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Have you ever had creamy, rich chocolate fudge from a candy store? It’s good, right?! Now, have you ever struggled to make it homemade?
I’ve come across a lot of chocolate fudge recipes in the past but today I want to share my family’s 100-year-old (at least!) simple recipe for making delicious chocolate fudge from scratch. And you don’t even need a candy thermometer!
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Don’t you just love the holidays and getting together with family and friends? Alabama has a lot of hot summer days ahead but now that the kids are back in school, I can’t help but to long for the Fall days that I love most. Cool weather and warm chocolate fudge just go together!
Everything in moderation, right? With that in mind, this old family recipe is great for family gatherings and holidays. I want to encourage you to give this chocolate fudge recipe a try for your next event.
My mom is the reigning queen of making fudge.
She learned how to make fudge from her mom when she was about 10 years old and my grandmother learned from her mother. We don’t know where my great-grandmother learned how to make fudge, but we’ve used the same recipes for generations.
Whether it’s praline fudge (penuche), blonde fudge, peanut butter fudge, or pure chocolate fudge, my mom has mastered them all.
What is fudge?
Fudge is a type of sugar candy where you heat up sugar, milk, and butter to the “soft-ball” stage, which is 240º F (115º C). It’s soft and creamy…not like hard candy.
Instructions for Making Old-Fashioned Chocolate Fudge
You can decrease or increase this recipe based on your family’s size. Just be sure that your saucepan is at least twice as large as the combined ingredients.
1. Cook your chocolate fudge.
First, fill a large stainless steel saucepan with 3 cups of organic sugar, 3 ounces of Baker’s unsweetened 100% cacao chocolate squares, 1 and 1/2 cups of heavy cream (or milk), and 2 tablespoons of Karo light corn syrup. The corn syrup is optional but will make the fudge have a smoother texture.
It’s important to use a saucepan that isn’t coated with anything that can scrape off into your fudge because we will be scraping it often with a spoon. Stainless steel is the way to go!
Next, put your saucepan on the stove and stir the ingredients together over medium-low heat until the chocolate has melted and it starts to get bubbly.
Continue stirring the chocolate mixture over medium-low heat until it doubles in size and starts to shrink back down. It will thicken and bubble less as it shrinks.
2. Reach the soft-ball stage.
When the chocolate mixture starts to shrink down and coat the spoon, it’s time to test if it’s reached the soft-ball stage. Prepare a small bowl filled half-way with water. (You can skip this if you plan to use a candy thermometer…but this is a fun way to test your fudge.)
Stir the chocolate mixture and let a few drops of chocolate drip into your bowl of water. If the chocolate spreads out on the bottom of the bowl, it’s not ready yet. Pour the water out (taste the chocolate if you want) and fill the bowl with water again.
The soft-ball stage is reached in a matter of seconds once the chocolate shrinks and coats your spoon. So every 30 seconds or so, drop a few drops of chocolate into your bowl of water.
You will start to notice the chocolate sticking together more. Do this until you reach the soft-ball stage.
The soft-ball stage has been reached when your chocolate drips turn into balls as they float down in your bowl of water.
Feel the chocolate with your finger in the water and push it around. It should feel soft and not hard.
If your fudge has cooked too long and becomes hard in the water, read the tips at the end of this post on how to save it.
3. Cool your fudge down.
Remove the saucepan from the heat when it reaches the soft-ball stage.
Add 3 tablespoons of butter to the chocolate mixture but don’t stir it in. Set your timer for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, get ready to pour out your fudge by placing some wax paper down on a cutting board or cookie sheet. (It’s my experience that parchment paper sticks to fudge so I recommend only using wax paper.)
4. Stir baby, stir!
When your timer goes off, add in 2 tablespoons of vanilla extract and start stirring the chocolate fudge.
You don’t have to stir fast, so go at a pace you are comfortable with. Stir for about 5-10 minutes until the shine starts to go away and when the fudge starts to hold a shape in your saucepan.
5. Pour out your fudge and cool down.
Pour your chocolate fudge out onto your wax paper and smooth the top with your spoon the best you can. Let it sit undisturbed until it cools down (about 20-30 minutes).
Cut your fudge into squares using a sharp knife after it has cooled down and hardened.
Place another sheet of wax paper on top of your fudge and then grab the cutting board or cookie sheet and flip it all over upside down onto your counter.
Slowly remove the wax paper from the top of your fudge so that the underside (now the top) can also cool down and harden.
And that’s it! Break apart your chocolate fudge squares when it cools and hardens.
How Should You Store Your Fudge and How Long Will It Last?
Store fudge squares in an air-tight container. It’s best served warm or at room temperature and eaten within 3 days, but you can also store it in your refrigerator between pieces of parchment or wax paper to make it last longer (a week or so).
What if my chocolate fudge is too hard?
When it’s still in the saucepan…
If you’ve accidentally cooked your chocolate fudge too long and see that it hardens to the hard-ball stage when you test it in your bowl of water, simply add about a half cup of milk to your saucepan and continue stirring over medium-low heat.
It’ll bubble a lot as you add the milk so don’t be alarmed. The milk will thin out the chocolate mixture and you can reach the soft-ball stage after just a minute or two.
If you’ve already poured it out onto your wax paper…
If you notice that your chocolate fudge is rock-hard after you’ve poured it out onto your wax paper, just break it apart the best you can, return it to your saucepan, add about a half cup to one cup of milk, and stir it over medium-low heat until it melts again and reaches the soft-ball stage.
Or…you can just eat it as hard candy. The taste is still delicious!
What if my chocolate fudge is too soft/runny?
If your fudge is too soft and runny, you probably won’t know that until after it’s been poured out onto your wax paper. If that’s the case, scrape it off the best you can back into your pot, add a little bit of milk, and continue cooking your fudge until it reaches the soft-ball stage.
Variations to the Recipe.
If you want to add any nuts to your chocolate fudge, add them after it has reached the soft-ball stage when you add your vanilla extract. Walnuts and pecans add a delightful crunch.
Old-Fashioned Chocolate Fudge Recipe
Print Recipe
Old-Fashioned Chocolate Fudge
If you've struggled with making homemade fudge in the past, I want to show you how my family has been making chocolate fudge for at least the last 100 years. Join me as I share my family's 100-year-old chocolate fudge recipe!
Total Time30 minutes mins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chocolate fudge
Author: Rivers Family Farm
Equipment
large stainless steel saucepan
large stainless steel spoon
wax paper
knife
measuring cups
measuring spoons
Ingredients
- 3 cups cane sugar (Organic sugar has a better/deeper flavor but white sugar works fine, too.)
- 3 ounces Baker's unsweetened 100% cacao chocolate squares
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream (You can also use skim milk, whole milk, or half and half. Heavy cream gives it a richer flavor and smoother texture.)
- 2 tbsp Karo light corn syrup (Optional but makes the fudge smooth.)
- 3 tbsp butter (Optional but gives good flavor and makes the fudge smooth.)
- 2 tbsp vanilla extract (Optional but gives good flavor.)
Instructions
Fill a large stainless steel saucepan with sugar, chocolate, heavy cream, and light corn syrup.
Mix together with a large stainless steel spoon over medium-low heat until the chocolate has all melted and it starts to bubble.
Continue to stir the chocolate mixture until it doubles in size and starts to shrink back down again as it thickens.
When the chocolate mixture starts to shrink down and coat the spoon, it's time to test if it's reached the soft-ball stage. Prepare a small bowl filled half-way with water. (You can skip this if you plan to use a candy thermometer…but this is a fun way to test your fudge.)
Stir the chocolate mixture and let a few drops of chocolate drip into your bowl of water. If the chocolate spreads out on the bottom of the bowl, it's not ready yet. Pour the water out (taste the chocolate if you want) and fill the bowl with water again.
The soft-ball stage is reached in a matter of seconds once the chocolate shrinks and coats your spoon, so every 30 seconds drop a few drops of chocolate in your bowl of water. You will start to notice the chocolate sticking together more. Do this until you reach the soft-ball stage.
The soft-ball stage has been reached when your chocolate drips turn into balls in your bowl of water. Feel the chocolate with your finger in the water and push it around. It should feel soft and not hard like caramel.
Remove the saucepan from the heat when it reaches the soft-ball stage.
Add butter to the top but don't stir it in. Set your timer for 10 minutes.
When your timer goes off, add in your vanilla and start stirring the chocolate fudge. Stir about 5-10 minutes until the shine starts to go away and when the fudge starts to hold a shape in your saucepan.
Get ready to pour out your fudge by placing some wax paper down on a cutting board or cookie sheet.
Pour your chocolate fudge out onto your wax paper and smooth the top with your spoon the best you can. Let it sit undisturbed until it cools down (about 20-30 minutes).
Cut your fudge into squares using a sharp knife. Place another sheet of wax paper on top of your fudge and then grab the cutting board or cookie sheet and flip it all over upside down onto your counter. Slowly remove the wax paper from the top of your fudge so that the underside (now the top) can also cool down and harden.
Store fudge squares in an air-tight container. It's best served warm or at room temperature and eaten within 3 days, but you can also store it in your refrigerator to make it last longer.
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Let me know what you think if you give this recipe a try!
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