Fudge Icing goes perfectly on so many desserts. Get this heirloom fudge icing recipe that is sure to become a family favorite
For as long as I remember, this Fudge Icing has been a special part of my Grandmother Verdie’s recipe collection. She’d make it each year to top my sister’s Chocolate Pound Cake Grandmother would make her for her birthday.
While the Chocolate Pound Cake was just delicious on its own, it didn’t hold a candle to when it was topped with her fudge icing.
Mercy!
Maybe that’s why I have this obsession with chocolate.
I will tell you though, this fudge icing is thick and rich – and heavenly! I make it while the chocolate pound cake is cooling and then begin pouring the fudge icing over the top once it is ready. By the end, I do end up having to just spoon bits of the fudge icing onto the cake it gets so thick.
Be sure to make this cake WITH the fudge icing soon. It is perfect for celebrations, reunions, picnics, taking on camping trips and just about anything else you can imagine.
Oh yeah – and it works like a charm for those instances when one child is jealous of another’s birthday party.
Believe me, I speak from experience.
How to Make Fudge Icing
- Stir together sugar, cocoa powder, and milk together in a large saucepan set over medium-high heat. Cook until large bubbles begin to form and the mixture reaches a hard boil.
- Boil for 1 minute at a hard boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla extract. Beat with a wooden spoon until thick and smooth.
- Pour over the cake. The fudge icing will firm as it cools.
This Fudge Icing also works perfectly on so many other desserts! Here are just a few ideas:
Practically just about anything you would use a ganache on, you can now use this fudge icing recipe. You won’t be sorry!
Here’s Grandmother’s Fudge Icing Recipe. I hope you love it as much as we do!
Fudge Icing Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups (396 g) granulated sugar
- 3 heaping tablespoons (16 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2/3 cup (151 g) whole milk
- 1/2 cup (113 g) butter, (1 stick) salted, cubed
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (7 g) vanilla extract
Instructions
- Mix sugar, cocoa powder, and milk together in a large saucepan.
- Cook over medium-high heat until large bubbles form and reaches a hard boil. Boil one minute at a hard boil. Remove from heat and add butter and vanilla.
- Beat with a wooden spoon until thick and smooth.
- Pour over cake. It will harden as it cools.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
DELICIOUS!!!!! I’m 17 weeks pregnant and “needed” some chocolate!!! Made the chocolate pound cake (first one I’ve ever made!) and the icing- wowzers!!! It’s delicious! I think I cooked the pound cake just a little too long- but overall- wow. It reminds me of my grandmothers house and REAL CAKE. after reading some of the comments I’m beginning to understand that some people either have a knack for baking or they don’t. I thought the recipe was perfectly self explanatory and so nice without the added stress of temperatures and thermometers! But call me old fashioned- I was taught by a family that “eye-balled” measurements 😉 thank you for this site! Can’t wait to come back and cook more 😉
You have to look at this recipe as you do fudge. My mother in law and I made this and if we would have let it boil and harden much longer it would have turned into fudge. You need to get ice water in a cup and drop it in there and see when it turns to a fudge consistency get it off the stove and let it sit and thicken. IT will thicken in about five minutes. She returned it to boiling and only let it on there for about 3 minutes and then took it off and let it set up. if you want more of a smoother consistency you need marshmallow.
Tastes good, and I salvaged it i followed the directions exactly and I was barely able to get it on top of the cake before it solidified. When you safe boil until thick, that is way too vague. Then removing from heat and stirring more it immediately became too thick. And I did follow the directions – it took about ten mintes from start to finish. I was hoping to pour it on and have it drip and drape over the sides. Instead it is a thick layer on top so I sprinkled pink sugar over it and iced the sides pink as well with icing I had. So, as I saud, I managed to salvagethe cake, but this recipe requires exact time/temp/candy thermometer to be sure you stop before it is too thick. Please add more details for future followers!
How long in the fridge and/or freezer longevity?
Hi Mollie,
This icing gets hard after it is poured on cake. I never refrigerate this frosting or freeze it.
I had such a hard time with the icing. I tried it twice and failed both times. Maybe I need a little more detail on this icing. First time it burnt and second time it clotted up so quickly like fudge and it wouldn’t stay on cake.
My grandmother use to cook this icing in a cast iron skillet and pour over a yellow cake in 2 layers always wonderful.
I just made this and the cake was a bit dry and for some reason the frosting was crumbly when it cooled?? 🙁
I had the same issue with the icing, You are suppose to use the icing when its quite warm to my understanding . Letting it cool in the pan causes it to cool unevenly thus giving it a crust, at least that was my experience. I should have just poured it over the cake right away.
Just made it, deeeeelish! It’s going over a chocolate bundt, assuming I don’t just eat it all by the spoonful!
Be careful when stirring this while it’s boiling. It popped out onto my hand, and boy did that hurt! Ouch!
Hi Robyn
Can I use a hand mixer instead of a wooden spoon.
I feel sure you can, but it really doesn’t need it. It comes together so quickly!
Thanks for sharing. My grandmother also made this and it is nice to have an exact recipe. If we went to see them when someone was close to having a birthday she would ice any flavor cake you wanted. I always chose chocolate chip cake. 🙂 If you cook the icing a little longer, it makes great fudge!
Please tell me how much longer you cook icing to make as fudge….My mom made this fudge recipe adding peanut butter at end for all our birthdays…I absolutely love it love it!…But I fail every time I try, and we lost mom in January and I would love to keep this tradition going. If someone could just tell me how long I cook the icing…I can’t seem to follow the “until a soft ball forms”…I need exact or approximate time for cooking. Thank you so much!
I would imagine it’s almost the same as no bake cookies! I haven’t tried it yet but I have made no bakes!
Jayne: Soft ball stage is easy. Fill a cup half full of water. Drop teaspoon of hot, cooking fudge into cup. Try to form a soft ball using your fingers in the water. If it won’t form a ball, toss that water out and try again in a couple of minutes with fresh water. I have been making fudge since I was a little girl (I am now 71), and I can do it blindfolded. You can also add a couple of heaping tablespoon of peanut butter at the end before you beat it. So good—
I use evaporated milk. This cake looks wonderful.