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This Easy Chocolate Fudge is actually a cooked fudge, like you get at an actual candy shop: it’s rich and practically melts in your mouth. Cooked fudge can be intimidating, but don’t worry, this one is actually easy and practically no-fail. Plus the secret ingredient will blow your mind!
Old Fashioned Chocolate Fudge
I’ve been making fudge for so many years, and typically I make the easy fudge with sweetened condensed milk because it’s, well, easy. There’s no guesswork and no candy thermometer needed, but if you’ve ever tasted a cooked fudge you’ll know it’s 100 times better than the 5 minute fudge I grew up on.
Creamy chocolate fudge doesn’t need a candy thermometer, taking all the guesswork out of cooked fudge (and making it as easy as the cheater kind). The secret ingredient is actually cheese, and it makes the creamiest texture! Trust me, you don’t taste it. All you taste is delicious, rich, creamy chocolate fudge!
Chocolate Fudge Ingredients
- Block American cheese or white cheddar cheese: American is great because it melts fast, but cheddar works too.
- Butter: always start with unsalted butter!
- The powdered sugar and cocoa give this fudge the sweetness and chocolatey flavor. When it comes to nuts, you can leave them out, and you can use your favorite, although I love walnuts or pecans in fudge.
- Nuts (optional) – Use your favorite kind
Dorothy’s Chocolate Fudge Tips
- Make sure you read the recipe before starting.
- Make sure ALL your ingredients are assembled and measured out, and your pan is ready, before starting. Fudge making is fast work and you need to be prepared.
- For this recipe, I recommend a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment if you have one. If not, a hand mixer and a (very) large bowl will work too. You can stir this by hand but it’s a very thick mixture, so a mixer will help.
- If your powdered sugar or cocoa powder have any lumps at all, be sure to sift them before making the fudge. You don’t want lumps of cocoa in your finished candy.
Creamy Chocolate Fudge Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds powdered sugar, 907g
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 50g
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 8 ounces block American Cheese, 227g
- 1 cup unsalted butter, 227g, sliced
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups chopped nuts, optional, (pecans or walnuts work best, but use your favorite)
Instructions
- Important: read the recipe and notes before beginning.
- Prepare a 9-inch square pan by lining it with foil and spraying with nonstick spray.
- Place powdered sugar and cocoa in a large bowl and whisk to combine. If there are lots of lumps, sift them together, but just whisking should be fine. Set aside.
- Add butter and cheese to a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, until it’s melted and smooth.
- Remove from the heat as soon as it’s melted together and immediately stir the cheese mixture into the sugar mixture. Don’t let the cheese mixture cool or it will thicken too much.
- Stir the vanilla and nuts and mix well into the fudge mixture. Immediately press into the prepared pan.
- Chill in the refrigerator until firm, about 1-2 hours. Slice and serve.
Notes
- It’s easiest to make this with a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, but otherwise just use a large bowl and a wooden spoon or a hand mixer (the mixture will be thick and stiff to stir).
- When making fudge it is important you have all your ingredients measured and your pan ready to go. It’s a quick recipe – be sure to read these instructions before beginning.
- You can also put this in a 9×13-inch pan to make more, smaller pieces. Don’t use smaller than a 9-inch square.
- To use SALTED BUTTER: omit the salt in the recipe.
- If you can’t find block american cheese, you can use white cheddar as well.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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How to Store Fudge
- Fudge is one of my favorite things to make, especially at the holidays, because it has a longer shelf life than other baked goods. This will last about a week in the refrigerator
- You can even freeze it for up to a month. Make sure to store it in an airtight container (a gallon size resealable bag is best). Fudge is also great for shipping because it stays good so long!
How to make Chocolate Fudge
- It’s very important to whisk your dry ingredients together first.
- The cheese and butter should melt together easily.
- Once it boils it’s ready to add to the sugar.
- The texture is very thick and presses easily into a pan.
FAQ about making fudge
The best thing about this recipe is that shouldn’t happen, because you’re not cooking sugar.
Another great thing about this recipe is it sets quickly, so after about an hour in the fridge it should be perfect.
If you don’t mix the cheese mixture into the powdered sugar immediately after removing it from the heat, it can start to solidify. If that happens, reheat it a bit to re-melt the cheese and butter, and add 1 tablespoon of water if needed to thin.
Again, this recipe makes a pretty perfect fudge, so it shouldn’t be crumbly. But if it is, ask yourself if you made any substitutions. Or, did you pack your powdered sugar (and thus use too much?)
You can omit or change the nuts, or use other mix-ins (like candy). Same goes with the vanilla; I think other flavored extracts would be delicious. See the recipe for how to use salted butter instead of unsalted, but you MUST use REAL butter (no substitutes or spreads). You cannot omit the cheese or the recipe won’t work.
So easy to make and tastes great!