Fudge Icing Recipe
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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
THis is SOOO close to my grandmother’s, only she used 1.5 oz of baking chocolate and 1/3 C evaporated milk, boiled for 3 minutes exactly (!!!, lol). It is the best frosting I’ve ever had, but for whatever reason, this is the first time I’ve found it outside her recipe collection. It’s not even in the Joy of Cooking, or any other website/cookbook I’ve searched. And people are missing out because of it!
Hi Jenny,
How neat is that! This icing is my grandmother’s recipe that is out of this world delicious! It is definitely special – I’m glad you found it and hope that you enjoy it! Thanks so much!
What about using confectioners sugar instead of granulated? How much would you use?
Thank you for sharing! This icing is THE BEST!
I’m tickled that you enjoyed it! It is a great icing! Thanks! xo
Hi, Sherry…just wanted to say I am olden (78) and I grew up on this icing…my mom made it, I’ve made it for my family and it is actually the only Icing on the planet that I really like…sometimes, if I want to use it as a glaze on a cake, I don’t cook it quite as long and it’s perfect..I just made a cake for Halloween ….
Thanks so much! xo
The previous version of this recipe was sooo much better. It used to say to boil until thickened after adding the butter and vanilla. This version makes it way too runny and never does thicken properly.
Mine didn’t harden well at all. I ended up having to put it back on the stove to cook for another minute before it was thick enough to even stay on the cake! It’s pretty humid here, though, so that may have been the problem? Super sweet, but it was good!
Okay, what did I do wrong because mine never thickened and now I have hot fudge sauce?
I boiled as directed, added butter and vanilla, boiled again. There is no time to boil the second time, but I boiled for over 4 minutes and it never thickened.
This was great. I was worried about the soft ball stage but it worked for me. I have made fudge before so I knew it would thicken as it cooled. I help it cool by putting cool water in sink and put pan in halfway and continued to beat it. Thanks
Thank you so much. This is one recipe I failed to get from my Kentucky-born mom, and I’ve always been sorry. (I think the fact that I didn’t have it is the main reason my children don’t really care about cake.) Ingredients and photo, it looks exactly like what I remember. (I see a lot of “soft ball test” in the comments, which you don’t mention, and which I was going to use anyway, because it’s fudge.) I am going to make this soon (not today, today is Pi Day, so the house is filled with apple pie.)
I made this icing last night but doubled it since I was making a half sheet cake. Like the others have said it didnt get thick while boiling. I let it bubble quite a while and it was still too thin….. after I took it off the stove and let it sit only then did it thicken…and quickly… when it got to a consistency that was good I poured it over my half sheet cake.