Old-Fashioned Chocolate Fudge
By America's Test KitchenPublished on March 21, 2013
Time
2 hours, plus 4 hours cooling
Yield
Makes 4 pounds
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Corn syrup can be substituted for the chocolate syrup. Avoid stirring the fudge while cooking. If during cooking in step 3 you notice a thick edge of syrup that is not boiling, briefly stir the syrup with a clean wooden spoon. You can skip the step of shocking the hot pan in cool water, but if so you should remove the fudge from the heat when it’s 1 to 2 degrees cooler, in order to compensate for the heat from the pan further cooking the syrup; the syrup will also take 10 to 20 minutes longer to cool. If it is raining or especially humid when you are making fudge, boil the syrup in step 3 to 237 or 238 degrees before you start to test for doneness. This will compensate for the added moisture the sugar will absorb from the air. If the fudge sets too soon and crumbles when you try to spread it into the pan, reheat it over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until some of the sugar melts and the fudge becomes more fluid. Continue to stir until the fudge cools again and can be spread easily. Tightly wrapped in waxed paper or plastic, the fudge can be stored for up to 2 weeks in a cool cabinet or 3 months in the freezer. Defrost frozen fudge thoroughly before eating. For a complete illustrated guide, refer to the illustrations below.
Instructions
- Fill large saucepan 3/4 full with hot water and heat on medium-low heat until bubbles begin to form. Place candy thermometer, pastry brush, and wooden spoon in water to keep utensils clean and reduce heat to low to keep water warm. Fill cup or bowl large enough to hold wooden spoon with ice and cold water. Cut 18-inch length foil and fold lengthwise to 8-inch width. Fit foil into length of 13 by 9-inch baking dish, pushing it into corners and up sides of pan; allow excess to overhang pan edges. Cut 14-inch length foil and fit into width of baking pan in same manner, perpendicular to first sheet. (If using extra-wide foil, fold second sheet lengthwise to 12-inch width.) Fill sink 1-inch deep with room-temperature water. Place butter and 6 ounces (170 grams) chocolate in freezer.
- Heat sugars, salt, chocolate syrup, milk, and remaining unfrozen 6 ounces (170 grams) chocolate in large Dutch oven over medium heat, stirring constantly with clean wooden spoon, until chocolate melts, 6 to 12 minutes. Clean wooden spoon with hot running water to remove all sugar crystals; place spoon, handle down, in container filled with ice water. Using pastry brush from hot water bath, wash down small segment of side of pot to remove any sugar crystals. Continue to wash sides of pot, dipping brush back into hot water before wiping down another part of pot, until no sugar crystals remain. Attach candy thermometer to side of pot and continue to cook until syrup boils.
- Boil sugar syrup until it reaches 236 degrees, about 30 minutes, then begin testing for doneness. Remove wooden spoon from ice water and dip handle into sugar syrup, sweeping and twisting 2 to 3 times to coat end of handle with syrup. Place spoon handle in ice water, twisting handle so syrup does not slide off, until syrup is cool enough to handle, 5 to 10 seconds. Gather cooled syrup with your fingers and try to roll into ball. If syrup forms soft ball that will flatten when lightly pressed between 2 fingers, remove syrup from heat, about 238 degrees. (If heat of your fingers heats sugar too quickly, dip them, with syrup, back into water and try to form ball.) If syrup fails to form soft ball, continue to cook, checking every increase of 2 degrees (between 238 and 242 degrees) until soft ball is formed, 30 to 40 minutes total cooking time.
- Remove pot from heat and immediately place in prepared sink. Sprinkle frozen butter, chocolate, and vanilla over top of fudge. Cool pot in sink for 5 minutes. Transfer pot to counter and let cool, without stirring, until fudge reaches 110 to 120 degrees, about 25 to 35 minutes.
- Using wooden spoon, stir to fully recombine ingredients. Once recombined, stir mixture 1 or 2 times around perimeter of pot, then lift spoonful of mixture about 1 foot above pot and let it drip back into pot. Repeat stirring and lifting process 4 to 6 times, then let mixture rest 1 minute. Repeat process of stirring, lifting, and resting until mixture begins to lose its shine and becomes difficult to stir, about 8 to 12 minutes total.
- Quickly transfer fudge to prepared pan and spread in even layer with spatula (alternatively, place piece of wax paper on top of fudge and press into pan using your hands). Cool fudge at room temperature until firm, about 4 hours. Remove fudge from pan using foil and cut into squares.
Time
2 hours, plus 4 hours coolingYield
Makes 4 poundsIngredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
We learned several lessons in developing an old-fashioned chocolate fudge recipe with a slightly grainy texture and melt-in-your-mouth creaminess: Add more chocolate than traditional fudge recipes call for; heat it precisely (getting the sugar syrup to 234 degrees will make your fudge too soft but getting the temperature up to 238 degrees will give it the right crumbly texture); cool it quickly (we froze half of the chocolate to stir into the cooked mixture along with frozen butter to cool the fudge down fast). Finally, the process takes big muscles. While our “lazy man” method cut stirring time considerably, it still takes strength.
Before You Begin
Corn syrup can be substituted for the chocolate syrup. Avoid stirring the fudge while cooking. If during cooking in step 3 you notice a thick edge of syrup that is not boiling, briefly stir the syrup with a clean wooden spoon. You can skip the step of shocking the hot pan in cool water, but if so you should remove the fudge from the heat when it’s 1 to 2 degrees cooler, in order to compensate for the heat from the pan further cooking the syrup; the syrup will also take 10 to 20 minutes longer to cool. If it is raining or especially humid when you are making fudge, boil the syrup in step 3 to 237 or 238 degrees before you start to test for doneness. This will compensate for the added moisture the sugar will absorb from the air. If the fudge sets too soon and crumbles when you try to spread it into the pan, reheat it over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until some of the sugar melts and the fudge becomes more fluid. Continue to stir until the fudge cools again and can be spread easily. Tightly wrapped in waxed paper or plastic, the fudge can be stored for up to 2 weeks in a cool cabinet or 3 months in the freezer. Defrost frozen fudge thoroughly before eating. For a complete illustrated guide, refer to the illustrations below.
Instructions
- Fill large saucepan 3/4 full with hot water and heat on medium-low heat until bubbles begin to form. Place candy thermometer, pastry brush, and wooden spoon in water to keep utensils clean and reduce heat to low to keep water warm. Fill cup or bowl large enough to hold wooden spoon with ice and cold water. Cut 18-inch length foil and fold lengthwise to 8-inch width. Fit foil into length of 13 by 9-inch baking dish, pushing it into corners and up sides of pan; allow excess to overhang pan edges. Cut 14-inch length foil and fit into width of baking pan in same manner, perpendicular to first sheet. (If using extra-wide foil, fold second sheet lengthwise to 12-inch width.) Fill sink 1-inch deep with room-temperature water. Place butter and 6 ounces (170 grams) chocolate in freezer.
- Heat sugars, salt, chocolate syrup, milk, and remaining unfrozen 6 ounces (170 grams) chocolate in large Dutch oven over medium heat, stirring constantly with clean wooden spoon, until chocolate melts, 6 to 12 minutes. Clean wooden spoon with hot running water to remove all sugar crystals; place spoon, handle down, in container filled with ice water. Using pastry brush from hot water bath, wash down small segment of side of pot to remove any sugar crystals. Continue to wash sides of pot, dipping brush back into hot water before wiping down another part of pot, until no sugar crystals remain. Attach candy thermometer to side of pot and continue to cook until syrup boils.
- Boil sugar syrup until it reaches 236 degrees, about 30 minutes, then begin testing for doneness. Remove wooden spoon from ice water and dip handle into sugar syrup, sweeping and twisting 2 to 3 times to coat end of handle with syrup. Place spoon handle in ice water, twisting handle so syrup does not slide off, until syrup is cool enough to handle, 5 to 10 seconds. Gather cooled syrup with your fingers and try to roll into ball. If syrup forms soft ball that will flatten when lightly pressed between 2 fingers, remove syrup from heat, about 238 degrees. (If heat of your fingers heats sugar too quickly, dip them, with syrup, back into water and try to form ball.) If syrup fails to form soft ball, continue to cook, checking every increase of 2 degrees (between 238 and 242 degrees) until soft ball is formed, 30 to 40 minutes total cooking time.
- Remove pot from heat and immediately place in prepared sink. Sprinkle frozen butter, chocolate, and vanilla over top of fudge. Cool pot in sink for 5 minutes. Transfer pot to counter and let cool, without stirring, until fudge reaches 110 to 120 degrees, about 25 to 35 minutes.
- Using wooden spoon, stir to fully recombine ingredients. Once recombined, stir mixture 1 or 2 times around perimeter of pot, then lift spoonful of mixture about 1 foot above pot and let it drip back into pot. Repeat stirring and lifting process 4 to 6 times, then let mixture rest 1 minute. Repeat process of stirring, lifting, and resting until mixture begins to lose its shine and becomes difficult to stir, about 8 to 12 minutes total.
- Quickly transfer fudge to prepared pan and spread in even layer with spatula (alternatively, place piece of wax paper on top of fudge and press into pan using your hands). Cool fudge at room temperature until firm, about 4 hours. Remove fudge from pan using foil and cut into squares.
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