Name: Sugar-free Low-carb Fudge
Ingredients: 16 oz cream cheese, softened; 2 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled; ½ cup Splenda sugar substitute; 1 teaspoon vanilla; ½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

Why it works: Chocolate and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,020 recipes. Both carry sotolon, which smells curry, maple. The science ↓

Sugar-free Low-carb Fudge

Timeovernight

Ingredients

16 oz cream cheese, softened
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
½ cup Splenda sugar substitute
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

Directions

Prepare

Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil, waxed paper or parchment paper.

Make the fudge

Beat the cream cheese, melted, cooled chocolate, sweetener and vanilla in a small mixing bowl until smooth.
Stir in nuts (if using) and pour the mixture into the pan.
Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Cut and serve

Cut into squares.
Serve chilled.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

537Calories

6 gProtein

42 gFat

36 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 6 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Pecans	1 oz (28g / ~19 halves)	196
Chocolate	1 oz (28g) semisweet	155
Cream Cheese	1 oz (28g)	99
Sugar Substitute	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Walnut	1 walnut half (4g)	26
Vanilla	1 tsp extract (4ml)	12

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Chocolate + vanillatop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together10,020 recipes

Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
Vanilla + pecanstop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,691 recipes

Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
Chocolate + pecanstop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together804 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
Cream cheese + pecanstop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together465 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Cream cheese + vanillatop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,929 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Cream cheese: Provides the creamy base and body that sets the fudge firm when chilled.
Unsweetened chocolate: Supplies the chocolate flavour and deep colour, and adds richness to the base.
Sweetener (splenda): Adds sweetness in place of sugar, so the fudge stays low in carbohydrates.

Swap the pecans

The recipe marks pecans as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cream cheese, chocolate, sugar substitute, vanilla):

Pecansthe original
Almondfits about as well
Walnutfits less well
Peanutfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against cream cheese, chocolate, sugar substitute, vanilla. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.