious on my hands, as people went crazy for it.

And third, I had inadvertently created the most perfect of perfect father’s day gifts for my dad (and hopefully yours, too). The marshmallow walnut fudge is not only easy to prepare (due to the sweetened condensed milk), but also freezes beautifully, and packages up well, too. I usually make a batch, remove it from the pan, cut and package and then freeze. Then when I actually place it in the mail, the fudge at least starts off cold when it leaves me. I do pay for expedited shipping – but you could also package the fudge with some ice packs, instead. However you pack it, or even if you just make it to eat sans dad, I do hope you enjoy. Finally, if you’d like to watch me make the marshmallow walnut fudge, on national TV, no less, please click here. 

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Chocolate Marshmallow Walnut Fudge with Flaky Sea Salt from The Vintage Baker

Recipe Author Jessie Sheehan

Course Dessert, Desserts

Keyword dessert

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Chilling 2 hours hrs

Ingredients

• 16 oz dark chocolate, coarsely chopped 
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1⁄4 cups (1 can) sweetened condensed milk 
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract 
• 2 cups Diamond of California walnuts, coarsely chopped 
• 3 cups mini marshmallows
• Flaky sea salt for sprinkling
• Turbinado sugar for sprinkling 

Instructions

• Grease an 8-by-8-by-2-in [20-by-20-by-5-cm] pan with nonstick cooking spray or softened butter. Line with parchment paper.
• Put the chocolate in a large heatproof bowl and set over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir constantly with a rubber spatula until the chocolate melts. Add the salt, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla. The chocolate may seize up temporarily. Over medium to medium-high heat, continue stirring until the mixture is smooth. Once smooth, remove from the heat.
• Add the walnuts and marshmallows and stir with a wooden spoon until they are fully incorporated (the marshmallows will not melt). Transfer the fudge to the prepared pan, drape with plastic wrap, and flatten with your hands. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt and Turbinado sugar.
• Place in the refrigerator until hard, about 2 hours. Using a sharp paring knife, cut into 36 pieces and serve. Fudge will keep tightly wrapped on the counter for up to 1 week.