My Chocolate Season 2023: Truffle Fudge

In fall 2009, I attended a private media dinner in the Kansas City area, with longtime Gourmet Magazine editor, Ruth Reichl as special guest. Unfortunately the magazine was shutting down before year's end. But a new cookbook, Gourmet Today, had just been released, featuring more than 1,000 recipes, and each of us ended our evening with a signed copy.

I've barely scratched the surface of this massive book. What better time to explore it than during My Chocolate Season 2023? Truffle Fudge is a wonderfully quick recipe to make, with utterly luscious results. Since I couldn't find a link, here's the recipe (minus the introduction) as it appears in my copy of Gourmet Today:

Truffle Fudge
Makes 64 pieces ​(V.O.E. - This may seem like A LOT of pieces - until you taste them!)
Active time: 15 minutes
Start to Finish: 4 1/2 hours (includes chilling)

3/4 pound bittersweet chocolate (no more than 60% cacao), finely chopped (V.O.E. - If you chop these in a food processor-as I did-you may want some ear plugs, since the chopping is extremely loud)
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, softened
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/8 teaspoon salt

Special equipment: parchment paper
(V.O.E. equipment: large saucepan, small metal bowl, food processor, large spoon, rubber spatula)

Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper. 

​Stir together all ingredients in a metal bowl. Set bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water and heat until chocolate appears to be melted, 5-8 minutes. (above and below)

​Gently stir with a rubber spatula occasionally until smooth, letting chocolate rest for a few minutes if it appears to stiffen. Pour mixture into baking pan and refrigerate, uncovered, until firm, about 4 hours.

​Run a knife around edges of pan, invert fudge onto a cutting board, peel off paper, and cut fudge into 1-inch squares. Serve cold. (V.O.E. - I started to 'release' the cooled fudge with a table knife but wasn't happy with the results. So I substituted an ultra-thin metal spatula blade. I also flipped the fudge over again to show the original top surface.)

Cook's Note - The fudge keeps refrigerated, layered between sheets of parchment paper, in an airtight container for up to 1 week.