Candy Cane Fudge is a fun festive recipe! Quick and easy to make it is the perfect Christmas sweet treat.
My Microwave Chocolate Fudge recipe teaches us how to make fudge in a few simple steps.
We then get creative with the Microwave Marshmallow Fudge, Chocolate Orange Fudge and Mint Aero Fudge.
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Recipe highlights
This recipe sings of Christmas, candy and chocolate!
We use simple ingredients and take easy steps to bring together this fudge.
Using dark chocolate to offset the sweetness of the candy canes, it brings a festive touch to the plate be it seen as dessert or a treat!
With no need for a candy thermometer or standing at the stove for hours, we simply press a few buttons, give it a stir or 2 and it is done!
You will love this recipe as it allows you to 'get your bake on' in a fun Christmas inspired way.
It is a recipe that you can get the kids involved in or package it up for gift giving.
Everyone loves a sweet treat and combining festive fun and fudge is a game changer!
Ingredients
The ingredients needed to make this recipe are shown in the photo below.
- dark chocolate: you can use milk, dark or white chocolate for the recipe. I use dark as it is more bitter than milk or white chocolate and it balances the sweetness of the candy canes. You can choose your favourite to the equivalent amount in the recipe card below. You can also use chocolate melts, chips, bits or a block (cooking chocolate), broken into pieces. I am using chocolate melts as they are my favourite to work with.
- candy canes: it is best use high quality candy canes. The reason for this is that if it is hot out, the candy canes have a tendency to melt. The higher quality the candy cane, the less likely you will have a soppy sweet mess!
- sweetened condensed milk: easily confused with evaporated milk, this ingredient is sweet and thick in its consistency. We use 1 standard tin.
- butter: I recommend unsalted butter. We need to chop it into very small pieces as this makes it easier to stir and combine with the rest of the fudge ingredients.
Step by step instructions
Here are the step by step instructions to make the recipe. We start by lining a cake or slice tin with parchment paper. I use a little spray oil to help it stick!
- line cake or slice tin with baking paper (photo 1)
- add candy canes to bowl of food processor (photo 2)
- blitz to chop into small pieces (photo 3)
- add chocolate, condensed milk and butter to microwave safe jug (photo 4)
Use a touch of spray oil when lining your tin as it will help the paper 'stick' in place. This way it won't move around when you are transferring your wet fudge into the tin.
The candy canes will make a lot of noise when you are blitzing them!!
It doesn't take long though, so the 15 seconds are worth the rock like party.
If you don't have a food processor, you can add the candy canes to a zip lock bag, seal and bang them with the back of a spoon.
- microwave the fudge ingredients for 2 mins (photo 5)
- remove from microwave and stir, the microwave for 1 min (photo 6)
- remove from microwave again and stir till consistent (photo 7)
- add candy cane pieces to wet fudge and stir (photo 8)
Microwave Candy Cane Chocolate Fudge
This no bake fudge only takes a total of 3 mins in the microwave!
The essential thing that we do correctly and with focus is to ensure that the butter is fully melted and mixed in with the other ingredients.
That is why you see in the ingredients photo that I chop the butter into small pieces.
It makes it much easier to melt and mix this in. The butter takes longer to melt than the chocolate, so stir, stir, stir, till you see no blobs of yellow!
- stir till candy cane pieces are covered in chocolate (photo 9)
- transfer wet fudge to lined tin (photo 10)
- decorate top of fudge with candy cane pieces (photo 11)
- place fudge into fridge for 1-2 hrs till set (photo 12)
I like to decorate the fudge with a little of the crushed pieces of candy cane.
This really helps people to know what they are eating by looking without having to ask what it is.
The peppermint flavour of the candy canes is also present in every bite of the fudge so its a peppermint candy chocolate fudge kind of yum!
The fudge is soft with little flecks of the peppermint candy canes and will simply melt in your mouth!
Frequently asked questions
What ingredients are in fudge?
To make fudge, we use a combination of chocolate, sweetened condensed milk and butter.
These 3 simple ingredients are all that is needed to make fudge!
Is fudge hard to make?
Fudge is not hard to make. However, some recipes are more complicated than others.
I like to keep my fudge making very simple.
We need to melt the chocolate, butter and sweetened condensed milk and stir it till it is consistently combined.
It is not hard to follow this method, but if you don't stir the fudge enough, there will be yellow blobs of butter throughout.
Does fudge need to be refrigerated?
In cooler climates it is not necessary to refrigerate fudge.
However, in warmer climates it is necessary to refrigerate the fudge.
If the air is too hot, the fudge won't initially set and then once set, if the air is too hot, the fudge will begin to melt quickly.
For this recipe I recommend allowing the fudge to both set in the fridge and be stored in there till ready to serve.
The small pieces of broken candy canes can melt very quickly if they get too hot!
Top tips and tricks
Here are my top tips for making this recipe work every single time!
- ensure you use a little bit of spray oil when lining the tin with baking/parchment paper.
- allow an overhang on the sides of the tin to 'pull' the fudge up and out
- measure the ingredients with kitchen scales to ensure accuracy
- use high quality candy canes as they are less likely to melt
- use only small pieces of candy canes to maintain the soft, melt in your mouth fudge 'yum' factor
- if you don't have a food processor, use a zip lock bag and bang the candy canes with the back of a spoon to crush into pieces
- use the microwave: it really does make fudge making quick and easy! Throw away the candy thermometer and bring your fudge making to the future with my simple and easy method (it will work time and time again!).
- keep fudge refrigerated till ready to serve
Related recipes
If you love making fudge (hey, me too!) and want to try more ideas, check out my fudge recipes. Here are a few you might like:
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Adrianne x
📖 Recipe
Candy Cane Fudge
Equipment
- Square cake tin
- Baking paper/Parchment paper
- Large heatproof jug
- Food processor
- Silicon spoon
Ingredients
- 500g/17.6oz  dark chocolate Note 1
- 397g/14oz sweetened condensed milk  1 tin, Note 2
- 50g/1.7oz unsalted butter  roughly chopped, Note 3
- 12 candy canes unwrapped, blitzed into small pieces, Note 4
Instructions
- Line a square tin (24cm x 5cm, 9" x 2") with baking/parchment paper, leaving a 1-2cm overhang on all 4 sides (Note 5)
- Use your hands to break candy canes in half, then add them to the bowl of the food processor. Blitz the candy canes for 15 to 20 seconds to crush into pieces. (Note 4)
- Add sweetened condensed milk, chocolate and butter to a large heatproof jug
- Microwave ingredients on high for 2 mins, then remove from microwave, place on heatproof surface and stir to combine. Return jug to microwave and microwave on high for an additional 1 min. Remove from microwave and stir for 1 minute till combined. (Note 6)
- Reserve 1-2 tablespoons of the candy cane pieces for decorating. Then add blitzed candy cane pieces to the wet fudge and stir till they are covered and thoroughly mixed into the fudge
- Transfer wet fudge into lined cake tin, sprinkle with reserved candy cane pieces to decorate and place in the fridge to set.
- After 1 hour (or overnight), remove and use a sharp hot knife to cut into pieces (Note 7)
Notes
- Note 1 You can use chocolate melts, chocolate bits or a block of cooking chocolate broken into pieces. Ensure you measure it using kitchen scales or purchase exact quantity ie 500 grams.
- Note 2 This is 1 standard tin of sweetened condensed milk. I use a spoon to scrape out as much as I can when adding it to the chocolate mix as it is quite thick and tends to 'stick' to the inside of the tin.
- Note 3 After you have weighed the butter to ensure the correct amount, use a knife and chopping board to cut it into small cubes. It will melt and mix easier this way (see photo in step by step instructions)
- Note 4 It will be very loud when you blitz the candy canes! They are such hard candy that it will sound like little rocks in the processor. But it will only take around 15 seconds to blitz them into little pieces.Â
- Note 5 The overhang is so that when the fudge is set, you have something to 'grab' hold of and pull up towards you, lifting the set block of fudge out of the tin.
- Note 6 When stirring the fudge in the final period, ensure that the butter is fully melted and mixed in consistently with the other ingredients. If there are any globs of unmelted butter, keep stirring as the heat from the chocolate will further melt them with a couple more stirs.Â
- Note 7 The reason I use a square cake tin for fudge making is so that I have a square which I can cut into 36 pieces of fudge. Simply cut the large square into 4 smaller squares and each of them into 9 squares (3 x 3).
Kaori says
Looking forward to trying this.