Black Forest Fudge

 As part of holiday baking, I have started making fudge as well, to honor my Dad who had been the family fudge maker. While Dad usually made 20 types of fudge and lots of each type, my offerings are more modest and will fit in my 12 Days of Holiday Baking. I had selected four different fudges to make this year, plus I will inevitably make some of the favorites from before, like Irish Cream Fudge. Yum!

I love cherries and Black Forest Cake is a favorite of mine, so when I came across this recipe I was very excited. I have found that fudge recipes are often very easy to make, and this was true for this recipe as well. My only challenge is that I had the heat too high when I was bringing the butter, sugar, and sweetened condensed milk to a boil, requiring me to start over. I had to use a smaller saucepan, so I put the chocolate chips in a separate bowl and poured the butter/condensed milk mixture over them, then added the cherry preserves, marshmallow fluff, and dried cherries. It worked great.

I let mine chill for quite a while, and got back to it a few days later. Fudge is good to work with as it assembles fairly quickly and then it is happy to chill in the refrigerator. It is best that it’s very cold when you cut it, so time in the refrigerator is good. This fudge is substantial, and takes some energy to cut, but you are rewarded with chocolate fudge dotted with dried cherries and a subtle swirl of marshmallow.


Black Forest Fudge
1/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup cherry preserves
1/2 cup marshmallow fluff
1/2 cup dried tart cherries

Line an 8-inch square pan with aluminum foil then spray with non-stick cooking spray.

In large heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Once melted, add the sugar, sweetened condensed milk, and salt. Continue to heat over medium, stirring frequently, until the mixture comes to a boil. Remove from the heat.

Off of the heat, stir the chocolate chips, cherry preserves, marshmallow fluff, and dried cherries to the saucepan. Stir until the chocolate chips melt and the other ingredients are incorporated. You may have slight streaks of marshmallow fluff, but that looks interesting.

Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared 8-inch pan. Refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours.

Once the fudge is set, remove from the pan and cut into squares. Store the fudge in the refrigerator.

Recipe from bell’alimento via Dixie Crystals