How to Make Fool-Proof Fudge (2024)

Fudge is high on the list of our most popular homemade candies. It's a splendid gift from the kitchen and an indulgent treat for any occasion — and it can be pretty easy to make. It comes in lots of variations, too. Along with the usual sugar, butter, and dairy, fudge can be flavored with dark chocolate, white chocolate, peanut butter, butterscotch, marshmallow, maple syrup, nuts, and even pumpkin.

How to Make Fudge

The trick to good homemade fudge is to cook the ingredients to the right temperature to form a sugar syrup, and cool the mixture properly so the texture of the fudge turns out smooth and firm, but soft enough to cut. Here's how to make fudge on your stovetop and in your microwave.

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Stovetop Fudge

For this step-by-step demo, we'll use this recipe for Old-Fashioned Chocolate Fudge.

VIDEO: Old-Fashioned Fudge

Watch as we show you how to make a classic stovetop fudge recipe. You'll even see how to test the candy mixture for doneness without using a candy thermometer.

Tip: No double-dipping! Always clean the mixture off the dipping spoon thoroughly between tests. You don't want to inadvertently stir sugar crystals into the fudge to make it gritty.

Equipment

Here's what you'll need to make fudge from scratch on your stovetop.

Saucepan: Choose a heavy, straight-sided metal saucepan that holds about twice the volume of your fudge recipe. A heavy pan distributes heat evenly so the ingredients are less likely to scorch when they boil at high temperature. Using a large saucepan gives the ingredients room to expand when they boil.

Candy thermometer: Use a candy thermometer (try this $11 Target best-seller) that clamps onto the side of the saucepan. Why? Candy-making is a science as well as an art, and relies on exact temperatures to make ingredients — especially sugar — behave properly. A candy thermometer is the best way to ensure your ingredients are at the right temperature in each stage of making fudge; many candy thermometers are marked with the recommended temperatures for each kind of candy you make.

Wooden or silicone spoon: Choose one with a long handle for stirring.

Baking dish: This is the pan your fudge will cool in after it cooks. Use the size recommended in your recipe, otherwise a larger pan produces thinner pieces of fudge, and a smaller pan produces thicker pieces. To keep the fudge from sticking to the cooling pan, line it with non-stick foil or parchment paper, or coat it with cooking spray, butter, or a neutral oil.

Pastry brush (Optional): For oiling the sides of the saucepan and the cooling pan.

Long knife: For slicing the fudge neatly after it cools.

Top Tips for No-Fail Stovetop Fudge

1. Follow Directions

The key to making smooth and creamy fudge is to follow the directions exactly. Use an accurate candy thermometer and allow the mixture to reach the temperatures called for in the recipe before moving to the next step. Add each ingredient in the order listed by the recipe.

2. Oil the Saucepan

Some candy-makers like to coat the sides of the saucepan with butter or oil before they even start cooking any kind of candy because it helps prevent boil-overs and keeps sugar crystals from sticking to the sides.

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3. Know When and When NOT to Stir

Stir the ingredients to dissolve the sugar until the mixture comes to a boil. If your recipe uses milk, stirring will keep the mixture from curdling. But once it reaches about 236–238 degrees F/113–114 degrees C (the "soft-ball" stage), do not stir it or even shake the pan. Why? Stirring at the wrong time causes the sugar to form large crystals. That's the "graininess" that inexperienced fudge-makers complain about. Smooth fudge, on the other hand, has tiny sugar crystals that melt on the tongue.

4. Cool Correctly

When your fudge reaches 236–238 degrees F/113–114 degrees C, it's done; you should remove the pan from the heat so it won't continue to cook. If your recipe calls for adding butter, you can place it on top of the fudge now so it can start melting, but do not stir.

No thermometer? No problem. To test the boiling mixture for doneness, drop a bit of it into a bowl of cold water. If it forms a ball that is soft enough to flatten between your fingers, the mixture is ready for cooling.

When the fudge cools to 110 degrees F/43 degrees C, beat the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon until it's no longer glossy. Then you can stir in the nuts, or any other extra flavorings, and transfer it to the cooling pan.

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5. Don't Scrape the Pan

When you're transferring the warm fudge from the saucepan to the cooling pan, don't scrape the sides or bottom of the saucepan or you may introduce unwanted sugar crystals into your finished fudge.

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How to Make Microwave Fudge

To make fudge in your microwave, you'll need a large microwave-safe bowl, a wooden or silicone spoon, and the pan your fudge will cool in. Microwave fudge recipes usually include sweetened condensed milk as an ingredient because it is already a sugar syrup, and you're simply melting in other ingredients to make it into fudge.

Learn the difference between condensed milk and evaporated milk

This video for Crispy Tiger Fudge shows you how to make fudge in your microwave:

Easy Fudge for Beginners

For first-time candy makers: Look for recipes that call for corn syrup, marshmallows, or marshmallow crème. These ingredients prevent crystallization of sugar into large grains, so the texture of the fudge will remain smooth. Also, recipes using cream or condensed milk are less likely to curdle than regular milk.

  • Mocha Fudge is made with corn syrup and is flavored with coffee.
  • Walnut Maple Fudge uses mini marshmallows as an ingredient.
  • Aunt Teen's Creamy Chocolate Fudge has marshmallow crème in the mix.
  • Raspberry Truffle Fudge uses heavy cream and condensed milk.

How to Store Fudge

You can store fudge in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three weeks, or in the freezer for up to three months. For best results in the fridge, cut fudge into pieces first and separate layers with waxed paper, aluminum foil, or plastic wrap. If you're going to store fudge in the freezer, cut the fudge into pieces and wrap them up individually, then store in an airtight, freezer-safe container. You can thaw fudge overnight in the fridge.

Fun with Fudge

Try these different variations on a fudge theme.

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Microwave Peanut Butter Chocolate Swirl Fudge: The recipe title says it all. Easy microwave peanut butter fudge is topped with melted chocolate and swirled with the edge of a knife to create a two-toned treat. You can also use this technique for making swirled white and dark chocolate fudge.

Chef John's Christmas Miracle Fudge: No-cook fudge for vegans made with coconut oil and honey. Watch the video to see how this clever recipe comes together, and get a smart tip for cooling this super-fast fudge in a silicone ice cube tray.

Pumpkin Fudge: A pumpkin-flavored fudge to munch while waiting for The Great Pumpkin to rise up out of the pumpkin patch.

Cherries and Chocolate Fudge: A microwave fudge recipe that'll crush the holiday food-gift competition.

Creamy Peanut Butter Fudge: While this popular stovetop fudge doesn't say to use a thermometer, you can certainly use one if you want to make sure you hit the right temperatures. Lorna gets great results without one, but you'll want to read her complete review to get her no-fail tips.

Related

  • Best Holiday Fudge Recipes to Make and Share
  • 5 Ways to Turn Homemade Fudge Into Wow-Worthy Gifts
  • Get More Homemade Fudge Recipes
How to Make Fool-Proof Fudge (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to perfect fudge? ›

Valuable tips for successful fudge
  • Don't stir during cooking. Fudge can be cooked on the stove or in the microwave. ...
  • Avoid crystallization. During cooking, sugar crystals can stick to the sides of the pan. ...
  • Let cool before beating. After being cooked, the sugar must crystallize again to create fudge. ...
  • Beat the mixture.

What is the secret to non grainy fudge? ›

Once a seed crystal forms, it grows bigger and bigger as the fudge cools. A lot of big crystals in fudge makes it grainy. By letting the fudge cool without stirring, you avoid creating seed crystals.

How do you make fudge not hard? ›

To fix oily, hard or grainy fudge, scoop the fudge back into a pot with about a cup of water. Cook it over low heat until the fudge dissolves. Then bring the fudge back up to the temperature specified in the recipe and follow the remaining steps. The flavor may be slightly diluted, but the texture will be improved.

Why is my 3 ingredient fudge not setting? ›

Why won't my 3 ingredient fudge set? This often happens when the condensed milk and chocolate chip mixture isn't hot enough to start. Everything must be completely melted before it is transferred to the pan to cool.

Should you stir fudge while it's cooking? ›

Don't stir!

Once the fudge reaches soft-ball stage on the candy thermometer, remove from the heat and let the temperature drop to 110°F. Keep that spoon or spatula out of the pot until this happens. If you stir too early in the process, you'll make the sugar crystals too big and end up with grainy fudge.

Why won't my 2 ingredient fudge set? ›

The main reason is that your Fudge has not reached the optimum temperature. If your mixture only reaches 110 or 112 degrees Celsius it will always be soft. That's why we recommend investing in a sugar thermometer. Another reason your Fudge is not setting is that the ratio of liquid to sugar is too high.

How do you get fudge to soft ball stage? ›

Stir the ingredients to dissolve the sugar until the mixture comes to a boil. If your recipe uses milk, stirring will keep the mixture from curdling. But once it reaches about 236–238 degrees F/113–114 degrees C (the "soft-ball" stage), do not stir it or even shake the pan.

What consistency should fudge be before it sets? ›

Points to remember

You know it's ready when a small amount of the mixture dropped into a glass of cold water sets into a soft ball that you can lift out with a teaspoon and pinch between your fingers. Turn off the heat and keep stirring for 5 minutes or until the mix starts to thicken a little.

Why does fudge need to be beaten? ›

Nigella's Vanilla Fudge is a traditional fudge recipe that is made by boiling butter, milk, condensed milk, sugar and golden syrup to soft ball stage. The fudge is then beaten as this makes the fudge slightly crumbly rather than chewy.

How do you keep homemade fudge soft? ›

Wrap your fudge in an air-tight container. Several layers of saran wrap, vacuum seal, Tupperware should all keep the moisture locked in pretty good.

Why is my homemade fudge gritty? ›

– There are a number of reasons why the fudge was grainy. It might be that you haven't dissolved all the sugar before boiling the fudge mixture. It could be that there just wasn't enough fluid or fat to enable the sugar to dissolve or it might even be that the fudge wasn't beaten long enough or hard enough.

Why does homemade fudge get hard? ›

Too cooked

This fudge was cooked to a temperature of 118 °C (244 °F). At this temperature, the sugar is too concentrated and there is not enough water left to form syrup around sugar crystals. The result is hard and brittle fudge. To save the fudge, put it in a saucepan with 45 to 60 ml (3 or 4 tbsp.)

What can I do with failed fudge? ›

Options for what you can do with your unset fudge:

OPTION 1) Depending on how runny it is, you can either use it as a frosting for cakes, or a sauce for ice-cream. OPTION 2) Freeze it overnight. Cut it into squares. Cover each square thickly in melted chocolate, ensuring no part of the fudge is exposed.

What helps a fudge set? ›

Temperature Troubles

The most common culprit behind unset fudge is inaccurate temperature control. If the sugar mixture hasn't reached the correct temperature, your fudge won't set. Ensure you use a reliable candy thermometer and follow temperature guidelines meticulously to achieve the desired consistency.

What gives fudge its firm texture? ›

The key to creamy, luscious fudge is controlling crystal formation. If the sucrose (table sugar) crystals are small, the fudge will feel creamy and smooth on your tongue. But if the crystals are large, the fudge develops a crumbly, dry, or even coarse texture.

What does cream of tartar do in fudge? ›

Cream of tartar is used in caramel sauces and fudge to help prevent the sugar from crystallizing while cooking. It also prevents cooling sugars from forming brittle crystals, this is why it's the secret ingredient in snickerdoodles!

Why hasn't my fudge set properly? ›

The most common culprit behind unset fudge is inaccurate temperature control. If the sugar mixture hasn't reached the correct temperature, your fudge won't set. Ensure you use a reliable candy thermometer and follow temperature guidelines meticulously to achieve the desired consistency.

How long do you boil fudge to get to soft ball stage? ›

How long does it take to make fudge:
  1. about 18 min to reach boiling.
  2. about 40 minutes to reach soft ball stage.
  3. 60 minutes to cool.
  4. 28 minutes to beat in a KitchenAid (your time for this may vary)
  5. 4 hours to set.

How long should you beat fudge? ›

Allow the fudge mixture to rest until the temperature registers between 150°-160°. Once the desired temperature is reached, beat the ever-loving stuffing out of the fudge. Two to three minutes of hardcore mixing (by hand).

References

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