Walnut Fudge | Walnut Toffee (Indian Christmas Sweet)

This walnut fudge (walnut toffee) is creamy, rich, and decadent packed with crunchy walnuts in every bite! Homemade walnut fudge makes for a delicious edible gift this Holiday season, or any other season really!

Walnut fudge or walnut toffee as it is known by some folks is a popular confection prepared during Christmas by the Goan and East Indian community in India.

Although fudge is not a traditional Indian Christmas sweet per se, people do love to include it in their  ‘kuswar‘ (Goan Christmas sweet platter) along with the other popular traditional sweets like neureos, fruit cake, marzipan, milk toffee, kulkuls, kormolas, etc

I’ve yet to meet someone who doesn’t like fudge! What’s not to love about fudge after all, right?

There are different varieties of fudge and a number of ways to make them, either using the old-fashioned method with sugar, milk, and butter, or using marshmallows/marshmallow cream, or the quicker no-cook version of using condensed milk and melted chocolate, which is quite popular today.

About this walnut fudge

The walnut fudge or walnut toffee recipe I’m sharing today is what I’ve learned from my aunt Carol. It uses condensed milk as the base and a bit of cocoa for a hint of chocolate flavor.

The recipe is quite similar to the milk cream I’ve shared earlier, except that milk cream uses a few cashew nuts. But since this fudge is all about the walnuts, that’s what we are going to use today.

These walnut fudge bites are truly irresistible and perfect for gifting your loved ones. These also make for a wonderful addition to your  Christmas dessert or cookie platter! And it doesn’t need much elbow grease, I promise!

So, let’s see how to make this walnut fudge or walnut toffee, whatever you like to call it. It is delicious nonetheless 😀

 Ingredients needed

To prepare this decadent walnut toffee at home, you will need the following ingredients; 

• Sweetened condensed milk: This is the base of the fudge. The traditional method calls for reducing the milk with sugar which is essentially condensed milk. This is where we save time!
• Castor sugar: You may also use powdered sugar. 
• Unsweetened cocoa powder: I’ve used Hershey’s cocoa powder. This is optional, you may skip it if you want to, but I do recommend including it in the recipe.
• Butter: I’ve used salted butter. If using unsalted butter, add about 1/8 teaspoon table salt, when adding the butter. The salt enhances and balances the overall flavor of the fudge. 
• Coarsely chopped walnuts
• Vanilla extract: Optional, but a little doesn’t hurt!

How to make walnut fudge/walnut toffee – Step by step process

Step 1: Cook condensed milk, sugar, and cocoa powder

Grease a 7 or 8-inch square pan with oil/butter or non-stick oil spray. You can also use any other pan, thali, or a buttered board. Line the pan with parchment paper overhang for easy removal of the fudge. Grease the parchment paper and set the prepared pan aside. (photo 1)

Add 400 grams of sweetened condensed milk, 50 grams sugar, and 15 grams cocoa powder in a heavy-bottomed, non-stick pan. Switch on the heat to medium-low, stir continuously with a silicon or wooden spatula for about 10 minutes. (photos 2 to 5)

Step 2: Add the remaining ingredients and continue cooking

Once it begins to thicken, reduce the heat to low, add 28 grams salted butter and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, cook, until it starts leaving the sides of the pan. (photos 6 and 7)

Add 100 grams of coarsely chopped walnuts. Mix well, and cook for few more minutes until the entire mixture comes together and leaves the sides of the pan. Switch off the heat. (photos 8 and 9)

Step 3: Transfer to a greased pan

Transfer the fudge mixture to a greased tray or a buttered board, spread it evenly with an offset spatula or regular spatula. Sprinkle some chopped walnuts, press it down gently with the spatula. Air-dry, uncovered, for a few hours/overnight or until it sets. (photos 10 and 11)

Step 4: Cut and serve

Once it has set, it will appear firm. Lift the fudge out of the pan. Cut into squares or diamonds. Enjoy! (photo 12)

Storage and shelf life

Store the walnut fudge in a cool, dry place for up to 1 week in an airtight container.

It does not need to be refrigerated. Even if you do refrigerate it, let it sit out till it reaches room temperature before serving. 

A few tips to keep in mind

Good quality non-stick pan: To make this recipe as hassle-free as possible, use a good quality non-stick pan or wok as the fudge mixture won’t stick much, and it also leaves the sides of the pan nicely, indicating that it is done. If you don’t have one or avoid using a non-stick pan, use a good, heavy-bottomed pan. 

Pay attention to the heat: Use low to medium-low heat while cooking the mixture, or it may burn at the bottom. 

Grease the spatula with oil or butter while spreading the mixture in the tray: Doing so, will prevent the fudge from sticking to the spatula, and you can spread it evenly.

Alternatively, you can also grease one side of the parchment paper with some butter, place the greased side on the surface of the fudge, and press it down to flatten it nicely. Check out the pics below for reference. 

Or spread the fudge mixture on a buttered board, place a parchment paper over the surface and roll it out to the desired thickness. 

If the fudge has not set after a day: This happens when you have removed the fudge earlier off the heat. Usually, in Indian homes, no one really uses a candy thermometer to check it has reached the right consistency. People often use their judgment, which almost never fails.

If you are a beginner, you may not be able to judge and that is okay. Either way, the fudge is still edible, even if it doesn’t set. It will be like the soft, and chewy, Lonavala type of walnut fudge that can be eaten with a spoon. Delicious!

If it is too sticky, transfer it back to the pan, cook it on low heat for a couple of minutes. Then transfer it to the prepared greased pan, spread it out, and leave it to air-dry.

It takes practice, believe me, I’ve been there, done that! But you will get it right! 

Variations

• Other nuts: You can add other coarsely chopped nuts like cashew nuts, pecans, almonds, pistachios, etc.
• More chocolate: if you prefer a more chocolatey flavor, you can add 1/4 cup of cocoa powder. You can increase the sugar by a few more tablespoons to compensate for the added cocoa powder or skip adding more sugar if you don’t want it sweeter. 
• Shape the fudge in moulds: If you’d like to shape in moulds like milk toffee, make a fine powder of the walnuts. You will also need to check if the consistency of the fudge mixture is right in order to be able to shape then. When the mixture leaves the sides of the pan, test it by dropping a small amount of mixture in a bowl of water, try to form a ball. If you can form a ball, it is done. If it disintegrates, it needs to cook more. Have a look at my milk toffee post for pictorial reference.

You may also enjoy these traditional Goan Christmas sweets 

• Marzipan (no-cook/egg-free)
• Bebinca
• Guava cheese
• Milk Cream
• Coconut Toffee
• Baath cake
• Doce de grao (chana dal fudge)
• Karanji/Neureos
• Kormolas
• Shankapali
• No-cook coconut ice
• Rich fruit cake

★ Did you enjoy this Christmas walnut fudge recipe? If you happen to try it out, I would love to hear from you! I’d appreciate it if you could rate and leave a review below in the comments. Your reviews help others know the recipe better too. Thanks so much 🙂 

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