Old Fashioned Chocolate Fudge
Old Fashioned Chocolate Fudge, this is the best, creamiest chocolate fudge, made the old fashioned way! And only 6 ingredients. The perfect Homemade Chocolate Candy, one everyone will love.
I have been a big Candy lover for a long time, especially anything Chocolate such as these Easy Homemade Filled Chocolates or these Italian Chocolate Kisses / Baci.
Old Fashioned Chocolate Fudge is everything a homemade fudge should be, so get your candy thermometer ready.
I have been searching and searching for the chocolate fudge that I had tasted when I was about 8 or 10 years old, if you can believe that! This fudge melted in your mouth and was just a little bit crumbly.
I can remember going to the Christmas Bazaar at the Church on Saturday afternoon with a couple of my school friends. I bought my dime bag of chocolate fudge and I still remember thinking “this is the best Fudge I have ever eaten”.
And when we went back to get another bag, the lady was sold out. A sad day for me!
I think in my quest for “the One” I tasted fudge from any and all chocolate stores. And unfortunately they were all the creamy types usually made with sweetened condensed milk, just like my Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge or this Easy Walnut Fudge I wanted that crumbly melt in your mouth fudge!
Fast forward to a few weeks ago and I decided I would google until I discovered my Chocolate Fudge. And discover I did, thanks to Hershey’s, apparently it is their Recipe that gives you that divine fudge.
Recipe Ingredients
- Sugar – granulated
- Cocoa powder – unsweetened dutch processed
- Salt
- Milk – whole/heavy milk
- Butter – I use salted – room temperature
How to make Chocolate Fudge
Line a square pan with buttered parchment paper. In a medium heavy saucepan stir together the sugar, cocoa and salt, then add the milk and stir with a wooden spoon (not a whisk or metal spoon).
Cook over medium heat stirring continuously until mixture starts to boil, a strong boil. Turn heat to low medium and continue to cook without stirring until the correct temperature is reached.
Remove the pot from the heat, add the butter and vanilla. Do not stir. Cool to room temperature. Then beat with a wooden spoon just until mixture begins to lose some of it’s gloss.Spread the fudge quickly in the prepared baking dish and let cool completely, even overnight (at room temperature). Cut it into squares.
Adjusting the Fudge Recipe for High Altitude
To adjust the temperature to your altitude, deduct two degrees from the temperature required for every one thousand feet of altitude above sea level. For example, in this Fudge recipe, if you live 5,000 feet above sea level, you would deduct 10 degrees from 234 degrees.
How to Store Homemade Chocolate Fudge
Wrap the cut pieces in parchment paper or aluminum foil and store in an airtight container or sealable plastic bag. Fudged stored at room temperature can last from 7 – 14 days.
Fudge can also be stored in the refrigerator wrapped and placed in an airtight container. In the fridge fudge will last 2 – 3 weeks.
How to freeze it
Freeze the fudge in a double bag, well wrapped. You can freeze it either in pieces or the whole slab. Fudge will keep for up to 3 months in the freezer.
What to make with fudge
If by chance you have some leftover fudge or for some reason your fudge doesn’t turn out, don’t despair and certainly don’t throw it out! Cut up some fudge add it to some hot milk and stir until smooth and there you have some amazing hot chocolate, maybe the best you have ever had?
Or melt some of the fudge, either in the microwave or over a pot of boiling water and drizzle it over some ice cream or as a ganache on a cake. Hot fudge sauce never tasted so good.
Fudge makes a wonderful gift idea. Wrap it with some transparent wrapping and tie with a bow, or place on a decorative plate or how about place a stick in the middle and make fudge pops!
Can I add Nuts or Peanut Butter
Yes you can add nuts such as walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, pistachios, peanut butter, mini marshmallows, dried cranberries or even broken candy canes. The best time to add these ingredients is when you add the butter and vanilla. I would also recommend roasting the nuts first to give the best flavor to your fudge.
If you prefer peppermint fudge then substitute the vanilla extract with peppermint extract or even almond or orange.
How to roast nuts
Place nuts in a single layer on an ungreased baking / cookie sheet. Bake in a pre-heated 350F/180C oven for 5 to 8 minutes or until they are golden brown, remove immediately from the pan to a clean bowl to cool.
How to keep your fudge from being gritty or grainy
- Make sure the sugar has dissolved.
- It could be the fudge wasn’t beaten long enough or hard enough.
Does the weather affect fudge?
Yes it does, on a humid day, once the candy has cooled it may start to absorb moisture from the air, so on a humid day the candy will end up being softer than it is supposed to be.
Therefore it is always better to make candy (fudge) on dry sunny days. Although if you have no choice and you must make it on a humid day, then cook it to the highest recommended temperature, which is 237-240F / 114 – 115C.
Cool weather also helps the candy cool faster that way it has a lesser chance of forming crystals.
Why is my fudge soft?
Most of the time the reason is because your fudge has not reached the right temperature, it is very important to use a good candy thermometer for this.
I hope you enjoy this Homemade Chocolate Fudge! And let me know how you like it. Enjoy!
More Chocolate Candy Recipes
- Homemade Chocolate Mint Filled Chocolates
- Chocolate Torrone
- Creamy Old Fashioned Caramel Candies
- Homemade Italian Chocolate Kisses / Baci
Old Fashioned Chocolate Fudge
Ingredients
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup cocoa (unsweetened dutch processed)
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1/4 cup butter* (I use salted) (room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
*if you use unsalted butter then increase the salt to 1/4 teaspoon.
Instructions
- Line an 8 inch square pan with buttered parchment paper.
- In a medium heavy saucepan stir together sugar, cocoa and salt, then add the milk and stir with a wooden spoon (not a whisk or metal spoon).
- Cook over medium heat stirring continuously until mixture starts to boil (a strong boil), approximately 15 minutes.
- Turn heat to low medium and continue to cook without stirring until temperature reaches 234 °F (112C) Approximately 30 minutes.
- Remove pot from heat, add the butter and vanilla. Do not stir. Cool to room temperature (110°F/43C), approximately 30 minutes. Then beat with a wooden spoon just until mixture begins to lose some of it's gloss (approximately 6-8 minutes).
- Then spread quickly in prepared cake pan and let cool completely, even overnight (at room temperature). Cut into squares. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
- You can also freeze the fudge in a double bag, well wrapped. Freeze either in pieces or the whole slab. Can be frozen up to 3 months. Keeps in an airtight container for approximately 2 weeks or in the fridge for 3-4 weeks. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Updated from November 18, 2017.
I’ve never made fudge before, but it turned out so great! Perfect texture! It took ages for the mixture to come up to temperature, but slow and steady heat is key for candy making, I think. I added orange zest with the butter and vanilla and it’s so tasty. Thanks for a great recipe!
Hi Sage, thanks, the additions sound delicious. Take care.
This is just like the recipe my mom made growing up. She has dementia now, and I was sad I never got the exact recipe written down. I’m going to try to make it this week for her. Thank you for finding it!
Hi Summer, thanks so much, sorry about your Mom, it’s difficult my MIL had it too. Take care.
Do you think that I can substitute the milk for a plant based milk? I love this recipe.
Hi Christina, I really can’t say, I have never made it with plant based milk, I think it would all depend on the fat content.
Wonderful rich fudge like my mom made! My college age son made it for his girlfriend as a Valentine’s Day gift. She loved it!
Hi Elaine, thanks so much, so glad your son’s girlfriend loved her gift. Have a great weekend.
I recently retired and started playing around in the kitchen. I’ve tried making fudge three times and all failed (turned hard before I could get it in the pan). Now I know why! I was cooking to 238 deg! On top of being 4 deg high I live at 2000 feet so I should have only been cooking to 230 deg. Thanks so much. Can’t wait to try again!
Hi David, thanks, glad I could help. Let me know how it turns out.
THANK YOU for sharing this recipe for the most amazing fudge I have ever tasted. I made a batch yesterday (great arm workout!), let it cool and set properly, and then wrapped individual pieces in foil and wrapped it up as a Valentine’s day gift for my husband. He L O V E D it!!!! And I was thrilled to learn this technique. I added 1 tablespoon of instant coffee at the butter/vanilla stage, and I could taste a wisp of it in the final product. When I make it again, I will add 2 tablespoons on instant coffee for that dreamy mocha flavor! I will make this again and again; thank you! Happy Valentine’s Day!
Hi Laura, thanks so much, great idea with the addition of instant coffee. Happy Valentine’s Day to you too!
my fudge never set….,,not sure why ,,,,,tasted good though
Hi Lori, that’s too bad, maybe you didn’t beat it enough.
First time I made this it never got hard and kinda tasted weird. I think it’s because i used granulated splenda rather than actual sugar. Question, do you used salted butter or unsalted butter? Thx
Hi Michelle, yes it probably is the splenda, I always use salted butter because I can’t find unsalted in Italy.
Grazie!! Trying again as we speak. Ciao!
I’ve i been looking for a gritty fudge recipe . could i substitrute 60% chips instead of cocoa powder?
Hi Lois, I really can’t say because I have never done this substitution. If you do try let me know how it goes. Have a great weekend.
I grew up with fudge like this and I’ve been trying to figure out how to make it! Thank you so much for the great directions and high altitude corrections. I went down memory lane when I was a kid making it with my Mom.
You’re so right, the “flaky” texture is so much better! Great recipe and directions.
Thanks for helping me make Christmas special!
Deb in Colorado
Hi Debbie, thanks so much so glad you liked the recipe. Nothing like flaky fudge. Happy New Year.
Could kahlua be used in place of milk?
Hi Candace, I wouldn’t the milk is cooking for so long I don’t think it would work with kahlua.
well I tried it anyway. Substituted 1/2 a cup of kalua and it came out beautifully!
Hi Candace, thanks good to know.
What type of thermometer is used in the video? I want one that clips to the pot or floats in the liquid? Thanks.
Hi Jennifer, thanks, it’s just a candy thermometer that I picked up in a department store. I think they are available all over.
I’m excited to try this recipe! Just to clarify… are there 154 kcal for the entire batch? Meaning, if cut into 36 pieces, each piece equals 4.28 kcal? Sorry to talk about nutrition whilst drooling in a fudge dream, but I just wanted to double check that was correct…
Thanks!
Hi Meghan no sorry it’s 154 calories for every piece.
This turned out perfect! My 9 year old wanted fudge so we tried this and it’s fantastic! I didn’t realize how quickly it sets once you are done beating it, next time I’ll move a bit faster! Thank you for the great recipe!
Thanks Megan so glad you both liked it. Have a Happy Holiday Season.
Great recipes – Thank You