Caramilk Fudge
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Day 5 of the 12 days of Christmas Treats! |
Fudge. Sweet, creamy, delicious fudge. Ever since my disastrous fudge experience last year I’ve been a little nervous to try again. Last year, after two failed attempts, I resorted to the easiest fudge recipe ever created. While that was good, I knew that this year I wanted to try something a little bit more difficult. After all, I had another whole year of baking experience under my belt…surely this year I could handle fudge! Surely this year I could get it right on the first try. And it was a success! A delicious success.
I would feel a lot better about myself if we all pretend not to notice that this year’s recipe just might be the second easiest fudge recipe ever created. I mean, it’s made in a microwave (is that cheating?), and it takes approximately 15 minutes. But trust me when I tell you that no one who tastes it would ever guess how easy it is.
The chocolatey caramel in the middle makes it seem fancy and impressive. And the taste is rich and creamy, exactly what you want fudge to taste like.
This was one of Mike’s favorite treats of the whole series. I think his exact quote was “oh my gosh, I love that stuff.”
P.S. You can see all of my Christmas treat recipes from over the years at this Christmas Cookies tag. Enjoy! And, as always, let me know if you try any and how you liked them.
Caramilk Fudge
Ingredients:
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- 3/4 cup butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 9 Ghirardelli milk and caramel bars (original recipe called for 6 caramilk bars)
Directions:
- Grease an 8x8 pan and set aside.
- Combine brown sugar, condensed milk, and butter in a large microwaveable bowl and microwave for 8 min, stirring every 2 minutes.
- Add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat with a handmixer for 4 minutes.
- Pour half the mixture into the greased pan. Lay the candy bars and pour the rest of the mixture on top and smooth.
from La Cuisine d'Helene
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Welcome! I'm Megan and it's my hope that here you'll find food that has been made with love and recipes that are shared with joy. Thanks for stopping by! 
Megan, this looks really great. i have a question on the caramilk bars. do you mean those big Cadbury's bars? or on the Ghiradelli, are they those big, flat ones?
That looks SO good! Wow!
Oh this looks great! I made fudge for the first time last month and was shocked at how easy it was – it always seems soooo much more difficult that baking cookies (I also haven't tried one with more than 4 ingredients 🙂
candy bars layered in the center of fudge?! yum!
Kim – I used the little mini ghirardelli milk and caramel bars. They're in the shape of square. Really, you just need to use anything that will cover the fudge. So if you use larger candy bars, you would probably only need 3. The ones I used were very flat, which worked perfectly. I didn't actually see any caramilk bars, which is why I didn't use them, so I'm not sure what they look like. Good luck!
Thank you! I am going to try them today with Carly.
I make the easy Carnation fudge for my dad every year–he just goes nuts over it! If only he knew how easy it was haha! Your sounds delicious. I am a total white chocolate fan, so I may have to make this for me 🙂
Megan, I have another question…When you grease the pan for this, what do you use? I find the Baker's Joy leaves something filmy at the bottom but I would want this to come out of the pan easily. Any suggestions? Thank you again. Kim
Listen Megan, anything made with condensed milk, no matter microwaved or not, is going to be a big hit in my house!
Kim – I think I just used softened butter to grease the pan. Good luck!
Congrats on mastering the fudge. I love the idea of caramel in the middle for a nice gooey bite.
Yumm, this looks amazing! I've never made fudge before, this would probably be a good time to make it!
This fudge looks awesome! I plan on making some for Christmas this year. Thanks for sharing!
Looks delicious! I just sent the recipe to my sister….a fudge nut!
Thanks!
Nice! That fudge looks amazing!
These look so good! I'm loving the dough balls below though 🙂
looks incredibly rich and delicious! yummy.
I'm not the biggest fan of the real “chocolatey” fudges, so this looks perfect. Thanks for sharing!
Okay not being a candy maker…do you let the fudge sit out to harden or refrigerate?
Also have you ever tried drizzling chocolate over the top…to “fancy it up a bit?”
I can't wait to try it!.. ~
Looks absolutely mouth-watering! I love the idea of caramel within the fudge. It really takes it to a whole other level. Awesome job! 🙂
What a fabulous idea to put the caramilk bars in between the fudge! yum!
i love cakes with the surprise of a filling:-)
YUM! What a perfect sweet treat for the holidays!
These look amazing! Im a new follower – stop by http://mostlyfoodandcrafts.blogspot.com/ when you have time!
This looks amazing! I love the middle layer of caramel…YUM!!
oh the decadence: fudge is by definition an incredibly rich concoction, and adding the caramel just puts it over the top. I can't wait to try this (and invite over 40 people to sample the squares lest I eat them all at once!!)
I have to bring some treats into work for a party next week and these look perfect! I can't wait to try them!
Just made this and the color is much darker than what is pictured. I beat it for the full 4 minutes and have refrigerated it but it is still a bit soft after 2 hours. Have a done something wrong?
Anonymous – Mine hardened fairly quickly. I made it at night, however, and didn't try to cut into it until the morning, so I can't be certain. My only thought is that maybe your microwave isn't as powerful and so it didn't get cooked as long? I'd say just keep it in the refrigerator and see if it hardens up. I'm sorry – I hope it turns out ok!
Ummmm… amazing!!!
I too think my microwave is not powerful enough, and it just didn't get cooked long enough. As long as I keep it in the fridge it's perfect!!! It's beautiful and super unique!! Also, I made a note on the recipe that the 8.51oz bag of Ghirardelli squares provides you with 16 of them, which fit perfectly in the 9×9 pan. ~ Tanya
Update…My microwave is 700 watts, and it took 10:30 min to get it right, and cook it enough to make the fudge set up. So happy I made it again and found the correct time for my little microwave! Thanks again for the awesome recipe! ~ Tanya
Tanya – I'm so glad you figured it out! Thanks for taking the time to let me know how it worked. 🙂 Way to be persistent!
Megan.. I would like to make this but not sure what the milk and caramel candies are? Do you mean the carmello candy bars?
Julie – I think there are actual “caramilk” candy bars out there. I couldn't find them, so I used ghirardelli milk and caramel bars. I used the individual ones so they were nice and thin, which was perfect for the filling. If you google them, you can probably see what I'm talking about. (Also, see my reply further up in the comments). I'm sure you could use any number of candy bars as the filling though. Let me know if you end up trying it!
Can’t wait to try several of these, although I would add to the cranberry delight bar recipe….I had one today and was instantly hooked. Im sure the “real ones” contain grated fresh ginger, orange peel AND ground walnuts. I’ll let ya know how theycome out 🙂
I made your caramilk fudge, taste was great texture was a little course or gritty, is there something I can do about it to make it soft or smoother?
Thanks,
Christine