With just four simple ingredients you can make this irresistible Salted Caramel Fudge. Dark chocolate melts with condensed milk and small chocolate caramels, creating a rich, velvety fudge finished with a sprinkle of sea salt for that perfect sweet-and-salty balance.
It’s Secret Recipe Club time again, and every month I look forward to discovering a new blog. This month I was assigned Rhonda’s blog, The Kitchen Witch, and I spent far longer than I intended browsing her recipes. Her writing felt instantly familiar and refreshingly honest — confident, outspoken, and full of personality.
Rhonda is also an avid motorcyclist who has toured Europe by road, which I found inspiring. I’d love to travel across Europe the same way someday — no planes, just the open road and lots of stops to taste regional food.
While I was tempted to try something savory from her site — Maryland-style fried chicken or a perfected macaroni and cheese would both be ideal comfort foods on a gloomy day — the Salted Caramel Fudge caught my eye and I couldn’t resist. The recipe is wonderfully simple: just chocolate, condensed milk, a pinch of salt, and chocolate caramels (Milk Duds are the original, but small chocolate caramels work equally well). All you need is a microwave or a gentle heat source and a few minutes of hands-on time.
I must confess the photos aren’t my best work — I was under the weather and the light kept changing between sun and showers — so I snapped the shots quickly. Still, this fudge turned out delicious. I’ve made vanilla fudge before but never chocolate fudge with caramel mixed through, and this version was an instant favourite. The caramel oozes into the chocolate base, giving pockets of sweet chew that contrast beautifully with the deeper chocolate flavour.
I’m sometimes ambivalent about sweet-and-salty desserts — it’s a love-or-hate thing for many people — but here the salt is exactly right. A light sprinkle of flaky sea salt at the end lifts the whole fudge, adding a finishing note that makes each bite more interesting. My partner took the dish to work and returned with an empty container, so I’d say this went down very well with other people too.
This fudge has a great depth of flavour: the base is rich, chocolatey and smooth; the caramel adds sweetness and chew; and the sea salt provides a bright, contrasting finish. It’s fast to make, impressive to serve, and keeps well for a few days when stored properly.
Seriously, this is one of the easiest fudges you can make: melt chocolate and condensed milk together, fold in a pinch of salt and the caramels, pour into a lined pan, chill until set, then cut into squares and scatter a little flaky sea salt over the top. Perfect for gifting, sharing, or keeping in an airtight container for a few days.
Go make some now — you won’t regret it. Enjoy 🙂
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Salted Caramel Fudge
Ingredients
- 3 cups dark chocolate chips (50–60% cocoa solids)
- One 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
- Pinch of salt
- 1 cup Milk Duds or small chocolate caramels (use small chocolate caramels if Milk Duds are unavailable)
- Sea salt to sprinkle (flaky sea salt such as Maldon is ideal)
Instructions
- Grease and line an 8 x 8 inch (20 x 20 cm) square pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang for easy removal.
- Place the chocolate chips and condensed milk in a large heatproof bowl. Microwave for 1 minute, stir, then continue heating in 30-second intervals, stirring between each, until the chocolate is fully melted and the mixture is thick and fudgy. Alternatively, melt gently over a bain-marie, stirring until smooth.
- Stir in a pinch of salt and the chocolate caramels until evenly combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Allow it to cool at room temperature, then transfer to the refrigerator until completely set.
- Once set, use the parchment overhang to lift the fudge from the pan. Slice into 12–16 squares and sprinkle a little flaky sea salt on each piece. Store fudge in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Notes
Recipe adapted from The Kitchen Witch. If you prefer a silkier texture, use a higher proportion of chocolate chips with higher cocoa content, or experiment with a mix of milk and dark chocolate. For a nutty variation, fold in toasted chopped nuts before the fudge sets. Serve at room temperature for the best texture; refrigeration can make the fudge firmer.