The first fudge recipe dates back to the early 1900s. Created in the United States, fudge is a confection commonly prepared with chocolate, sugar, cream or evaporated milk, butter and vanilla. A variety of nuts may be added as optional ingredients. Sweets such as chocolate fudge fall under MyPyramid.gov's discretionary calories allowance. Depending on your age and fitness level, your diet may include between 150 and 400 discretionary calories as part of your total daily calorie intake.
Fat Calories
Of the 222 total calories in a 2-oz. piece of plain chocolate fudge, approximately 50 calories, or 23 percent, come from fat. Because fat supplies 9 calories of energy per gram, this portion of fudge contains 5.6 g of fat. The butter, cream and chocolate all contribute to the fat calories in fudge, with the bulk of these fats composed of saturated fatty acids. The University of Illinois McKinley Health Center cautions against excess dietary saturated fats, as they correlate with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Fudge prepared with added nuts increases the calorie count to 250 per 2-oz. portion, with fat calories equal to just over 90, or roughly 35 percent. However, the fat calories added by the nuts are from heart-healthy mono- and poly-unsaturated fats.
Carbohydrate Calories
A 2-oz. piece of plain chocolate fudge supplies 165 calories from carbohydrates, or nearly 75 percent of the candy's 222 calories. Almost all of the carbohydrates in plain chocolate fudge are simple sugars rather than complex carbohydrates. Carbohydrates, which supply 4 calories of energy per gram, are your body's preferred source of fuel. Because so many of nuts' calories derive from fat, adding nuts to chocolate fudge results in a 2-oz. piece of candy with relatively fewer calories coming from carbohydrates -- 146 out of 250 total calories, or 60 percent, from carbohydrates. With or without nuts, however, the majority of calories in chocolate fudge stems from sugars.
Protein Calories
Protein, providing 4 calories of food energy per gram, according to the University of Illinois McKinley Health Center, is by far the least abundant macronutrient in chocolate fudge. Protein supplies only 5 calories, or 2 percent of the 222 calories in a 2-oz. section of plain chocolate fudge. The addition of nuts to chocolate fudge approximately doubles the number of protein grams, bringing protein calories in a 2-oz. piece of candy to nearly 10, accounting for almost 4 percent of the total 250 calories. Even with added nuts, however, relatively few calories in chocolate fudge come from protein.
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