Easy Fudge

This Easy Fudge recipe is the perfect easy-to-make treat that’s ready in minutes and made with only 2 simple ingredients! A quick stove-top or microwave chocolate fudge recipe – no candy thermometer required!

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

Fudge is one of the most classic and iconic homemade candy recipes, and it’s a been a staple on our holiday baking list for years and years! This Easy Chocolate Fudge recipe is one of our favourite simple recipes to make for holiday baking trays and cookie swaps.

It makes the perfect edible gift at Christmas for friends, neighbours and teachers, it’s one of the easiest holiday treats you’ll ever make! It’s made with only 2 ingredients (yes, you read that right!) and can be made on the stove-top or even in the microwave. It’s truly the most simple of holiday recipes and we know you’re going to love it!

Unlike most complicated fudge recipes that need to be boiled and measured with a candy thermometer, making chocolate fudge with sweetened condensed milk lets you cut through all the complicated steps and make delicious fudge in minutes with almost no effort at all! It’s truly the secret ingredient for easy holiday treats.

Start with high-quality chocolate and real canned sweetened condensed milk. The better the ingredients, the tastier your fudge will be and the more easily it will come together. Avoid chocolate or sweetened condensed milk with a lot of additives and a long ingredients list. These added ingredients can cause the fudge to separate and can prevent it from having the perfect texture.

Finely chopping the chocolate allows for quicker and more even melting, whether you’re using the microwave or stovetop. Be sure to use baking chocolate that you chop yourself or baking chocolate discs meant for baking and melting. Avoid using chocolate chips.

Consistent heat is key. If you’re using a microwave, heat the mixture in short bursts at medium to low temperature and stir frequently to prevent overheating or hot spots. On the stovetop, a low and steady heat and using a non-stick saucepan will prevent the bottom from scorching.

Patience pays off! When mixing the hot sweetened condensed milk with your chocolate, do it gently with a silicone spatula, not a whisk, and mix patiently until the mixture is smooth and all the chocolate is melted.

Line your pan with parchment paper for easy removal. Leave an overhang to lift the fudge out once it’s set for easy slicing.

Setting time is crucial. Refrigerate your fudge until it’s completely set, which can take a couple of hours. Rushing this process can result in a fudgy, sticky mess and pieces of fudge that don’t keep their shape.

Here’s a trick for cutting cleanly: Dip your knife in hot water and wipe it clean between cuts for the neatest, cleanest squares.

This often happens if the sugar in the condensed milk recrystallizes. To avoid this, make sure to stir the mixture just enough to blend the ingredients, but not too much as to introduce excess sugar crystals.

If your fudge hasn’t set properly, it might need more time in the fridge. However, if it’s still soft after adequate chilling, it may be due to under-measured chocolate or over-measured condensed milk.

This can be the result of overcooking the chocolate and condensed milk mixture or using too much chocolate. Remember, gentle heat and accurate measurements are your friends.

If the fats seem to separate from the mixture, it can be due to overheating, overmixing, or using poor quality ingredients. Next time, reduce the heat and heat slowly. Be sure to mix until just combined.

Be sure your condensed milk is not past its expiry date as it can affect how the fudge sets. Also, check that you’ve used the correct ratio of ingredients.

When it comes to holiday baking fudge is a classic treat! We’ve shared so many holiday sweets and treats with you here on The Busy Baker – here are our readers’ favourites:

• Whipped Shortbread Holiday Cookies (Christmas)
• Earl Grey Cookies with Lemon Glaze (Shortbread Recipe)
• Oreo Fudge
• Peppermint White Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
• Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
• Chocolate Caramel Shortbread Bars (Homemade Twix Bars)
• Easy 3-Ingredient Chocolate Orange Fudge

And if you’re looking for more delicious holiday treats, we have a FREE Guide to surviving the holidays with all the best tips, tricks and recipes for simple holiday sweets. Sign up for FREE below:

And there’s more where that came from! Our Easy No Fail Holiday Meals Guide is available now in The Busy Baker Shop!

Here’s a list of the basic kitchen equipment you’ll need to make this delicious stovetop or microwave easy fudge recipe (paid links):

• a medium-sized pot, bonus if it’s non-stick
• measuring cups
• a chopping board
• a good knife for chopping
• a silicone spatula
• an 8-inch by 8-inch square baking pan
• parchment paper
• a microwave (optional, for the microwave version)
• a microwave-safe mixing bowl (optional, for the microwave version)

Holiday baking requires that you have some basic kitchen equipment on hand. Here’s a list of our favourite kitchen items for baking during the holiday season (paid links):

1. A Stand Mixer. A stand mixer is one of our favourite pieces of kitchen equipment, especially for holiday baking. It makes whipping up cookie dough or dough for cinnamon buns an absolute breeze, and whipping cream or egg whites takes almost no effort at all with a stand mixer. This KitchenAid stand mixer is one we’ve used for almost 20 years and we love it!
2. A Hand Mixer. A good quality hand mixer is a great substitute for a stand mixer if you don’t have one and a stand mixer isn’t a good fit for your budget. We love our KitchenAid hand mixer and use it all the time in The Busy Baker kitchen!
3. Good Quality Mixing Bowls. Having a set of good mixing bowls is critical for holiday baking. Whether you’re melting chocolate or whipping up cookie dough, these stainless steel mixing bowls do a great job!
4. Measuring Cups and Spoons. Measuring your ingredients properly is an important part of baking. Here’s a set of measuring cups and spoons for dry ingredients we recommend.
5. Liquid Measuring Cups. When measuring liquid ingredients it’s important to use measuring cups that are meant for measuring liquids. These liquid measuring cups are our favourite ones.
6. A Kitchen Scale. If you’re preparing a more difficult recipe that requires that your ingredient amounts be precise, a kitchen scale is great because you can accurately measure your ingredients in grams or ounces. Here’s our favourite kitchen scale we use almost daily.
7. A Whisk. A whisk is an important tool for blending dry ingredients, making glazes or sauces, and so many other uses! Here’s our favourite whisk to use for baking.
8. A Silicone Spatula. A silicone spatula is great for scraping down the bowl when baking, and incorporating ingredients together without adding air into your batter. It’s always a bonus when your silicone spatulas are heat safe for making caramel on the stovetop. Check out our favourite silicone spatulas for baking!
9. Microwave Safe Bowls. Because you can’t put metal in the microwave, having a good set of glass or pyrex bowls is important for tasks like melting chocolate in the microwave. Here’s our favourite set of pyrex bowls for baking.
10. Baking Sheets. What kind of baking sheets you use will depend on the size of your oven, but these Nordic Ware Baking Sheets and these Wilton Baking Sheets are our top 2 favourite baking sheets for all our baking needs.
11. Parchment Paper. We always stock up on parchment paper before the holidays because it’s the best way to keep your baking sheets from becoming stained, it prevents your cookies from sticking when baking, and it helps keep your holiday treats looking beautiful when they’re packed and stored in the freezer.
12. A Cookie Scoop. We love our cookie scoop and use it every single time we bake cookies! It creates cookies that are uniform in size and shape which helps them not only look beautiful but also bake evenly!
13. A Silicone Turner. Removing your cookies from the baking sheet with precision requires a turner that easily slips underneath the cookies. Here’s our favourite silicone turner for this job!
14. Cooling Racks. Cooling your holiday baking before before storing is absolutely critical, so having a set of cooling racks on hand is essential!

To make this super easy fudge recipe, you’ll only need these two basic ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen (paid links):

• 500 grams semi-sweet chocolate approximately 18 ounces
• 1 small can sweetened condensed milk 14 ounces or 397 ml

To make this recipe even easier, here’s how to make this Chocolate Fudge recipe in the microwave:

1. Add the sweetened condensed milk to a microwave-safe bowl. Chop the chocolate into very small pieces and set it aside.
2. Microwave the sweetened condensed milk in 30 to 45 second increments at 50% power until it’s hot and very liquid. It should become very fluid.
3. Add the chopped chocolate to the hot sweetened condensed milk and stir gently with a silicone spatula. Try not to incorporate any air into the mixture – you simply want the chocolate to melt in the warm liquid.
4. Once the chocolate has melted completely, pour it into the prepared pan and refrigerate to set.

We hope you love this deliciously easy chocolate fudge recipe! Let us know in the comments below, what’s your favourite easy holiday treat to make? We’d love to know!

• Oreo Fudge
• Easy Brownies
• Chocolate Caramel Pecan Turtle Cookies
• Peanut Butter Fudge
• Easy 3-Ingredient Chocolate Orange Fudge
• Mint Oreo Fudge
• Earl Grey Cookies with Lemon Glaze (Shortbread Recipe)
• Peppermint White Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
• Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
• Whipped Shortbread Holiday Cookies (Christmas)
• Grandma’s Fudge Brownies