Another treat you’ll find at every Swiss Chilbi (funfair) are Nidelzältli (also called Caramelzältli or Rahmtäfeli or fudge in English. Zältli means candy. These are sold in bags at the same stall as the Magenbrot, caramelised almonds, white nougat and candy floss. Swiss fudge exists in two varieties: soft and hard. Below are the recipes for both, the photos were taken when preparing the soft version.
If you’re not coming across a funfair nor want to make them yourself, you can also head to a supermarket to buy some. I like the MiCAMU from Migros.
Soft fudge recipe
- 2.5dl cream
- 1dl milk
- 300g sugar
- 1-2 tbsp water
Method
Place cream, milk and sugar into a wide saucepan. Mix and bring to the boil. Let it cook at medium heat while stirring often. After about 25 minutes the mixture should thicken and turn brown. If this doesn’t happen, the heat wasn’t high enough – in that case turn up the heat and cook until the thicker, brown consistency is reached. Once the mixture is light brown, add 1-2 tbsp of water (more water makes it softer and crumblier). Stir in the water and take the pan off the heat instantly. Pour the mixture onto a baking tray covered in baking parchment. Let it cool down and cut into cubes.
Hard fudge recipe
- 2.5dl milk
- 40g butter
- 250g sugar
- 1/2 sachet of vanilla sugar or 1/2 tsp of vanilla essence
Method
Same as above, but this version needs to be cut into cubes before entirely cooled down and hard.
