Easy Safer Microwave Chocolate Fudge
THE SAFER WAY TO MAKE FUDGE!
By Caro
Easy Safer Microwave Chocolate Fudge is my simple & safer way to make fudge. Perfect for food gifting, you can add dried fruit, nuts, sprinkles or candy. Includes calculations on costs for gifting or adding to a cookie plate. 22p or 27 cents to add to a cookie plate*Jump to Recipe Jump to Video
*For Handmade Christmas & costs, see below
This recipe I came up with myself after trying so many versions of fudge making. I don’t like making anything like this on the stove as mine doesn’t work right & I always burn things, including myself! So I turned to the microwave & after a lot of practice came up with the best recipe & the quickest.
Tips For Making Microwave Chocolate Fudge
Type Of Bowl To Use
It is best to use a medium-large plastic bowl for cooking the fudge, as when the mixture is nearly ready it starts to come away from the sides of the bowl.
You will need some square or rectangular containers, maybe food storage dishes or even chocolate moulds if you want them to look fancy. I have tried Xmas shape and chocolate moulds, but they don’t always come out perfect.
So if you use dishes with straight sides/edges, you can concentrate on making sure they are chilled long enough and using a sharp knife cut them cleanly to give a more professional look.
But if you aren’t bothered about that, don’t worry, just make sure to oil/grease the dish before putting the fudge mixture in so as to aid removal. (I recommend Frylight cooking spray for the greasing). The longer you leave them in the fridge, the better they will cut.
A Warning About Other Microwave Fudge Recipes
Now be careful of other microwave chocolate fudge recipes. Those that just melt & heat, don’t make proper fudge. My recipe is designed to simulate the mixing and heating process of the stove top method. If you heat & mix well enough & keep an eye on the visual cues that it’s ready (ie. the mixture becomes thicker and comes away from the sides of the dish), then you will produce something very very close to stove top fudge. If you want to be super precise, get heating and mixing in bursts, until the mixture reaches 114 to 115 °C (237 to 239 °F).
Different Flavours Of Fudge
This batch was made with 1 tin/can of sweetened condensed milk, and I made 3 different flavours out of it: chocolate, chocolate and pecan & chocolate and cranberry. They are all yummy, but you can alter according to different tastes/food allergies etc.
These are perfect for food gifts, Valentines and for Xmas presents. Be sure to label the tag that they should be kept in the fridge, so they don’t melt and will keep longer.
Recipe Yeild – about 120 pieces can me made from this recipe, with dimmentions of about 2cm by 2.5cm (0.7 x 1″), based on a depth of about 2cm/0.75″.
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Handmade Christmas Costs
Purchasing all ingredients (no toppings), this 120 piece batch costs just £5* with left over for 2 more batches. Buy only chocolate & condensed milk can cost £2.22 per batch.
Cost Of Gifting – 1 batch for 3 gifts, (40 pieces), costing £1.67. 12 pieces for 10 cookie trays/plates costs 50p per tray. Buy only chocolate & condensed milk costs 74p per gift or 22p per cookie tray. (see tables below). **As of Dec 2022, 22p equals 27 cents.
| COSTS OF BASIC FUDGE | 1 Batch | 2 Batches | 3 Batches |
| Buy ALL Ingredients | £5* | £7.22 | £9.44 |
| Average Per Batch | £5 | £3.61 | £3.15 |
| Buy ONLY Chocolate & Milk | £2.22 | £4.44 | £6.66 |
| GIFTING COSTS (pieces) | 1 Batch | 2 Batches | Buy Only Chocolate & Condensed Milk (1 batch) |
| Buy ALL Ingredients | £5 | £7.22 | £2.22 |
| 2 Gifts (60 pieces each) | £2.50 | £1.80** | £1.11 |
| 3 Gifts (40 pieces each) | £1.67 | £1.20** | 74p |
| Cookie Plate x 10 (12 pieces) | 50p | 36p*** | 22p |
*Prices – Chocolate 33p from Aldi per 100g bar, £1.99 Aldi Unsalted butter (250g), Icing Sugar Aldi 1kg 79p & 90p Sweetened Condensed Milk from Sainsbury’s. At time of calculations 22p is 27 cents.
** 2 batches will produce 240 pieces, so enough for 4 gifts of 60 pieces or 6 gifts of 40 pieces, so average cost based on this.
***2 Batches of cookie trays provides enough for 20 trays, based on 12 pieces per tray.
Easy Microwave Chocolate Fudge Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- 200g Dark/Plain/Bitter Chocolate (7 oz)
- 200g Milk/Semi-sweet Chocolate (7 oz)
- 25g Butter, unsalted (2 level tbsp)
- 1 Tin Sweetened Condensed Milk
- (397g/14 fl oz or 1+ 1/3 cup)
- 2 tsp Icing/powdered Sugar, sieved
- Handfuls of Nuts of choice, (chopped), cranberries, raisins etc (optional)
(Phot by Diana, of fudge & Coconut Ice)
EQUIPMENT
- Scales or Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Medium to Large plastic bowl
- Spoons
- Microwave
- Sieve (or small sieve)
- Baking spray or Cake Release Spray
- Cling Film/plastic wrap
- Square/Rectangular plastic tubs or sweet/chocolate moulds
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Break up the chocolate into pieces and place in the large plastic bowl before microwaving for 1 minute.
2. Give the chocolate a good stir around and place back in the microwave for another 30 seconds.
3. Mix thoroughly again as the chocolate will be melting quite a bit now. If it is all melted, proceed to step 5. Depending on the power of your microwave, the time taken to completely melt will vary.
4. If the chocolate is not all completely melted, microwave for a further 30 secs, mixing thoroughly until all melted. It is important to not go higher than 30 seconds or you can ‘burn’ the chocolate and made it hard. See Photo 1.
5. Now immediately add the butter and mix well until it is all melted and combined.
6. Next add the tin of condensed milk, (see Photo 2), and mix through before microwaving for 30 secs.
7. Mix the mixture well another time, and microwave for a further 30 seconds. The mixture will be becoming thicker each time.
8. Mix again and microwave a further 30 seconds. If the mixture is now coming together and coming away from sticking to the sides of the bowl, proceed to step 10. See Photo 3 above for how the mixture thickens.
9. If not quite ready, microwave a further 30 seconds and give a good mix through and repeat till like in the last pic in Photo 3 above. If you want to be super precise, get heating and mixing in bursts, until the mixture reaches 114 to 115 °C (237 to 239 °F).
10. Now add in the sieved icing sugar (powdered sugar) and mix until all combined.
11. Oil/grease the dishes/moulds you have chosen to use. If you want to add other ingredients to the chocolate fudge, do so right now. For this batch I made some with dried cranberries, some with nuts and some with honeycomb. To do this I divided the mixture into 3 dishes and then added the additional ingredients. Then I spooned the mixture into the prepared oiled dish, using a second spoon to help get into the corners, etc. Try to smooth the top as best you can. You can also add some of the ingredients to the top of the mixture too and then it doesn’t need to be as smooth a finish. See Photo 4 above and Photo 5.
12. Cover with a lid or cling film/plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
**The chocolate fudge will appear set before this but leaving as long as possible makes removal and cutting much much easier.
13. Once set, turn out onto a chopping board and tap until the fudge comes out. Cut with a sharp knife into whatever sizes you like. Run a butter knife all around the sides if removal isn’t easy.
**See Photo 5 of Diana’s fudge, with cherries, sprinkles and chocolate honeycomb pieces.
14. They are best kept in the fridge or somewhere cold and wrapped or in an airtight container and can last for weeks.
Recipe Card – Abbreviated Recipe
Easy Safer Microwave Chocolate Fudge
Equipment
- Scales or measuring cups
- Measuring Spoons (tsp & tbsp)
- Medium to Large plastic bowl (microwave safe)
- Spoons
- Microwave
- Small sieve (or fine tea strainer)
- Baking spray or Cake Release Spray (I recommend Frylight cooking spray)
- Cling Film (plastic wrap/Saran wrap)
- Square/Rectangular plastic tubs, food containers
Ingredients
- 200 grams Dark/Plain Chocolate (Bitter chocolate, 7 oz)*
- 200 grams Milk Chocolate (Semi-sweet chocolate, 7 oz)*
- 25 grams Butter, cubed (unsalted, 2 level tbsp, 0.8 oz)
- 1 Tin Sweetened Condensed Milk (397g/14 fl oz or 1+ ⅓ cup)
- 2 tsp Icing Sugar, sieved (Powdered or Confectioners' sugar)
- Handfuls of Nuts, dried fruit of choice (nuts chopped, cranberries, raisins, sprinkles etc – optional)
Instructions
- Begin by oiling/greasing the dishes you are going to use, all ready for when the fudge is cooked.
- Break up chocolate & into a large plastic microwave safe bowl before popping in the microwave for 1 minute (at the most).
- Mix the chocolate around (even if it doesn't look like it's melting), & microwave for 30 seconds.
- Mix again & in doing so the heat of the bowl & movement will result in more melting of the chocolate. If all melted proceed on to step 6. Depending on the power of your microwave, the time taken to completely melt will vary.
- Continue cooking for 30 second bursts, mixing well in-between each time, until completely melted. Never go any higher than 30 seconds for melting chocolate in the microwave or you can ‘burn’ the chocolate and made it hard. (For 400g/14 oz of chocolate, 60 seconds at the beginning is fine).
- Immediately add the cubed butter, mixing well until all melted & combined.
- Then add in the tin of condensed milk, mixing through before popping back in the microwave & cooking for 30 secs.
- Mix this fudge mixture really well, & microwave again for a further 30 seconds. The mixture will be starting to thicken after each 30 seconds.
- Continue mixing & cooking for 30 second bursts until the mixture starts to come together & is coming away & stopping sticking to the sides of the bowl (this happens with a plastic bowl). See Photo 1 above, for how the mixture will look. If you want to be super precise, you are looking for a temperature of 114°c-115 °c (237°f-239 °f).
- Add in the sieved icing/powdered sugar & mix until all combined.
- If adding nuts etc, do so right now. For this batch I did some with dried cranberries, some with nuts & some with honeycomb. I quickly divided the cooked mixture into 3 dishes & added the additional ingredients. Then spooned the fudge into the prepared dishes, using a second spoon to help get into the corners. Smooth the top as best you can. You can also add some of the ingredients to the top of the mixture too that doesn’t need to be as smooth a finish.
- Cover with a lid or cling film/plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. The fudge will look set before this but leaving as long as possible makes removal & cutting much easier.
- Once set, turn out onto a chopping board, tap until the fudge comes out. Cut with a sharp knife into whatever sizes you like. Run a butter knife all around the sides if removal isn’t easy. See Photo 3 of Diana’s fudge, with cherries, sprinkles and chocolate honeycomb pieces.
Storing
- Best kept in the fridge or somewhere cold & wrapped or in an airtight container & can last for weeks.
Video
Notes
Tips For Microwave Chocolate Fudge
Type Of Bowl To Cook In –It is best to use a medium to large plastic bowl for cooking the fudge, as when the mixture is nearly ready it starts to come away from the sides of the bowl. Dishes For Setting -square or rectangular containers, or food storage dishes can be used. Dishes with straight sides/edges, will give neater looking fudge pieces. Cutting Tips -chilling long enough & using a sharp knife will make cleaner cuts. Removing From The Dish -make sure to oil/grease the dish before putting the fudge mixture in, to aid removal. (I recommend Frylight cooking spray for the greasing).
Different Flavours – this batch was made with 1 tin/can of sweetened condensed milk, and I made 3 different flavours out of it: chocolate, chocolate and pecan & chocolate and cranberry. They are all yummy, but you can alter according to different tastes/food allergies etc.
These are perfect for food gifts, Valentines & for Xmas presents. Label the tag that they should be kept in the fridge, so they don’t melt & will keep longer.
Handmade Christmas Costs –
Purchasing all ingredients (no toppings), this 120 piece batch costs just £5* with left over for 2 more batches. Buy only chocolate & condensed milk can cost £2.22 per batch.
Cost Of Gifting – 1 batch for 3 gifts, (40 pieces), costing £1.67. 12 pieces for 10 cookie trays/plates costs 50p per tray. Buy only chocolate & condensed milk costs 74p per gift or 22p per cookie tray. (for more info, see tables before the recipe in the mian post.
More Easy Food Gift Recipes
Christmas Recipes Page
*Chocolate 33p from Aldi per 100g bar, £1.99 Aldi Unsalted butter (250g), Icing Sugar Aldi 1kg 79p & 90p Sweetened Condensed Milk from Sainsbury’s. More details & tables in main recipe post before this recipe card.
******
**Nutritional Values – I am not a qualified nutrionist and these values are approximate and will vary from brand to brand of ingredients. All values based on a serving of 6 pieces, assuming 120 pieces produced per recipe & sourced from Soupersage.com. See recipe Yeild above for sizings.
Nutrition
Recently website follower and baker Shona, used the recipe and made those shown in Photo 6. Here’s what she said in a Facebook post –
"Chocolate orange fudge using Caro's recipe but swapping ordinary plain and milk chocolate for orange plain (bitter) & milk (semi-sweet) - YUM! Absolutely unctuous, a real treat! Thank you
I think Shona’s fudge looks amazing and she has got them so neat and straight. Simply perfect and a great treat for Father’s Day (or any other day!)
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Easy Safer Microwave Chocolate Fudge
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