Delicious homemade fudge by Nat’s Cupcake Creations [gifted]

I have my lovely neighbour and friend, Rebecca to thank for this little find. Rebecca tagged me in Natalie’s post on Facebook, asking for taste testers to try and review her homemade traditional fudge. Away from this breakout into the world of confectionary, as her name suggests, Natalie specialises in birthday and celebration cakes, as well as cupcakes – she’s even creating treat boxes at this time, as there’s such a demand for sweet treats! In fact, she’s made Rebecca’s girls’ birthday cakes before, which we’ve tried, and they have been delicious. I would consider Natalie when looking for someone to make Alfie’s birthday cake as he gets bigger and needs a large cake to accommodate his friends (as opposed to an eight-slice Victoria sponge I made for his 1^st birthday!).

Anyway, back to the fudge. I was asked to sample the original homemade fudge*. It’s what I’d call traditional fudge – not really creamy like the stuff you can get in most shops these days, which to me is more like a soft toffee. This is the stuff that reminds me of Christmas, or trips to the seaside – sort of more like a Scottish tablet. And the texture was spot-on, it was delicious. It really made me feel nostalgic. I let Natalie know what I thought and as she asked (if there was demand), recommended some alternative flavours to experiment with. I suggested chocolate, coffee and (my all-time favourite flavour) rum & raisin. I also mentioned, if she was feeling adventurous, something summery like gin & tonic or strawberries & cream. I’d buy it by the bar or bag – a single flavour or a selection of flavours.

And it was a selection that I went on to purchase. The flavours Natalie originally created were bubble gum, chocolate and salted caramel – and it was £4 for five pieces. I have to say, the pieces were huge and could be eaten in three bites – well worth the money. I purchased a selection of 10 pieces – three of bubble gum and salted caramel, and four of chocolate. Unlike the original fudge I sampled, I didn’t share any of this!

Salted caramel was my favourite. Natalie has mentioned a lot of people agreed that it was the best, too. The flavour was so intense, but in a good way – just like a rich salted caramel, kinda buttery. But as soon as I bit into it, it melted in my mouth and just dissolved to a sugary goodness. It went so well with a cuppa too… I was a bit gutted I hasn’t bought more of it, to be honest, but Ash doesn’t like salted caramel and I did have intentions of sharing the stash. I’d say out of the three flavours, this texture was closest to the original, just with a massive hit of flavour.

The chocolate was a lot creamier. The edges were still quite hard, but the middle was so soft, with that creamy chocolatey taste. Delivering my feedback, I mentioned I would have liked a stronger chocolate flavour – nothing too sickly sweet or rich, but just in comparison to the salted caramel fudge, the flavouring wasn’t as powerful. But that’s just my taste – it was still delicious, regardless.

I left the bubble gum fudge until last, as I didn’t really know what to expect. I guess in mind I was thinking about other bubble gum flavoured confectionary, like those pink and blue bottles (my absolute favourite, despite their artificiality) or those rolls of pink gum you can buy on holiday (I was never a fan, although my brother bought them). But I was pleasantly surprised. Natalie had used a flavouring, but it was subtle – there was nothing artificial or overwhelming about it. It reminded me of something, I just couldn’t – and still can’t – put my finger on it. It wasn’t sickly sweet, just nice.

Natalie has since experimented with other flavours, but I haven’t tried them. She has been sharing updates of the fudge and all the other sweet treats on her Facebook page. The amaretto flavour is calling my name… and since I’ve thought of other boozy flavours which would be delicious too – Malibu, and Bailey’s. I’ll be holding out for my beloved rum & raisin too. Maybe a boozy selection box will be next?

Natalie is based in Leighton Buzzard and while I collected both of my orders, I’m sure she delivers too. I’m not sure on the radius or anything like that, so it’s best to contact her. If you’re interested in any of her products, it would be best to message her direct – she responds very promptly.

Love, Lucy xx

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*Thank you to Nat’s Cupcake Creations for gifting me the first portion of traditional fudge to sample and review. As specified, I purchased the second box. Images and opinions are 100% my own.