Traditional Homemade Chocolate Fudge With Hershey’s Cocoa Powder
Making homemade fudge the traditional way is the most delicious way to make fudge. Since it is a candy making process, it can be a little bit trick to get the hang of it at first. I have botched a batch of fudge or two in my time. So, I have described a good way to combat the process. At the bottom of the post, I have a table of cooking temperatures for the softball stage and some things I have learned from my fudge making experiences.
Ingredients:
3 c sugar
2/3 c cocoa powder
1-1/2 c milk (1-2/3 for high altitude 5,000 ft to 8,000)
1/4 c butter, unsalted
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch sea salt
Pinch cinnamon
Tools needed:
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Small stock pot
Measuring cups and spoons
Wooden spoon
Parchment paper
Square cake pan or baking dish
How to make it:
In your stock pot, mix sugar with the cocoa powder with your wooden spoon breaking up any clumps. Stir in the milk, put on your burner set to medium heat and continue to stir. Bring to a boil and STOP STIRRING. Set your candy thermometer up at this point, reduce heat to medium low and keep on a simmer. Bring to softball stage, this may take 10-15 minutes, so keep an eye on it! Once it has come to softball stage, turn off heat and place in butter, pinch salt, pinch cinnamon and vanilla extract. STILL NO STIRRING. Cool to 140, THEN start to beat the fudge with your wooden spoon until it starts to loose it’s shine and is still slightly pourable. This can take about 3-5 minutes. Pour into your parchment lined container to cool the rest of the way. Cool minimum 2 hours before cutting into square pieces. This will keep at room temperature, no refrigeration is required.
The following is a description of how to adjust for altitude when making your fudge since it is technically a candy making process.
Soft Ball Stage at sea level: 234 F to 240 F
Water boils at 212. F at sea level.
Subtract boiling point of water at sea level and your boiling point of water for your altitude. That number gets subtracted from the middle number for softball stage to get your temperature target.
EX: For me, I live at 5000 ft. 212 minus 202 equals equals 10 degrees.
10 degrees subtracted from 237 is 227, which is my target softball temperature for my altitude. Normally I go 225 , which is lower on the spectrum of temperature.
Boiling Point of Water
Altitude in feet / Degrees
500 ft 211
1000 ft 210
2000 ft 208
3000 ft 206
4000 ft 204
5000 ft 202
6000 ft 200
7000 ft 198
***At some altitudes, the water will boil at 202.6 (at 5000 ft for example). I’m not worried about the decimal since there is a 6 degree f temperature window that the temperature can fall into for the softball stage. I suggest going with the lowest number first when making it, no higher than the middle point. I found that when it is more humid outside, going a degree or two higher on the cooking temperature works better.
For me, water boils at 202 f. There is 9 degree difference, therefore I go with 225-228. I found that going with 225 f for my altitude gives me the best results. The most important part of making fudge is knowing when to stop beating it. Though necessary for good sugar crystallization, over beating it will cause your fudge to be grainy and stiff. Beat the fudge just before it starts to lose its shine and the butter is mixed in thoroughly.
Happy Cooking!
Logan
