I made fudge, but it will not set. What can I do to save it?
Having read all the posts answering this question, I decided to just put my unset mixture back in the pan and heat to 237 degrees. I was sure my mistake had been to remove it from the heat too early first time round. Anyway, after reaching that temperature and then beating it to a thick consistancy, back it went into the tin and after another 30 mins it set and was fantastic. This recipe was basically sugar, evaporated milk, water and butter and a bit of vanilla extract.
Hi I made some fudge which didn't set. So I Googled for help. I ended up scrapping the fudge back into the pot with a cup of water. Heated it back up again. Done the drop of fudge into ice water then I poured fudge into the dish again to set.this time I stirred it until the shine on the fudge dulled which I didn't do the 1st time around as recipe didn't say to.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
My daughter has made some fudge that isn't setting. What can she add to thicken it? I thought of cornstarch, but we don't know how much or if it will change the flavor. I hope someone can help us out.
By Linda from Bloomington, IL from Bloomington, IL
If your fudge didn't set, it probably wasn't heated hot enough. You can put the fudge back on the stove with 1 cup of water and heat until the candy thermometer reads 235 - 245 degrees F.
For the first time I made Jack Daniels fudge yesterday. It has been in the fridge for 24 hours and not set.
When the mixture was in the pan it got to the boiling point and was hot enough, so I put marshmallows in.
By Lucy
At Christmas I make Bourbon Balls and I'll tell you,the alcohol in it is the problem. It will practically melt the Chocolate when you're dipping them.
My fudge has good flavor, but it didn't quite set hard enough. Am I supposed to use condensed or evaporated milk, or does milk vary by recipe?
Every receipe is different. Most call for sweetened condensed milk, but there are others that call for heavy cream. The key, I have found is to follow the instructions to the letter.
The recipe that I use is the one my grandmother used all her life. I have never had an issue unless I do not follow the recipe. If I do not cook it long enough or change an ingredient then I have an issue. If youre recipe calls for condensed or evaporated milk then you should use this and not whole milk.
Sizes of bags of chocolate chips have decreased. Make sure you are following the recipe using the correct ounces. Use this fudge as an ice cream topping or make truffles.
My fudge is soft, what can I do?
By B
My fudge didn't set either I figured because I used chocolate/ peanut butter chips. & marshmallow cream. Something I have never used before.
I tried the Marie biscuit fudge. The recipe called for 3 eggs. I think it was too much. It won't set! What can I do to fix same? Will adding condensed milk and microwaving it work?
I have never been able to do anything that works to get runny fudge to set. It either gets too grainy or it burns or it is otherwise ruined. I personally would not waste time or money trying to fix it.
I learned long ago to go with it and turn the runny into a dipping sauce or spread. That way I get to enjoy the treat and not waste the ingredients. There is one recipe I have that I now intentionally make as a dip that is supposed to be a fudge recipe. Go figure!
Best to find a better (tried and true) fudge recipe and use it going forward. If I can find my grandma's recipe I will share it. It always set up great! I will look.
I agree with Pghgirl as I have never been able to 'repair' runny fudge.
Make a dip with this and try again.
All recipes that I have ever seen for Marie biscuit fudge only calls for one egg per package so please recheck your recipe (unless you were making 3 packages?).
My fudge won't set. It's soft and has set overnight. What can I do?
By ktjonas from Tucson, AZ
You can also add powdered sugar. Heat the fudge until it is very soft and almost liquid and add enough powdered sugar to stiffen it up.
You need to cook your fudge longer so the sugar will 'set.'
I made candy cane fudge, and it isn't setting! I substituted condensed milk for sweetened condensed milk, but I used an online recipe and added sugar for the condensed milk. Should I reheat it? Or add powdered sugar to it?
By Lily M
I am assuming that the milk substitution was not part of the recipe you followed. It sounds like you substituted evaporated milk for the condensed milk. If that is correct, you won't be able to get the fudge to set up no matter what you do. Evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk are in no way the same product.
I am making old fashioned fudge. A penuche recipe. I let the syrup cool to 110 degrees and stir. But as the fudge cools down it does not lose its shine and remains more like a caramel like substance. I can't tell if I am over or undercooking it? Is it possible to get caramel like candy at 234 degrees or so?
One easy thing to do seems to be, to harden too-soft fudge, you need to reheat and re-beat the fudge to get it to the right consistency.
Can I throw soft fudge into the oven to get it all to set?
By Krissie
I would think that storing it in the refrigerator in a covered vessel would work better at getting it to set up.
My son helped me make a batch of fudge. I told him to put the chocolate chips and stick of butter in a large mixing bowl and melt it in the microwave. I then put ten marshmallows and two cups of sugar in a heavy skillet and asked him to open a can of evaporated milk. Since I only had tall cans I told him to only put half of can in there.
I put the sugar in the skillet and turned to get the milk, he had poured it in with the chips and butter. I tolded him we had to have the milk to melt the sugar and marshmallows. It doesn't take very long to cook the sugar once it starts bubbling. It's the first time I've cooked fudge on an electric stove. We let it cook about 15 minutes. Usually it cooks in 4 minutes. I told him to go ahead and pour it over the chips and butter. It so happened, I only needed 6ozs of milk, but he poured the whole 12 ozs in the bowl of chips and butter So it runs like syrup. How do I get it to set up?
A recipe is a chemistry formula; changing the formula in any way will produce a different result. Some recipe errors can be corrected to produce a similar result to the original; most cannot. Try your runny fudge over ice cream?
So I was making my fudge recipe that calls for 2 cups of sugar, 1/2 cup milk, 3/4 cup peanut butter, and a tsp vanilla. Well I accidentally doubled the peanut butter, but not the rest of the ingredients and the fudge is not hardening.
Can I fix it?I made white chocolate fudge and now it is gooey. What can I use to harden it up?
You may have to heat it longer. Be careful that the sugar doesnt burn.
Adding powdered sugar is one way to get fudge, cookies and other items to harden.
I am of the mind to start over and use what you made as a topping for ice cream or cake or cookies. I bet that white chocolate would be delish on top of a chocolate brownie...add a few crushed peppermint sticks and I am coming over for dessert! Or you could use it for dipping/spreading on fruit or pretzels.
My reason is that I have ruined too many pots of fudge trying to fix them and the ingredients are too expensive to risk it. Once I learned that it makes amazing toppings, I was hooked!!
Seasons greetings and have a blessed Christmas and New Year season!
I agree with Pghgirl about starting over and her suggestions on how to use what you have may make me "ruin" some white chocolate fudge of my own.
It is very difficult to repair damaged goods of this type and they very rarely turn out the way we wanted.
Just be sure you are following the recipe exactly when you start over or look for another recipe as everything has to be just like it says in the recipe or you will have problems again.
Happy Holidays....
I make Creamsicle fudge every year. This year it didn't set up. Can I fix this? It has marshmallow cream and whipping cream in it.
Try reheating it to evaporate the moisture that is causing it to be mushy.
I am of the mind to start over and use what you made as a topping for ice cream or pound cake or cookies. It also sounds like it would be yummy as a pretzel dip too.
I have never had luck trying to fix fudge and when I used to try, I ruined it and had to throw it away which made me sad.
Blessings for a lovely season!!
After reading some of the comments I realized I had made a couple of mistakes. My fudge came out like taffy, but super delicious. I didn't melt the chips long enough, I used the double pan method with water. For some reason I have problems melting chocolate in the microwave it gets too hard before completely melting.
Also, I added too much Irish cream. Any suggestions what I can do with it? Since this first batch I have made several more and found that if I mix the condensed milk and the alcohol together first then add it to the melted chocolate it doesn't get super stiff and blends better.You could add to plain milk for a delicious beverage. You could also top ice cream with it.
If it is taffy like, can you cut it into little chips and use it as a topping for ice cream or use the chips to decorate cupcake icing?
It sounds yummy! I am amazed how many fudge fails turn into even better dessert items.
Post back what you decide.
I recooked my fudge and it still won't set. Would more marshmallow help? What do I do next?
Add 1 1/2 cups of water and cook it again.
When making a white fudge I put in too much evaporated milk (didn't read carefully) and now it is too loose. Can I do anything to save it? I thought about layering it with brownie mix and baking.
By Cathy
Warm your frosting in the microwave, then stir in powdered sugar and a little melted butter. When cool, this should be thicker.
I used canned milk and my fudge did not set. It's gooey. How do I get it to harden?
By Sue S
Try warming it up a little, then stir in powdered sugar to thicken it up.
One possible reason your microwave fudge did not set is that it was not heated to the proper temperature initially. You can often reheat and it will set up. This is a page about microwave fudge not setting up.
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I realized too late that I added too much evaporated milk to my fudge (after it didn't set and I reread the recipe and saw 5 oz. not 15 oz.).
I made fudge and it's not setting. I put it into the refrigerator and now I know not to do that.
How can I repair a fudge recipe that didn't set up properly?
