Wild Hazelnut & Cherry Fudge

This recipe is using wild foraged hazelnuts that I foraged, processed and dried/jarred last September 2025. We did well over three kilos, which is no mean feat!

Don't bit*ch at me about 'saving some for the squirrels' btw, they don't come this far into the village and we left the whole other side of the hedge and top of it for them if they are night squirrels.

You can of course add other shop/wild nuts and dried fruits as opposed to glace cherries, or indeed go wilder still and perhaps make some with sweet woodruff or even mushrooms for a really wild umami twist! Personally I'd use the perfumed Horn of plenty (Craterellus cornucopioides) or Ashen chanterelles (Cantharellus Cinereus) and couple the mushrooms with the poshest, darkest chocolate I could stretch to.

Ingredients:

1 can of condensed milk (397g)*

Light brown soft sugar - 450g

Milk -120ml

Butter -125g

1 tub glace cherries-200g

150-200g hazelnuts

Almond OR vanilla essence -1tsp

Fine salt-one pinch

Method:

1) Do anything else pressing you need to do prior to beginning. Fudge making does not lend itself well to leaving the hob for any length of time herein.

2) Line a 20cm or similar sized baking tin with greaseproof and pop a small bowl of cold tap water in the fridge, ideally you will have ice-cubes/an ice pack to add to speed up the process.

3) Plop the top four listed ingredients into a pan that can comfortably accommodate them (and some rise from the boiling), and set it going on a LOW heat setting.

4) In another pan/frying pan tip your hazelnuts and again turn your gas/electric on to a low heat to gently begin the toasting. Keep them whole if you like, I had already pre chopped my wild ones.

5) Chop up the cherries as finely as you like, I left a few in halves as extra joy for the eater. Finish toasting your nuts, you want them golden brown (not black!), then turn off the heat and set aside.

6) Check on your fudge pan/stir, you want the sugar to be dissolved before moving on to the next step.

7) Ramp the heat up now and get it to a rolling boil. Don't you dare leave the stove now!

KEEP STIRRING. USE YOUR SPOON/SPATULA TO SCRAPE THE BOTTOM AS YOU STIR SO AS TO NOT ALLOW ANY FUDGE TO STICK AND BURN.

8) After ten mins plop a bit using a spoon into your icy water. If you can make a ball it is done. If not keep it boiling for another few mins at a time til ready.

9) Add in your pinch of salt, and beat the mixture with vigour. Stir in your cherries and nuts! Leave it to rest for ten mins or so then stir briskly again. Pour it into your lined vessel and allow to cool.*

10) Cut into pieces with a sharp knife. Store*/demolish.

*Notes:  

*Re the condensed milk. You do not need to but the posh branded stuff, the own brand, budget stuff is just as good.

*I like to transfer mine to the 'work' fridge to completely cool when it has lost it's main heat. Do make sure if doing this in a home setting you aren't upping the fridge temps to dangerous levels if you have meat/dairy/fish or similar in there. It's all about the safety baby!

*Store it in a lidded tub and it will keep incredibly well if you don't eat it all whilst still warm. I like to line my tub with the a piece of greaseproof and then another to separate the fudge if in layers.