“Disneyland, the happiest place on Earth”, or so the saying goes. After purchasing fudge at Disneyland and getting honest reviews from her children, Angela Olson knew it wasn’t quite true. Angela believed her family recipe was something truly special. “I asked them (my kids) who makes better fudge…and they responded ‘Mom does!’” Disneyland’s fudge was really expensive and tasted awful compared with our family recipe,” she compared. “My mother was the one that always made candy during the Christmas season,” she said. Keeping traditions and merriment alive during the holidays always included the gift of delicious fudge treats.
Knowing her recipe was exceptional, Angela named her confection “SilkFudge™” for its creamy consistency. “We are known for our texture,” she proudly touts. Angela was encouraged by her family to enter the fudge business, and she finally made her debut in 2010 at Karcher Confections, a quaint shop in Pierre, South Dakota. A year later, she opened her own store Silk Fudge in Keystone, South Dakota, where she is serving Mount Rushmore tourists since 2013. Angela moved to New Mexico where she thought it was the end of her confectionary career, but this isn’t the end to this “sweet” story.
In 2016 Angela relocated to the Central Coast and was soon selling her smooth and delicious SilkFudge™ at local farmers’ markets. “We had several friends who loved Doc’s and when they found out they were not carrying fudge anymore they urged me to contact Greg Steinberger, CEO and founder of Doc Burnstein’s,” Angela recounted.
Serendipitously, Angela and Greg are both customers at the same credit union. Seeing a golden opportunity, Angela asked another fellow customer, “… if they would formally introduce us (Greg and Angela) to each other.” Greg explained, “The fudge we were selling was not the above average quality, taste and consistency people associate with Doc’s.” Greg continued, “We knew we wanted something unique, local and of premium quality, just like our ice cream.” Both Angela and Greg agreed SilkFudge™ was a perfect fit with Doc Burnstein’s reputation for high quality treats. Greg was not alone who is excited over Angela’s fudge recipe. Katy Budge, a Central Coast food writer for The Tribute and her personal blog CasaFestiva, blind tasted SilkFudge™ along with five other top ranked fudge in America. Carefully assessing the texture, flavor, aroma, and overall enjoyment, Budge declared, SilkFudge™ is the “best fudge I ever tasted (sorry grandma).”
Currently, every block of SilkFudge™ is handcrafted in Angela’s permitted home kitchen. She has created flavors exclusively for Doc Burnstein’s, mimicking Doc’s most beloved ice cream flavors, like Motor Oil, Doc’s Java, Mint Oreo, Peanut Butter Cup and Birthday Cake, as well as Angela’s favorite, Almond Coconut Love.
Doc Burnstein’s Benefit Corporation continues its reputation of giving back with the new SilkFudge™ line. For every gift box sold, a block of fudge will be donated to Vitalant℠ (formerly United Blood Services) to thank a blood donor. Angela is thrilled to help the blood bank and share the most important ingredient in her fudge – love.
As the Central Coast gets to taste and experience SilkFudge™, loyal fans are enthusiastically ordering for the holidays and themselves. Greg shared that he and Angela share a vision for their businesses, “One day I see Doc Burnstein’s and SilkFudge on Main Street, Disneyland”. Then it will be true that Disneyland will be the happiest place on Earth.
Visit docburnsteins.com or silkfudge.com for locations, flavors, and more information.