The only ingredients you need for this recipe are one pound of chocolate chips (both semi-sweet and dark work well), 4 Tbs. butter, and a 14 fluid ounce can of sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk). The chocolate chips can be replaced or blended with peanut butter chips for to make peanut butter fudge or chocolate-peanut fudge. (If you like peanut butter swirls, you'll need to melt the peanut butter chips separately and swirl them in later.) Note that one pound of chocolate chips is the same as three cups of chocolate chips - not two.This recipe is so easy, you can even do it in the microwave oven. Use a microwave oven safe bowl and microwave until the chocolate is glistening and begins to melt (be careful not to overheat in the microwave or the chocolate will burn). For the purposes of this article, I'll be using a bain-marie. Heating chocolate indirectly over the gentle heat of steam will make it more difficult to overheat.
Throw the butter and chocolate chips into a medium metal bowl or double boiler. Pour the sweetened condensed milk on top.Latest Articles
Place the metal bowl on top of the pot to make a bain-marie. (If you have a double boiler, by all means, use it instead.) Make sure the bottom of the bowl is suspended above the water level itself (it's best to check this when you first start bringing the water to a boil since working with cool water and an empty bowl is easier than steaming water and a boil filled with two pounds of fudge ingredients.) Make sure the water is gently releasing steam - accidentally allowing too much moisture to settle on your chocolate could cause it to seize resulting in clumping. In my experience, this particular recipe is fairly forgiving, so don't worry too much.
While the ingredients are gently heating, butter an 8 in. square baking dish. I should mention a couple of tips here that may help with unmolding the fudge after it has set. Once the pan is buttered, lay two sheets of plastic wrap or parchment paper down onto the buttered surface. The sheets should be longer than the container (a little more than twelve inches should be fine) and should be laid down perpendicular to each other. The butter will help keep the plastic wrap in place while you pour the fudge and after the fudge is set, you can use the ends that overflow the container to lift out the fudge. In the following pictures, I just buttered the baking pan and had to work at it a little to unmold the fudge one section at a time.
After a few minutes over the heat, start mixing the melting chocolate together with the melting butter. Keep alternating between mixing and heating until all the ingredients are blended together (use your spatula to scape down the sides of the bowl at least once). At this point, if you want to add fancy components (like chopped walnuts, peanut butter for swirling, etc.) do so.
Pour the fudge into the baking dish. Use a spatula to scrape the bowl clean.
Level the fudge with your spatula.
I don't like putting hot items into my refrigerator, so I like to use an aluminum half sheet pan as a heat sink. Pour a little cold water into the pan and place the fudge in the middle of the pan. A few ice cubes will help keep the aluminum cool as it takes on heat from the bottom of the baking pan. After about ten minutes, slip the fudge into the refrigerator for chilling and setting.
Once the fudge has set, about two hours, cut into squares.This is a fun recipe to play with. Additional ingredients can be melted in or mixed in before pouring. Two different fudges (like chocolate and peanut butter or dark chocolate and white chocolate) can be made and poured on top of each other to produce different effects (try pouring on a top layer before the bottom layer fully sets).
Absurdly Easy Chocolate Fudge (makes 16 2-in. squares)
| 16 oz. (450 g) chocolate chips | combine | melt | mix | pour into mold | chill to set |
| 4 Tbs. (57 g) butter | |||||
| 14 fl. oz. (415 mL) sweetened condensed milk |
Absurdly Easy Peanut Butter Fudge (makes 16 2-in. squares)
| 16 oz. (450 g) peanut butter chips | combine | melt | mix | pour into mold | chill to set |
| 4 Tbs. (57 g) butter | |||||
| 14 fl. oz. (415 mL) sweetened condensed milk |
Thank you so much for the recipe charts - they're really wonderful.
- Danger Stevens
My only reservation about microwaving is that you need to be careful not to burn the chocolate. As the last anonymous commenter mentioned, only heat until the chocolate is partially melted and mix until the rest is melted through residual heat. Often, this will involve 10-15 second microwave sessions and then a quick check to see if the chips have begun to glisten.
Also, please use a microwave safe bowl - not all glass bowls are microwave safe. Microwave safe glass bowls are manufacturered in such a way as to guarantee no air bubbles are trapped in the glass. Regular glass bowls may crack or even shatter under the right circumstances. The chances are good that most of your glassware at home is microwave safe, but it can be a nasty surprise when you accidentally microwave souvenir glassware.
Really enjoy your site, thanks for all the cooking tips and recipe charts -- so helpful!
entry for 31 march
Is a bain-marie the same as a double boiler? I always thought that a bain-marie is a water bath, meaning the container holding the ingredients has to be sitting in the water.
Is a bain-marie the same as a double boiler? I always thought that a bain-marie is a water bath, meaning the container holding the ingredients has to be sitting in the water.
For the purposes of this application, a bain marie and a double boiler perform the same action - gentle heating over water. When working with chocolate, it is important to not have the bowl touch the water since that will transmit heat faster than only steam heating. In both cases, it is still considered a bain marie (bowl in water, bowl over water).
As a side note - there are companies that make "double boilers" that can be set so you can partially submerge the top layer pot into the water in the second pot as well as using them in the traditional double boiler (elevated) configuration.
That's weird though, I never remember my mom having any trouble making fudge. I'll ask her what she does.
I just melted everything in a pot over low heat, and it did fine.
I'm so glad I got to try one of your recipes -- I love the way they're laid out, but as a vegetarian there aren't too many up here I can actually eat.
I will go have some more fudge now. Mm, fudge.
--S
Also, a dash of cayenne pepper really enhances the flavor.
Rationale: substances under the form of foam carry a lot of air. Air is 100% fat-free .Foamy foods give the sensation of satiated hunger faster and more efficiently then other non foamy foods , yet deliver less calories per serving.
So to keep a long RFC short..what about foam geeks giving us some hint on how to turn the recipe into a nice spongy mass that will satiate our hunger without exploding our liver like the unmodified recipe will do ?
Love the site, even though I'm a lawyer-in-training, not an engineer.
but... where are the porous bubbles recipe, c'mon prop'heads!
Sounds like the fudge hasn't set yet. How long did you have it in the refrigerator? Although I recommend at least two hours, sometimes it takes longer for the fudge to set (depending on the shape and material of your container).
Once set, the fudge can be cut at cold or room temperatures without a problem.
pur-loise.
If the environment isn't humid and room temperature for you isn't too much over 70°F, then the fudge should be able to keep at room temperature for a few weeks.
Where I live, in the summer, the fudge softens too much to keep out of the refrigerator.
Butter or no-stick spray the 8X8 pan as in the original recipe, using parchment paper for easiest removal.
Next, simply take one 11 or 12 oz bag of chocolate chips or any other flavor you desire, and melt in the microwave or as as in the condensed milk recipe. I generally use a one quart pyrex measuring cup and the microwave.
Next. stir in one can of ready to spread chocolate icing. (You can use a dark chocolate for the most intense flavor with dark chocolate chips, use regular chocolate or milk chocolate frosting for variation.) Don't use the "fluffy" or pourable cans or the german chocolate type with nuts and coconut.
Mix in thoroughly and then add nuts or other goodies. A teaspoon of vanilla is good, too. Never add vanilla or any liquid to the melted chips until the icing is incorporated-it will seize them up. Spread in the prepared pan and chill until set. Stores fine at room temperature after setting.
Here's the beauty of this one-use any flavor of chips and icing combination that strikes your fancy. Use white chocolate chips and vanilla icing with red and gren candied cherries for Christmas. Another good "white" combo is with coconut and macadamia nuts. Use vanilla icing with peanut butter, caramel or strawberry icing for unusual fudges. My speciality is butterscotch chips with caramel icing, toasted pecans and vanilla and a touch of cinnamon. With minimal supervision, even little kids can make flawless fudge this way.
Enjoy!
Pat
One strategy is simply use darker chocolate to give you that strong cocoa flavor. It doesn't have to be chocolate chips, any form of chocolate that you can melt in with the other two ingredients should work.
I haven't done this myself, but I've read that if you bring 1 cup (8 oz. or 235 mL) evaporated milk to a simmer and add 1-1/4 cup (125 g) sugar and stir until the sugar has fully dissolved, it is a good approximate of sweetened condensed milk.
Thanks for advice. :unsure:
Laura
If you don't have chocolate chips, then just use 450 g of chocolate that's been chopped into small chunks.
One can also use some of the flavored dipping chocolate wafers mixed with regular chocolate for some exotic flavors.
I like your site. It helps me to be more exact in my cooking and understand the processes that go into consistent results.
I have a question about your fudge recipe. I live in an area where real chocolate chips are very expensive and rare, and the compound (barely any chocolate in them) ones are common (and very yucky), and I have had to bring real ones back from the States when I visit, in suitcases, in order to have "real" chocolate chip cookies. Consequently, I do not use these chips when I don't have to. I manage and hoard them like gold. So could I substitute some of the chips in this recipe? If so, what would I use? A chocolate bar or cocoa? What components would you tweak in order to accommodate this substitution?
Thanks!
Thanks!
Just use a semi-sweet or dark chocolate bar and chop them up so they melt easily. The chips are used for convenience.
Kiny
Substitute 1 tablespoon plus 1 3/4 teaspoons (9.5 grams) of cocoa, 1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon (14.5 grams) granulated white sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons (7 grams) unsalted butter for every ounce (28 grams) of bittersweet or semisweet chocolate.
-instead of using regular sweetened condensed milk, try using the fat-free stuff
(if you can find reduced sugar chocolate, this will help tons as well)
;)
Try rolling this condensed milk ganache into little balls and coating them in cocoa, spices or chocolate, perhaps with a nut or a piece of candied fruit or ginger in the middle, or hollow them out and inject a liquid center...
mmm....
The fudge is really good and extra easy to make.
Instead of putting into a pan and I put it into candy cups. These are parchament paper cups and tin foil cups I had left from another food project.
Put only fudge into them or make a mixture.
I made some fudge only and some I put a little fudge on the bottom and sprinkled in other items like chopped nuts, chopped dried fruit, or spoons of peanut butter. Then I topped them with a little more fudge and put a little of the filling on top to identify them.
They set up super fast when chilled and you can peel off the wrapper cup without any problem.
This would be great in gift baskets!
Thanks for posting it!
Anything we can use instyead?
Jackie
I've made this quick fudge, and did not use double boiler because I was short on time. You learn to handle the chocolate with more practice, so keep trying.
~ FHK
if it's too soft, then next time, just use less butter. just make sure you give it plenty of time to set up (at least 4 hours for me). if it's still too soft, try using half the butter next time.
my dad actually likes his fudge really really firm, and when i make it for him, i don't put in ANY butter at all. (it turns out really solid, and almost crumbly, but still really good.)
for those of you counting calories, you can use the fat-free condensed milk, unsweetened baking chocolate, and add your personal favorite no-calorie sweetener (like splenda or equal) to make it as sweet as you like. you can also use margarine and low cholesterol spreads like smart choice or i can't believe it's not butter if you want not-super-firm fudge.
about those cinnamon chips. i think it is too much to use JUST cinnamon chips, BUT you can melt them in the microwave and drizzle over the top of regular fudge, and swirl it in with a toothpick, and it turns out nice.
~melly
l lb confectioner sugar
1/2 c. cocoa
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 c. milk
1tbs. vanilla
1/2 c. margarine
in 1 1/2 quart casserole dish stir all ingredients except butter. Once stirred put butter on top and microwave for 2 minutes. stir vigorously until smooth. Blend in nuts if desired. por into desired dish and chill 1 hr in frig--cut into squares . Put in tin and hide it!
After spreading in the pan we sprinkled it with fleur de sel. It was yummy! We gave some out as gifts and people kept asking where we bought it.
I think any additions make fudge a little more posh.
Happy Holidays!
I had this problem too :/ I used Ghirardelli semisweet chocolate chips. If that's relevant. Somehow.
I suspect that it was due to over-mixing. Instead of letting the ingredients sit and warm up for a few minutes, I just started mixing right away.
Also, I didn't really alternate between heating and mixing until nearish the end of the process. I just stirred like crazy in the beginning, reread the recipe, thought "aw man," and then started taking the bowl on and off the heat.
Maybe that was the problem? I think that's when it started clumping and developing little pools of oil. Was I supposed to let it rest for a bit on top of the pot before mixing some more?
I still scooped the fudge into a foil-lined pan [it wasn't really pourable at this point] and let it set. It looked fine after a few hours, only there were disconcerting patches of solid fat on the top. And when I cut it there were teeny little fat deposits dispersed throughout the chocolate. At least it tastes okay :/
I might try again, or buy a candy thermometer and make fudge the more difficult way. I like the crumbly texture of well-made fudge. This was a tad too smooth for my taste.
And so I don't sound completely ungrateful and complain-y: I really do like your site. As other people have mentioned, the pictures are really helpful to get an idea of what the food should look like. Also, the chart format is nifty :] It helps me figure out what I can measure and mix ahead of time. You do not want to know how many times I've smacked my forehead in frustration after mixing all the dry ingredients together for the crust only to realize that the sugar and flour should really go in the curd / what-have-you. Silly me.
/endrambling.
Thanks for the baking inspiration, i have never baked before and only got the urge to start from your simple recipes and pictures! Keep up the great work!