The Treat Elizabeth Taylor Always Kept Bedside For Late-Night Indulgences

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Elizabeth Taylor's on-screen career is perhaps as illustrious and well-known as her off-screen achievements. On canvas, she starred as a muse to Andy Warhol — and at the table, Taylor was an impassioned epicure known to enjoy everything from peanut-butter-and-bacon sandwiches to caviar and Jack Daniel's. But, when a scorching case of the late-night munchies came calling, only one treat was on her mind (here's looking at you, fellow chocolate-lovers). According to her private chef, Taylor was an especially avid fan of Toffee Fudgies.

Toffee Fudgies are a when-worlds-collide cross between fudge and brownies created by chef Neil Zevnik. The sweet is a perhaps-funny claim to fame, considering his culinary style focuses more on farm-to-table ingredients. In an interview with EatingWell, Zevnik — private chef to Taylor for nearly 20 years before her passing in 2011 — shares that Taylor kept a mini fridge beside her bed, strategically placed for midnight snacking. "[Taylor] had a little tiny refrigerator under one of the nightstands by her bed and she always had to have a small container of Toffee Fudgies in there," Zevnik tells the outlet. "I'd check it every once and a while and restock when she was low. They keep very well in the refrigerator, I must say, though they're best eaten at room temperature, as with all chocolate." From "Cleopatra" to "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?," creating timeless art requires fuel.

Storing chocolate in the fridge can alter its taste, as a warmer room temperature allows for more subtle, nuanced flavor tones to be perceived on the palate. For optimal dimensionality, UK-based luxury confectioner Hotel Chocolat recommends storing chocolate in a cool, dark cupboard at 59 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Nonetheless, per Taylor's request, Zevnik says he always made sure to keep a Toffee Fudgy stocked in her fridge "should she need it in the middle of the night."

"They're just the ultimate comfort," shares Zevnik. "They're a little chewy and a little creamy, they're richer and denser than a brownie, but they're not as heavy as fudge. They're a nice balance for chocolate lovers." Texturally, Toffee Fudgies are crispy on top, moist in the middle, and dotted with bits of toffee throughout. Indeed, toffee is a classic English sweet, and Taylor herself was born in London.

In her 1988 memoir "Elizabeth Takes Off," Taylor wrote, "I've always admitted that I'm ruled by my passions," and aptly, midnight snacks are an institution centered around pleasure. Toffee Fudgies aren't a far cry from other famous foodies' satisfying midnight snacks, such as Alton Brown's go-to mochi ice cream or chef Alex Guarnaschelli's cold spaghetti and meatballs. Although over their decades of working together, Zevnik says that Taylor "wasn't a big sweets eater," and was "discerning in her sweets." All the more a vote of confidence for Toffee Fudgies' tastiness.