Sweetened Condensed Milk Fudge

Fudge is a rich, easy to make candy that will always satisfy the sweet tooth of a chocoholic. I like to make it around the because it makes a good gift and is very easy to ship, since you don’t have to worry about anything going stale between the time you make it and the time that your recipient gets the package.

This is a plain dark chocolate fudge that uses sweetened condensed milk. The sweetened condensed milk is very sweet and creamy, and it makes for a fudge that is quite smooth and has none of that grainy texture that you will find in some fudge recipes. It is also a neat ingredient because it allows you to streamline the process of making fudge and eliminates the need for using a candy thermometer. I add a little vanilla and a pinch of salt to the fudge to smooth out the darker notes of the dark chocolate. The finished fudge has a great dark chocolate flavor, a very rich texture and a hint of vanilla in the finish.

The easiest chocolates to use for making a fudge recipe like this one are semisweet chocolate chips, which are a type of dark chocolate. Since you really taste the chocolate flavor in the finished fudge, however, I recommend taking a little time to make sure you are using a dark chocolate that you really like the flavor of (I used Callebaut, but have also used Guittard chocolate for this). You will notice a difference in the finished fudge when you start with a higher quality chocolate at the beginning.

This fudge keeps very well when stored in an airtight container. I prefer to stack the pieces with sheets of parchment paper in between the squares to keep them from sticking together until they can all be eaten. I recommend cutting the fudge into small squares, as it is quite rich and large, brownie-sized pieces might be a little too much.

Sweetened Condensed Milk Fudge
16-oz dark chocolate*, chopped
2-oz (4 tbsp) butter, room temperature
14 oz. (1 can) sweetened condensed milk
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil and very lightly grease it.
In a medium saucepan, combine dark chocolate, butter, sweetened condensed milk and salt. Heat over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is melted. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.
Pour into prepared pan and allow fudge to set up completely until firm, 4-6 hours.
Use the handles of the foil to lift the fudge out of the pan. Cut into small squares using a sharp knife.

Makes approx 48 pieces.

*Note: Semisweet chocolate chips are ok to use. I recommend using a good quality dark chocolate about 60-65% cacao – if you use chocolate that is too dark, your fudge might not be sweet enough.