Friends, I’m not sure about you, but fudge is one of those oft not eaten and even less made sweets in my kitchen. The amount of sugar in a piece is enough to put those conscious eaters off and to be fair, who could eat all the fudge they make themselves? I know I couldn’t! Even though this Brown Butter Vanilla Fudge is damn delicious!
So how did we get here? A recipe of morsels that have flecks of brown in them and a bloom of vanilla flavor? Well, Mr Brooks bought me a small packet of fudge recently and then when he tasted a small morsel, quickly declared he “hadn’t had fudge much” in his life.
That had to be changed, I had to make him a batch and see his face light up as quickly as fudge always makes mine. While handing this finished batch to him for his taste testing, I recounted the same story about Russian fudge to him as found on that post and we both agreed, this brown butter vanilla fudge was something we both adored from the first taste.
I don’t know what black magic brown butter gives to everything I’ve ever put it in, but it add’s a great nutty flavor to this.
Brown Butter Vanilla Fudge
Adapted from Chelsea
Makes 40 pieces
Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups white sugar
125 grams/4.4 ounces brown butter
1/2 cup milk
Pinch of salt
200 milliliters sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon vanilla seeds
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions:
Prepare a tin with greaseproof paper and set aside.
Place the sugar, butter, milk, salt and sweetened condensed milk into a saucepan on medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
Allow to simmer on low to medium heat for approximately 13 minutes or until it has reached the soft ball stage (this is easiest with a candy thermometer).
Remove from the heat, add in the vanilla seeds and extract and allow to sit for 5 minutes.
Beat on medium for 10 minutes until the fudge has lost its gloss and is creamy and lighter. It might seem like it’s not coming together, but will do so right at the end.
Pour into the prepared tin and allow to set for an hour or overnight.
Slice into cubes and serve.

Brown Butter Vanilla Fudge
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: Makes 40 pieces 1x
- Category: Candy
- Cuisine: New Zealand
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Fudge is a beloved candy that is made with brown butter to add a depth to the caramel flavor with flecks of vanilla swirled through to make this an unusual fudge that will impress people.
Ingredients
3 1/2 cups white sugar
125 grams/4.4 ounces brown butter
1/2 cup milk
Pinch of salt
200 milliliters sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon vanilla seeds
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prepare a tin with greaseproof paper and set aside.
- Place the sugar, butter, milk, salt and sweetened condensed milk into a saucepan on medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
- Allow to simmer on low to medium heat for approximately 13 minutes or until it has reached the soft ball stage (this is easiest with a candy thermometer).
- Remove from the heat, add in the vanilla seeds and extract and allow to sit for 5 minutes.
- Beat on medium for 10 minutes until the fudge has lost its gloss and is creamy and lighter. It might seem like it’s not coming together, but will do so right at the end.
- Pour into the prepared tin and allow to set for an hour or overnight.
- Slice into cubes and serve.
Notes
Adapted from Chelsea