Best Chocolate Fudge
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You’ve found it! The best chocolate fudge recipe — a classic, old-fashioned, chocolate fudge made with simple ingredients you probably already have in your pantry (no condensed milk here). I include plenty of well-tested tips for flawless fudge!
Old-Fashioned Chocolate Fudge
Chocolate fudge might just be one of my all-time favorite candy recipes.
Last year around this time I shared a week of candy, including a deliriously creamy peanut butter fudge, peanut brittle, toffee, and honeycomb (among others), but it’s been a while since I shared this decades-long, family-favorite chocolate fudge recipe. I originally shared it almost 4 years ago but thought it could use a photo facelift, some new tips, and a video.
Old-fashioned fudge is a labor of love and a treasure. It’s made with pantry-standard ingredients, this is a fudge recipe without condensed milk (not that I have a problem with easy condensed milk fudge), a fudge without marshmallow fluff.
Real old-fashioned chocolate fudge isn’t as creamy on the surface as the varieties and recipes that are more commonly available today. It gives a little bit of resistance to your tooth on that first bite and then just melts away, smooth and creamy on your tongue.
It’s not “easy” to make (is any candy?) but I swear you can taste the love and effort that goes into it. My mom makes this chocolate fudge every year for my siblings and me on Valentine’s Day and most of the tips that you see have mostly come from years of her trials and errors.
Ingredients for Chocolate Fudge
Our ingredient list is very basic:
- Whole milk.
- Granulated sugar. You’ll need 3 cups for this recipe. One of the comments I get most often when I share candy recipes is that they use “too much sugar!”. Well, that’s candy for you. It basically is flavored sugar that’s been cooked into another form.
- Light corn syrup. Not to be confused with high fructose corn syrup, which is not the same thing. I do not recommend trying to make this fudge recipe without the corn syrup.
- Unsweetened chocolate bar. It should be 100% cacao. I’ve used Baker’s chocolate and Ghirardelli and tend to prefer Ghirardelli as sometimes Baker’s chocolate leaves little specks throughout my fudge (you can see this in one of my original fudge photos that I left below. This seems to be purely an aesthetic thing, though, and the fudge tastes the same regardless of which brand I use). You’ll also only need a small bit, just 2 oz of chocolate flavors this chocolate fudge.
- Butter. I use salted here.
- Pure vanilla extract.
Key Tips for Perfect Chocolate Fudge Every Time
Fudge, like most candy recipes, is tricky and can be temperamental. Before you try to make it for the first time I highly recommend watching the video (below the recipe) and reading my tips and tricks. I know, there are a lot of tips here, but these have been collected from my mom over years and years of trial and error as well as my own tribulations with this recipe.
- Read through the recipe before beginning and have all of your ingredients measured and ready to go before beginning. Yes, my first tip is to read all of the tips!
- Don’t crank your heat up too high when bringing your mixture to a boil. Fudge takes patience. If you crank up the heat the sugar won’t have the time to melt properly and your fudge will be grainy or worse.
- When stirring, don’t scrape the sides of the bowl above the mixture line (you’ll notice sugar crystals settling there). Before the mixture comes to a boil you may use a damp pastry brush to gently wash off of the sides of the pot because the granules from the sugar can make your fudge too grainy if they fall back into the mixture.
- I recommend using room temperature butter when you add it to the fudge mixture. Perhaps it would be fine to use cold, but you don’t want to do anything to “shock” the fudge and make it drop its temperature too rapidly.
- Once you add your butter and vanilla DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES stir your mixture. Let it sit! The butter will melt as it cools, and things will look a little funky but please leave it alone until the temperature dips just below 110F, not a degree before then.
- It will take time for your temperature to drop to 110F. Like, possibly an hour. This isn’t a quick and easy fudge recipe, you need some patience.
- Once you finally dip below 110F, stir, stir, stir… but don’t stir too much. I know, this is vague, and it may take you more than one try to get a knack for this. For perfect fudge, stir until the mixture begins to lose its glossy sheen and becomes thickened, this can take several minutes. Stirring fudge can be a workout, keep going without stopping, and it’s not a bad idea to have someone else nearby ready to help you with the stirring if you’ve been skipping arm-day at the gym. Zach is usually my stirrer-on-standby.
- When stirring your fudge for the final time and pouring it into your prepared pan, don’t scrape the sides of the bowl above the mixture line — again, you want to keep any sugar crystals out of the fudge.
- High humidity is an enemy to candy making! Even the weather can affect the outcome of your chocolate fudge, and it’s best to make on a dry day.
Don’t beat yourself up if this fudge doesn’t come out right the first time. It takes practice, and it’s well-worth the effort.
Enjoy!
More Candy Recipes to Try:
- Chocolate Truffles
- Sea Foam (like Divinity, but not quite!)
- Potato Candy
- Easy Peppermint Bark
Best Chocolate Fudge
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups (600 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (235 ml) whole milk
- 2 Tablespoons light corn syrup
- 2 oz (57 g) unsweetened chocolate, broken into pieces (100% cocoa)
- 3 Tablespoons salted butter, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Line a 9x5 loaf pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Lightly dampen a pastry brush and set it nearby the stove.
- In a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine sugar, milk, corn syrup and chocolate over medium heat.3 cups (600 g) granulated sugar, 1 cup (235 ml) whole milk, 2 Tablespoons light corn syrup, 2 oz (57 g) unsweetened chocolate
- Using a wooden spoon, stir the mixture constantly, occasionally brushing the side of the pot with the pastry brush to remove crystals that might fall into your fudge.
- Once mixture begins to boil, attach your candy thermometer to the pot (make sure the bottom of the thermometer isn't touching the bottom of the pan).
- Stir mixture occasionally until your thermometer reads 238F (soft ball stage).
- Immediately remove pan from heat and add your butter and vanilla extract. Do not stir the butter and vanilla! Allow it to set and melt3 Tablespoons salted butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Leave mixture undisturbed until your candy thermometer reads 110F. This will take a long time, possibly an hour or more.
- Now, using a (clean) wooden spoon, begin to stir the mixture vigorously (be careful not to scrape the sides or you may knock sugar crystals into the fudge, causing grainy fudge) until it begins to lose its shiny sheen and thicken (It will take a good bit of stirring before the fudge is just right, your arms will get tired and it's not a bad idea to have a back-up stirrer... seriously!)
- Immediately, once the fudge begins to thicken, pour into prepared pan.
- Allow to cool completely before cutting and serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
I originally published this recipe 02/04/2016. Post has been updated to include even more tips and more photos. Some of the original pictures can be seen below.
Hello Sam, thank you for this recipe!! My husband had been making this EXACTLY the same way- not one part of your recipe nor instruction differs from his, and for this i am so grateful! He passed away this June, and i am going to try and replicate his annual Christmas treat for our grown daughters and their families- complete with a recipe card. I’ve been searching online for weeks for a recipe that contained karo syrup and unsweetened chocolate squares and i do believe yours is the only one out there!! I’m super excited to carry on his tradition, and that i now have ‘his’ recipe to pass down to the kids. Thank you so much, blessings to you and merry Christmas too! Christine
Oh, Christine! I am so glad that you stumbled upon my site and found this fudge recipe, I hope that it compares well to his. I hope that your children enjoy the chocolate fudge and it brings back wonder memories of your husband. Merry Christmas to you! Keep me posted on how it turns out. 🙂
A secret that will help those without the arm strength to do all that stirring and also helps keep the fudge smooth and not crystalizing is to add a couple tablespoons powdered sugar as the stirring begins. Love homemade fudge!
Thanks for sharing, Wanda! I hope you give this recipe a try. 🙂
Have you ever added espresso powder to this, and if so, how much would you suggest?
I have been searching for a recipe like this and all the tips are wonderful! Thanks so much!
Hi, Lynn! I have not added espresso to this recipe, however, If you try it, let me know how it turns out. 🙂
Thank you for the information about humidity. I have to take it into account. It is very humid even if it is December.
Absolutely, Amy! I hope that you enjoy the chocolate fudge. 🙂
I make fudge using marshmallows, it is a 7 minute recipe, works well
I do double batch in same pan , always turn out smooth and ceamy
Sounds wonderful, Bill! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
A little recipe writing clean up I think. Your first instruction is using a 9×5 pan, while later you instruct to pour in an 8×8 pan.
Whoops, thanks for catching that, Cheryl! Either pan will honestly work but my preference recently is the 9×5 as it yields a thicker fudge. I’ve fixed the recipe to reflect this.
If I have to beat it until my arm feels like it’s going to fall off, I’ll stick to the recipe on the cocoa box. The best I’ve ever tasted in my 83 years of life.
Sounds like this recipe is not for you then, Mary. This fudge is worth the effort in my opinion but I’m glad you have something that works for you. Have a great Christmas.
Question: Can Hershey ‘ s or Nestlé ‘ s 100% unsweetened cocoa be used in lieu of bar chocolate? Too, can chopped walnuts be included and when to add. Thank you.
Hi, Steven! If you mean cocoa powder, I don’t recommend it. As far as the walnuts, Yes! You can stir them in as soon as fudge begins to lose its gloss/sheen (at the end). I hope you enjoy the chocolate fudge. 🙂
Can you explain why exactly its important to wait until the fudge reaches 110F to start stirring again once butter and vanilla is added? I’m no candy expert, nor have I made fudge before, but this does seem a little counter intuitive.
Hi Andrew! If you stir the fudge too soon it creates sugar crystals and will make the fudge grainy, so definitely wait until it cools. I hope that helps!
Instead of stirring by hand, can I use an electric mixer?
Hi Maria! An electric mixer won’t be necessary here. It’s very easy to stir and an electric mixer could make quite the mess with the hot batter so I don’t recommend it. 🙂
Help! What did I do wrong? I’m thinking I stirred too long, but my chocolate turned crumbly and not pourable. Any tips?
Hi Laura! I’m so sorry it didn’t turn out. Fudge can be very temperamental, but I think you can do it! Make sure to read the section of tips located above the recipe for help. I hope it turns out for you next time. 🙂
This recipe is the ultimate fudge recipe!!!! It is reminiscent of how my Grandpap made it. This is the first and only recipe that I have used that is what I was looking for. It LITERALLY melts in your mouth. And I thought it was quite an easy to follow and not time consuming; though I’m a mother of three so I was quite busy while waiting!! It’s a dangerously perfect and delicious recipe. Thank you for sharing.
I’m so happy to hear it was such a success for you, Angie! Thank you for commenting and letting me know how it turned out <3
Cool to 110F before stirring?
110?
Am I reading this right
It is taking forever!
Lol
Hi, Kevin. Yes that is right. This fudge does take a good bit of time to finish. 🙂
I made this fudge last night. It was time consuming, but I followed the directions exactly. The only changes I made were in using unsweetened baking cocoa powder versus the squares (converting 3 Tbs. Cocoa plus 1 tsp butter for each one ounce square) and I didn’t have a candy thermometer, so I inserted the meat thermometer frequently while trying to reach the higher temp and infrequently while cooking it off.
The fudge is refusing creamy. I’m shocked at how is as though it melts in my mouth. It is very sweet, but addictively so. And I couldn’t get it past a sticky syrupy texture while stirring it in the end. So I asked for my teenaged sun to store for a few minutes. I guess he was better at it because within 30 seconds it had turned into a hard fudge, within the pan. So I dug it out and broke it in chunks. As awful as it looks, it tastes truly amazing.
Thank you for this recipe. I’ll continue trying to make it, hoping to get it right.
Absolutely perfect fudge! I’ve been making this all through the holidays this year and we can’t get enough!
I am so glad you enjoy it, Kiki! 🙂