Simple Fudge Recipe - Candy & Confectionery Recipes

Candy & Confectionery Recipes > Simple Fudge

How to make simple fudge:

A simple fudge recipe. See Cooking with Sugar for information on the tricky process of boiling sugar.

Ingredients

2 cups (1lb) granulated sugar
1/2 pint milk
4 tablespoons (2oz) butter
(see measure conversions for more information)

Method

- Put the ingredients into a strong saucepan.
- Put saucepan onto the lowest heat of the smallest ring and stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar has dissolved.

It is EXTREMELEY IMPORTANT that all the sugar is dissolved. Test for this by tapping the wooden spoon on the bottom of the pan. If there is any undissolved sugar there it will "crunch" under the spoon. Just leave the pan on the lowest setting and it will boil. Boil steadily leaving the heat at the lowest setting. Do not turn the heat up. Stir only VERY occasionally and gently just to make sure the mixture isn't burning. Just do this (i.e. boil and stir VERY occasionally) until the mixture forms into a soft ball when a little is dropped from a spoon into a saucer of cold water. This means that you can squeeze the mixture dropped into the cold water together with your fingers and it will form a very soft ball. THIS CAN TAKE WHAT SEEMS LIKE A LONG TIME, up to about 20 mins but the most important thing is what happens when you test a drop of mixture in the saucer of water. BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO BURN YOURSELF BECAUSE THE FUDGE MIXTURE IS VERY HOT.

- Remove from the heat and stir with a wooden spoon (careful it is very hot) until the mixture starts to thicken. It is now beginning to set and will do so rapidly.
- Pour into a prepared tin greased with butter or vegetable oil.
- When nearly set cut into pieces.

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heh i accidently used caster sugar and it didn't look like it should in the pan...
so i figured i'd add some chocolate and just see what happened...
i think i'll taste nice but i don't think it'll be much like fudge ^_^;

#69 - caroline - 08/31/2010 - 05:19

i found that hard or block butter made it very hard and toffee like, did i do i right? should i change it and try it with spread butter like stalk?

#68 - charlei - 08/30/2010 - 16:37

I live out here in Alexandria Egypt and trying to find such "complex" equipment as a sugar themometer is a non starter,my egyptian friends adore sweet things and have been making them a chocolate covered Flapjack ,so decided to try fudge,found that attention is V Important,timing next dont get impatient, best ingriedients you can source,and a sense of adventure,try adding some Marshmallows to the mix about 10,chopped nuts,dried fruits etc ,Good Luck,Great web site.

#67 - Dave C (Alex Egypt) - 08/13/2010 - 23:06

i made it but the mixture went yellow :/

#66 - emma - 08/01/2010 - 04:20

I keep trying to make fudge and it turns out as tablet! I boiled sugar, milk and evap milk to the soft ball stage, let it col for 5 mins then beat it with a food mixer, where am I going wrong? Thanks!

#65 - rebecca - 07/18/2010 - 12:59

PS definitely use full fat milk if you're using milk, and agree with above, block butter not spreads

#64 - jennie - 05/09/2010 - 03:36

I've made quite a lot of fudge but as others have said, I use condensed milk instead of milk (carnation or similar). I've found that it doesn't set right if it hasn't been heated long enough.
It needs a good 15-20 mins bubbling, take note of the tip about the sugar being dissolved. you don't really need a thermometer, a cup of cold water to test if it goes into a ball. If it's not cooked enough it will just be a slither when dropped in the water, but if it is right it goes into a little ball traight away.
Also I mix it very gently continuously through the heating stage, and once cooked leave it in the pan to cool a few minutes a few minutes before stirring vigourously for about 5 mins to bring it together. I only add the vanilla at this stage too. I have found you can't taste the vanilla if you add it when the mixture is stll hot. Hope it helps. Be gentle with it!!!!

#63 - jennie - 05/09/2010 - 03:34

Thankyou!!
Brilliant recipie!! I found though that although my mixture initially looked like it seperated, after like 20 or 30 minutes simmering, that once I just gave it a slightly bigger flame it all came together!
I did find though that the water in the sauce pan has to be very cold, for the rollable mixture to form when a little of the mixture is put into it to know when to take the fudge off the heat!!
Worked out wonderfully, and I found the stirring of the mixture once off the heat was 8 minutes!!

#62 - Kyran - 04/15/2010 - 06:47

this recipe looks really gd and i cant wait to try it :p lol

#61 - sscook - 03/22/2010 - 11:48

ive tried to make ur fudge to tbh having a boiling slush isnt what i expected i will try again just hope this time turns out better

#60 - sam - 02/16/2010 - 16:59

I TRIED THIS AND IT WORKED OUT WELL GOOD I WANT TO SAY THIS WEBSITE IS GREAT! THANK YOU

#59 - JODIE - 02/10/2010 - 12:44

i made this fudge it was great

Thanks

#58 - Julie MArks - 02/01/2010 - 09:55

watched it gently boil away for over an hour until deciding to ignore the "don't turn the heat up" instruction and gradually increased the heat until it started to do something more interesting...that seemed to work for me (as I didn't have a thermometer).

#57 - Ant - 01/17/2010 - 12:40

i haven't tried it but i am a bit worried thet it might go frothy like some of the other peoples has done so what could i do to prevent that from happening?

#56 - sallyyyy - 12/31/2009 - 08:08

Love these comments and the sharing of fundge angst - makes me feel so much better about my gloopy effort

#55 - zapping zoom - 12/23/2009 - 02:24

My mixture separated out quite early on in the heating, is this because I used semi skimmed milk, ie the fat content wasn't high enough??? I kept going anyway and have a cooling mixture that looks vaguely promising but there are little white flecks all through. Final verdict once cooled so jury still out.

#54 - Jane - 12/21/2009 - 17:11

I have just made my second batch of fudge. With the first batch I was following a different recipe which didn't mention either soft ball or a jam thermometer - it was a bit of a disaster. However, I re-heated the mixture to a runny consistency and strained the cranberries which I had added. Then I boiled it up to 'soft ball' temperature using the advise on this site and it was brilliant. My second batch is 'rum and raisin' well 'sultanas in malibu' as that is what I have in the cupboard.

So the answer is, yes you can re-heat the mixture if it doesn't set. If you choose not to strain the added nuts/berries etc I am not sure how well they will survive a rapid boil.

#53 - Chris - 12/21/2009 - 09:10

I make fudge and have no problems at all, but i do use a tin of condensed milk, 1lb of soft brown sugar, 4oz of butter and 1/4 pint of full milk. Slow melt till all mixed in and combined - looks like runny caramel. Then bring to boil, then simmer for 10 mins until it forms a soft ball in a glass of ICE cold water, take off heat and beat for 10 - 15 mins till thickens then add chopped nuts or whatever you fancy. Pour into tin and leave to cool completely in which time it will have set. Then ENJOY!

#52 - Alison - 12/15/2009 - 07:55

How long will this keep for once made?

#51 - Rebecca - 12/10/2009 - 14:49

I come from a family that has made candy for generations. Heres some things that might help. Add the butter after it comes to soft ball stage, and you need to mix until it loses its shine. A trick to do this is fill your sink with 4 inches of cold water, set the pan down in the water ( careful not to get any IN the pan, and then mix like crazy for about 3 minutes. THEN pour into the pan.
You can add 1/2 cup peanut butter with the butter or add some cooking cocco for chocolate fudge.

Its ALWAYS easier to make any candy when you use a candy thermometer.

#50 - Rhonda - 12/05/2009 - 17:51

I have been making a very similar fudge recipe to this for years. The only difference is that I add a tin of condensed milk as will as the half pint of milk. Becareful of not cooking it too long as it becomes very hard once it sets. If the fudge doesn't set it is because it hasn't been cooked long enough. I usually find if it is cooked for approx 30min from it boiling this is usually produces acceptable results.

#49 - Andrew - 12/04/2009 - 02:20

How long does this fudge last

#48 - Catrin Emily Buckley - 11/28/2009 - 13:25

Mine was just like runny chocolate,made it with cooking chocolate by the way,ah well try again.Costing me a mint trying to get it right!

#47 - steve - 11/26/2009 - 12:50

I just attempted to make fudge for the first time and it came out perfectly!!! I will be making it to sell at the school fete...just follow the recipe with a little patience and it will turn out perfect.
To get it to darken slightly cook it a little longer.

#46 - Mike P. - 11/22/2009 - 06:56

u should use condensed millk instead of normal millk as it helps it to set.

#45 - milly - 11/21/2009 - 05:40

Phew!Glad I've finished! I would not call this a simple fudge recipe.. more like a 2hr fudge recipe from start to finish! Just waiting for it to cool now!

#44 - Elizabeth Grinnell - 11/18/2009 - 14:35

Worked great and tasted fantastic. Does take a long time to caramelize - About 45 Min. The kids loved it.

#43 - Arthur T - 11/14/2009 - 10:56

How long does it take to set ?

#42 - serina - 11/07/2009 - 10:19

Help! My butter is staying at the top in a liquid and I'm too scared to mix it too much!!!!

#41 - Amyy - 10/27/2009 - 06:38

for me it worked well but it took me about 45 mins for it too go right

#40 - Aaron - 09/08/2009 - 13:27

Having read the comments, I'm now really scared of trying to make fudge. But sweet slime sounds easy enough.

#39 - Dave T - 09/05/2009 - 01:50

I threw mine to the floor in ANGER just like mark did ;)

#38 - Louise - 08/30/2009 - 12:42

I tried this fudge recipe last night, i didn't get the soft ball , took longer to cook than recipe said, but it did set and was a lovely pale colour, but just tastes like eating sugar, very grainy too, but i will not be defeated by a mere fudge recipe, next time i'll try castor sugar instead of granulated and full fat milk instead of semi skimmed. I WILL CONQUER THE FUDGE, lol

#37 - tracey - 08/30/2009 - 00:30

Worked really well. At first i was nervous. If you follow the instuctions carefuly then your fudge should turn out well. The tip of dropping a little mixture in to cold water helped alot, keep boiling untill the mixture does form a soft ball. Dont be tempted to take short cuts.

#36 - Hannah - 08/05/2009 - 06:52

hey,
tried this last night but it hasnt set, ive re-read instructions and will try again later, practice makes perfect!!

#35 - Sue - 11/24/2008 - 06:03

I have just made fudge yesterday and it worked ok. I have had problems in the past, and they were all about temperature. Buy a sugar thermometer, and when it reaches soft ball it will be ok.

#34 - KATH - 11/13/2008 - 05:18

this is taking longer than 20 mins and the butter is just staying at the top its not going into a ball. help?

#33 - michael - 10/30/2008 - 07:58

I am a 14 year old who has made this, It tastes Exellent, But it has not thinkened Any Help :(

#32 - Mark - 10/21/2008 - 14:34

It does seem to work but it's tricky. Would it help to add a bit more butter or would that just screw the whole thing up.

#31 - John - 10/18/2008 - 14:21

I can't believe it's not fudge! This recipe is terrible! It didn't work , after about an hour the colour hadn't changed and it did not perform at ALL in the drop test. When finally I took it off the heat for it to thicken, it set grainy and so unlike any fudge I have ever seen that I threw it to the ground in anger!

#30 - Manielle - 10/15/2008 - 15:54

best website EVER

#29 - Alan - 09/04/2008 - 16:23

if its not setting try adding a little golden syrup, but not too much or you'll get toffee(1/2 tsp should be enough)

#28 - Kai - 08/24/2008 - 11:55

Thanks for your comment. Yes cooking needs plenty of practise,just like everything else.

#27 - mary - 08/18/2008 - 12:39

I have just read the comments people have made, i just need to say how many people have looked at a cook book and everything looks perfect but when you try it doesn't look that way when you try it, practice makes perfect. thx for the fudge....

#26 - JB - 08/10/2008 - 06:16

frothy boiling, is this normal? Do we have to go through this stage? Will it thicken in the pan before we take it off the heat? was i too impatient? argh! I need fudge! Can we re heat the non setting mixture?

#25 - paul - 06/25/2008 - 11:54

help!!!
i have tried the simple fudge recipe twice now and it turns out more like tablet....
where am i going wrong??
i follow the recipe step by step??

#24 - mid001 - 06/20/2008 - 17:47

Hi, Just tried to make fudge, it did look like it was getting thicker but then started getting darker and darker and wouldn't set. I Poured it out and it has set but looks like toffee. Where did I go wrong?

#23 - Claire Lawrence - 05/20/2008 - 07:02

to the ones whose mixture went grainy / sugary/ granular / like tablet etc: you've either cooked it too fast or stirred too much / too long This can be avoided by adding a touch of liquid glucose to the recipe ( inhibits crystillisation ) dont add too much. you need some degree of crystilisation otherwise you'll get soft toffee. If it doesn't set, either the soft ball is too soft ( should be like soft toffee when dropped in the ice water or measure 120 deg.C. ) and/or you haven't stirred enough afterward or it's been cooked too slowly. ( you need to give it the slightest of burn ) The amount of stirring afterward is the key to success, more critical than the final temperature.If you stir until it just begins to grain, although it's still hot and of pouring consistency then that's too much - you'll get a very fine tablet. you need to set fudge before cutting. use a tray lined with silicone rather than just greased if you're a beginner. oh , and I tend not to stir too much whilst boiling, just enough to check if it's at the right gas. If you get the method right then it's a simple case of varying the final temp. up or down a few deg. to tailor the firmness to your personal taste. Now you should be able to make any kind of toffee, tablet or fudge by choice!! Easy eh?

P.S Mark;- you need to place your pan on the cooker and apply heat to the underside.

#22 - Bakermark - 04/24/2008 - 12:30

my fudge went fine but went i tasted the ball wot u put in the cold water it tasted more like toffee than fudge will it go soft like fudge

#21 - loraaa - 04/02/2008 - 06:02

it is my third attempt at fudge.it worked for me.but you must use real butter,not butter spreads

#20 - nikola - 03/07/2008 - 12:46

Are you sure this is a recipe for fudge? I made it this week and the end product was tablet!

#19 - Caroline - 02/23/2008 - 05:55

it was worth buying a sugar thermometer to be able to make fudge properly. try adding a tin of condensed milk to the recipe. ps i ain't thick eileen, i just haven't ever cooked much before, on account of the fact i've got a wife, and a mum. ;-)

#18 - Harry - 02/12/2008 - 14:00

Just about to pop to Tesco to buy ingredients - student cooking, only three ingredients... how hard can it be?

#17 - Si & Lou - 01/11/2008 - 12:13

making fudge appeared pretty simple from the couple of recipes i've read - turns out it's well difficult. the two batches of sweet slime i've made so far have been very tasty mind you.

#16 - harry - 01/05/2008 - 13:59

If you struggle with this recipe there is a easy one on Nestle website!! This one worked for me though thanxs xx

#15 - Lisa - 12/23/2007 - 08:48

i did everything the recipe said, making sure all the sugar had dissolved. if anything i boiled it longer than stated. All was well until i tasted it. it tasted perfect, but all i could feel was the sugar. what have i done wrong?

#14 - Claire - 12/18/2007 - 08:06

I boiled mixture for 35 mins, was starting to form a ball, but the mixture has regranulated on cooling. What went wrong?
Can I reboil it?

#13 - Ingrid - 12/09/2007 - 08:49

In any recipe I would assume whole milk unless skimmed or semi-skimmed were specifically mentioned. Cream can be used to make fudge. Have a look at the Extra Rich Fudge recipe.Most of us drink pasteurised milk (heated to 71.7 degrees C. to kill bacteria)unless we have access to a cow or to a farm that sells untreated milk and UHT milk is merely milk heated to a higher temperature (135 degrees C.)to make it last longer. I would not use UHT milk in any recipe unless specifically indicated mainly because it has quite a strong taste.

#12 - Mary - 10/16/2007 - 10:59

Do I need full cream milk ? The semi skimmed & full skimmed often fail in other recipies as you need the fat content.
Often this requirement is not stated in the general ingredients - I presume UHT will work as well as pasturised?
Can I use cream instead as in the commercial full cream fudge - if so should I use single / double or whipping? & how much?

#11 - Mike - 10/16/2007 - 08:17

Are these people thick? if the mix goes into a ball its ready to stir till it thickens I did it and it worked out perfect, thank you for this recipe,,,

#10 - eileen - 10/04/2007 - 18:35

this is the second recipe and the second time ive tried, worked perfectly, stick with it it will go to soft balls after about 20 mins

#9 - brett - 09/30/2007 - 09:44

try, try and try again.

#8 - john - 09/18/2007 - 12:51

this is rubbish its just a pan of milk with butter in it and some sugar at the bottom

#7 - mark - 09/13/2007 - 10:18

We have just re-tested this recipe and it does work - honest! We have re-written the recipe with a lot more detail and hints. Also we will try to put up a photo of the batch of fudge we have just made. Have another go and let us know how you get on.

#6 - Mary. - 08/04/2007 - 13:53

What happened!?! I did everything you told me to and it didn't work! I didn't get a soft ball and it turned into froth and it didn't thicken

#5 - Kazi Tassawar Iqbal - 08/04/2007 - 09:30

I made the fudge exacly to the above & it isn't setting, any ideas ??

#4 - Andy - 08/04/2007 - 07:23

It all goes back to the sugar temperature. The chart on "Cooking with Sugar" page says that soft ball is between 113 - 118 degrees C so check with a sugar thermometer.
Also make sure that all the sugar is dissolved properly before you start boiling.

#3 - John - 07/05/2007 - 06:39

why did it not set? it stayed sloppy. i followed all instructions properly.

#2 - J - 07/05/2007 - 06:16

When the sugar is boiling it does go frothy but as with all sugar cooking you need to be guided by its temperature or by the mixture's reaction to cold water when a small blob is dropped in. If it is frothing too much (i.e. to the point that it is spilling over the saucepan's sides) then simply turn the heat down. It does take practise to be able to cook confidently with sugar! Good luck.

#1 - James - 04/20/2007 - 10:54

my mixture has gone all frothy! what shall i do?

#0 - Theo - 04/20/2007 - 03:36


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