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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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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