Chocolate Fudge Recipe

This (extremely more-ish) Chocolate Fudge is made the old-fashioned way with milk and sugar rather than condensed milk.

With step-by-step instructions, troubleshooting and tips included below, this Chocolate Fudge Recipe contains everything you need to up your sweet-making skills and create a rich, velvety chocolate treat that’ll have people raving.

The Recipe for Chocolate Fudge

This recipe comes directly from the pages of my Nan Mac’s handwritten recipe book.

Nan Mac was my maternal grandmother and Nana Ling‘s daughter. Nan Mac was home-schooled by Nana Ling, and she followed Nana Ling’s tradition of keeping a notebook filled with handwritten recipes.

It’s the type of recipe where you throw everything into the one saucepan and off you go.

But you do have to get the technique right, so keep reading this post rather than just relying on my nan’s handwritten notes below to make sure you end up with smooth and creamy blocks of fudge.

Ingredients for Chocolate Fudge

As I mentioned above, this isn’t one of the more modern recipes that calls for condensed milk.

Instead, you’ll need:

• gelatine
• sugar
• milk
• cocoa
• butter
• vanilla essence
• cream of tartar
• salt.

The ingredient quantities can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.

How to make Chocolate Fudge the old-fashioned way

Before we start, here are my top three tips for fudge-making:

1. Read through all of this section before making the fudge.
2. Don’t rush the process. Slow and steady – especially when bringing the mixture to a simmer – wins the fudge-making race.
3. When beating the fudge, go old school with a wooden spoon. DO NOT take the easy way out with a stand mixer or electric beater. It’s the old school Nana way of beating with a wooden spoon that makes the creamiest fudge and helps avoid the risk of overbeating (which leaves you with a sugary mess).

Okay, let’s make chocolate fudge!

Prepping

You’ll need s small dish or tin for the fudge, a bar tin or slightly smaller.

Lightly grease with butter.

Cooking Chocolate Fudge

Place all the ingredients in a large saucepan.

Stir the mixture over low heat, stirring gently to ensure the sugar dissolves.

Once the mixture is smooth and the sugar has dissolved, bring to a simmer and let simmer for 10 minutes.

You will only need very low heat to maintain a simmer.

DO NOT STIR during this cooking time. If there are sugar crystals on the side of the saucepan, use a heatproof brush dipped in a little milk to brush away sugar crystals.

Cooling and beating

Take the chocolate fudge mixture off the heat and allow to cool in the saucepan for 15 minutes.

Next, beat the mixture using a wooden spoon until mixture starts to lose its glossiness and becomes thicker and more creamy in texture. This should take less than 2 minutes.

The moment between beating too little (and mixture being too runny) and beating too much (and mixture becoming stiff and sugary) is fast.

Keep your eye on it and don’t be tempted to overbeat once it’s reached a creamy consistency which can still be poured.

TROUBLESHOOTING TIP: If you do overbeat and the mixture becomes crumbly and unable to be poured, don’t panic. Rescue it by putting it back over low heat and gently stirring until it reaches a creamy and pourable consistency. Then keep going with the next step below.

Setting

Pour fudge mixture into a small, lightly buttered dish.

Mark into squares and cut with a sharp knife once set.

More tips for smooth fudge-y success

Remember:

• Stir gently while bringing the mixture to a simmer and then DO NOT STIR AGAIN. Put down the wooden spoon.
• Using a heat-proof pastry brush and a little milk, brush any sugar from the sides of the saucepan. Sugar crystals are your enemy when making fudge.
• Remember: don’t cheat by using an electric mixer. There’s a very short timeframe between not beating enough and beating too much, so the wooden spoon gives you a lot more control here. Plus it’s a good arm workout.

Recipe FAQs

Q. How do I store Chocolate Fudge?

Store in a cool, dry place at room temperature. Do NOT store in the fridge as it will cause your fudge to become dry.

Q. How long will homemade Chocolate Fudge keep?

Stored in accordance with the above conditions, it will last up to a few weeks.

Q. Do you have any other old-fashioned sweet recipes?

Yes! You might like my recipes for Coconut Ice and Russian Caramels.

Q. Do you have more recipes from Nan Mac?

Yes! Nan Mac was best known in the family for her Mock Chicken, wonderful Sponges and Gramma Pie. I’ve also tested her handwritten recipes for Chocolate Eclairs and Mock Cream.