Easter Fudge
Colorful Cadbury Mini Eggs make this 5-ingredient, 10-minute chocolate Easter fudge a festive treat that everyone will love. Great for snacking or gifting!
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Table of Contents
- About Easter Fudge
- What’s in Easter fudge?
- What type of chocolate should you use?
- The chocolate seized! What happened?
- How should fudge be stored?
- How long is fudge good for?
- Can you freeze fudge?
- How to tell if fudge has gone bad
- Notes & tips for Easter fudge
- More fudge recipes
- Other sweet chocolate recipes
- Recipe Details
About Easter Fudge
Fudge is one of those perfect-for-any-occasion treats. It’s easy for dressing up for any holiday, and that’s exactly the case with this Easter fudge.
You can add any type of candy to this simple chocolate fudge, but I personally prefer the Cadbury Mini Eggs. Their universal appeal and pastel colors make them the perfect choice for a spring-themed dessert.
What’s in Easter fudge?
In order to make this pastel fudge for your Easter celebrations, you’ll need to round up the following ingredients:
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips – The delicious flavor that creates the base of this fudge. Feel free to swap this out for another type of chocolate of your choice (milk, bittersweet, white, etc).
- Sweetened condensed milk – Adds smooth creaminess and delicious flavor to the fudge.
- Vanilla and salt – For adding and enhancing the flavors.
- Cadbury Mini Eggs – The star of the show! This Eater fudge gets its Easter flair for this iconic candy. You can also substitute this for any other festive candy with a hard candy shell.
What type of chocolate should you use?
“Cooking chocolate” is a staple in baking – you can find it in the baking supply area, and it typically looks like a large candy bar – and while there are multiple brands to choose from, I do think there are significant differences in the quality of the chocolate for each brand.
Baker’s is by far the most common brand, but I’ve found their chocolate to have a dry texture and the flavor to be a little “off.” It’s not a bad choice by any means, especially if Baker’s is all you can find, but I’ve been happier with my baked goods and candy if I can get my hands on another brand.
And because of this, I highly recommend using Ghirardelli Premium Baking Bars (and for this recipe, their semi-sweet chocolate chips.) Ghirardelli is a little more expensive, but trust me, you’ll appreciate the flavor and consistency you’ll get from a premium brand.
However, if you really wanted to drive home the Easter candy feeling, you could try to hunt down Cadbury Baking Milk Chocolate Chips. I’ve only ever seen them listed on novelty online stores, but some robust baking shops might carry them (or be willing to order them for you.)
The chocolate seized! What happened?
If you found that the chocolate seized (or in other words, became so firm that it could no longer be stirred), this is usually caused by one of two things:
Cause #1 – Adding the extract directly to the melted chocolate/candy that’s not fully melted. There’s a lot of baking chemistry going on here, but in short, you want to avoid adding alcohol (which extracts essentially are) directly to melted chocolate candy because the water and fats will react, causing them to separate, leaving you with a grainy, hard mixture.
How to fix it: While this is an easy mistake to make, it can be salvaged – you just need a lot of elbow grease. Gentle heat and persistent stirring should get the chocolate back to a workable texture. You can also try mixing in a tablespoon or two of boiling water to loosen it up.
Cause #2 – Adding water-based food coloring to the melted chocolate/candy. Chocolate is made of a mixture of fat and dry particles, and any contact with water will cause the dry particles to become moist and stick together, resulting in a hard, gritty paste.
How to fix it: Unlike with the extract, there is no saving melted candy that’s seized due to contact with water (even the smallest amount). You would have to start over. To avoid this, use oil-based food coloring instead.
How should fudge be stored?
When it comes to fudge, it should remain good for up to two to three weeks in a sealed container. The texture of the fudge may change over time, but you have some control over this depending on how you store it:
In the refrigerator – Keeping fudge chilled ensures that it stays firm and won’t become messy to eat. However, the chilled environment will slowly draw out the moister in the fudge, which could result in a crumbly texture over time. Despite this, storing fudge in the refrigerator is still the way I personally recommend.
On the counter – Storing fudge on the counter ensures that it’s always accessible and has a soft texture, but some fudge may soften too much (or appear to “melt”) over time. However, this doesn’t always happen; it all depends on the exact temperature of the room. So when storing fudge this way, be sure to keep it in a cool, dark place. It’s also best to wrap or separate each piece of fudge with plastic wrap or wax paper so that the fudge does not stick together.
How long is fudge good for?
When stored in a sealed container, this Easter fudge should remain good for up to two to three weeks.
Can you freeze fudge?
Yes, you totally can! Fudge can be frozen for up to three months.
To freeze fudge, be sure to store it properly. You can either:
- For best results, do not cut the fudge and instead freeze the whole block, storing it in an airtight container or freezer bag. Cut the fudge once thawed and ready to eat.
- If the fudge has already been cut, wrap each individual piece in plastic wrap or aluminum foil, then store in an airtight container or freezer bag.
How to tell if fudge has gone bad
If you’ve had your fudge for a while, you can tell it’s past its prime if it either:
- Feels hard, dried out, or crumbles easily.
- If the fudge appears to be “melting” (without heat) or has a slimy texture. If freshly made fudge is doing this, try storing it in the refrigerator.
Notes & tips for Easter fudge
- Because fudge should be mixed quickly to ensure that all the ingredients incorporate, I recommend measuring all ingredients out before you begin.
- For “cleaner” cuts of fudge, trim off the uneven edges before cutting the squares of fudge. You’ll lose fudge this way (it can still be eaten!) but you’ll gain a prettier presentation.
More fudge recipes
Other sweet chocolate recipes
Easter Fudge
Ingredients
- 2 cups Cadbury Mini Eggs, or any other candy-coated chocolate eggs
Instructions
- Line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper or aluminum foil, extending pieces over sides for easy handling. If using foil, spray with cooking spray. Set dish aside.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, add chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, and salt. Heat in microwave for 30 seconds on 50% power, then stir. Continue to heat for 30 second intervals, mixing in between, until chocolate has completely melted.3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk, 1 pinch salt
- Quickly add vanilla to fudge mixture. Stir with a spatula (making sure to scrape along bottom and sides) until fudge is smooth and has a nice sheen.1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Pour fudge into prepared baking dish and smooth out top into an even layer.
- Decorate top of fudge with Cadbury mini eggs, gently pressing down on each piece to secure it to fudge.2 cups Cadbury Mini Eggs
- Refrigerate fudge for at least 1 hour or until set.
- Lift fudge out of baking dish by gripping excess paper/foil along sides, then transfer fudge to a work area. Peel back paper/foil from edges of fudge, then cut fudge into 1 inch squares.
- Serve immediately.
Nutrition
I do my best to provide nutrition information, but please keep in mind that I’m not a certified nutritionist. Any nutritional information discussed or disclosed in this post should only be seen as my best amateur estimates of the correct values.