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4.64 from 65 ratings
This Salted Caramel Fudge is a smooth and creamy easy caramel fudge with a sea salt topping. It takes less than 10 minutes on the stove-top and fudge is also perfect for food gifts.
by Marie Roffey —Published Jun 9, 2022 (Updated Dec 12, 2023)
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I have a slight obsession with fudge, especially this Salted Caramel Fudge. I use a quick and easy fudge recipe base and, from that, I’ve made many different types but still to this day, this one is my favourite and it always gets rave reviews.
If you love a good easy candy recipe, try this Caramel Marshmallowsor Pecan Butterscotch Fudge (Penuche Fudge) too. And during the festive season, this Pretzel Christmas Crack is perfect!
This recipe was first published here on 9th November 2015 and has been updated with new information and images.
I have made this easy fudge many, many times now and it never, ever fails me. The only real thing you need to keep in mind is to keep stirring it but it takes less than 10 minutes to make and that’s the only time you’ll need to invest in the kitchen for it. You’ve gotta love that.
Fudge is great to giveaway as food gifts too and with just one pot and some basic ingredients you can have such a flavourful little treat that keeps well in the fridge, up to 2 weeks.
Ingredients for salted caramel fudge
This easy fudge only needs a handful of ingredients. Only a few need explaining.
Detailed quantities and instructions in the recipe card below.
- White chocolate: Use a good quality eating white chocolate – I recommend not using white chocolate chips as chips don’t melt so easily.
- Golden syrup: This adds a lovely caramel flavour to this recipe to intensify that salted caramel flavour.
- Glucose / Light corn syrup: Either will work fine and it helps to keep the fudge smooth and stop it from crystallising.
- Salt: The best salt to use for salted caramel fudge is sea salt flakes.
Feel free to add a teaspoon vanilla extract too.
Tools you’ll need
- Large saucepan
- 8-inch square baking pan
How to make salted caramel fudge
This caramel fudge is incredibly easy to make and also easy to make new and unique variations like my Creamy Lemon Fudge or even my Pumpkin Pie Fudge. There are so many more – just go to my candy recipes category. You’ll see I have quite the addiction.
Detailed quantities and instructions in the recipe card below.
- Tip all of the ingredients, except the chocolate and salt, into a large, heavy based saucepan (photo 1). Stir it over low heat until the sugar and butter have all melted and it’s nice and smooth (photo 2).
- At this point you can turn the heat up just a little, to low-medium and let it come to a bubble (while stirring constantly). Once those bubbles are at the point that they continue to bubble even as you stir, you just continue to stir and cook the fudge for another 5 minutes. You should notice it thicken a little too (photo 3).
- Now remove it from the heat, add the chocolate and salt (photo 4) and mix them through until it’s smooth and then pour it into a lined 8×8 inch tin. I reserve some of the salt to sprinkle over the top and then it’s done (photo 6).
Now you need to remain patient for 2-3 hours while it sets in the fridge but once it’s ready you’ll be rewarded with a sweet and flavourful salted caramel fudge just perfect to share.
I love making fudge for food gifts as it keeps so well and looks pretty packaged up in a nice box or gift bag. I think most people love a food gift too 🙂
I’ve made many fudge recipes using this one as my base and I love that it’s so easy to adapt to different flavours.
How to store fudge
Fudge can be stored in the fridge or just in a cool place in an airtight container. If it is quite humid where you are, the fridge is best.
Can you freeze fudge?
Yes, you can freeze fudge. Make sure to store it in an airtight container (with as little air around it as possible).
Fudge that has been frozen can actually be eaten straight from the freezer as, although it will be very firm, it will never freeze rock solid. Frozen fudge should be thawed in the fridge and kept in the fridge thereafter.
More Fudge Recipes
- Dark Chocolate Fudge
- Creamy Lemon Fudge
- Butter Popcorn Fudge
- Pecan Butterscotch Fudge
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Fudge
- Biscoff fudge
IF YOU TRY THIS salted caramel fudge recipe,please take a moment to leave a rating and comment below. I love hearing from you, and it helps other readers too!
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Salted Caramel Fudge
Yield: 36 pieces
Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes
Setting Time: 3 hours hours
Total Time: 30 minutes minutes
4.6 from 65 ratings
This Salted Caramel Fudge is a smooth and creamy easy caramel fudge with a sea salt topping. Fudge is also perfect for food gifts.
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Video
Ingredients
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk (395ml / 14oz)
- ½ cup caster (superfine) sugar (100g / 3.5oz)
- ½ cup dark brown sugar, packed (100g / 3.5oz)
- 40 ml liquid glucose (or light corn syrup – notes)
- ¼ cup golden syrup (or brown rice sryup – notes)
- 113 g unsalted butter (1/2 cup / 1 stick)
- 180 g white chocolate (6.5oz / 1 cup chopped)
- 2 teaspoons sea salt flakes (notes)
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Equipment
8×8 inch square baking tin
heavy based stainless steel saucepan
Silicone spatulas
Instructions
Cut the chocolate up finely. Line a 8×8 inch baking pan with baking paper.
Combine the sweetened condensed milk, sugar, corn syrup, golden syrup and butter in a heavy based saucepan. Stir, without boiling, until the sugar is dissolved.
Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer and, once it continues to bubble while you stir, simmer and stir for another 6-8 minutes. You should notice it thicken slightly.
Take the mixture off the heat and mix through the white chocolate and most of the salt (reserve a couple of pinches for topping), until fully incorporated and the mixture is smooth.
Pour the mixture into the lined baking tin. Sprinkle the remaining salt evenly over the top.
Leave for 30 minutes to cool at room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Cut into 36 squares and serve.
Want to show your support? Please take a moment to leave a rating and comment below.
Notes
- Liquid Glucose – if you can’t get this, you can use light corn syrup or brown rice syrup (also known as rice malt syrup)
- Golden Syrup – if you can’t get this, you can use brown rice syrup (also known as rice malt syrup).
- Sea salt flakes definitely give the best result. If you want to use table salt, you will only need 1.5 teaspoons.
- Fudge is easy to make but just make sure to keep stirring it so that it doesn’t catch on the bottom
- The easiest way to line your tin is to take 2 pieces of baking paper, the exact width of your baking tin and lay them crossing over each other.
- This fudge can be frozen for up to 3 months – thaw in the fridge.
- As the fudge ages, it can get a slightly gritty texture. It still tastes wonderful, just a slight texture change.
MORE FUDGE RECIPES!
Calories: 128kcal
Author: Marie Roffey
Course: Dessert, Snack, Sweets
Cuisine: American, Australian
Have you tried this recipe?Don’t forget to leave a rating and comment below and let me know how it was! I love hearing from you. Nutrition information is approximate and derived from an online calculator. The brands you use may cause variations.
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More Fudge Recipes
- Pumpkin Pie Fudge
- Almost Picnic Fudge
- Christmas Fudge
- Coconut White Chocolate Peppermint Fudge Bars
- Funfetti Vanilla Easter Fudge
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Bryony Elizabeth Dawson —Reply
This is a fabulous recipe, very easy but always gives perfect results.
And is absolutely delicious, the only problem is you will want to eat it all yourself!Marie Roffey —Reply
So happy you love it, Bryony. Thanks so much for dropping back to review.
Brianna —Reply
Is golden syrup just caramel syrup or what is it because I can’t find it and the brown rice syrup I’d have to get shipped but I’d rather avoid having to wait 3to5 business days because I’m making this fudge for a bday party on Tuesday night.
Marie Roffey —Reply
Hello Brianna. No golden syrup is a syrup made during the process of refining cane sugar and it has a nice flavour. You can use corn syrup in its place as it’s used in this recipe to help prevent sugar crystals form.
Janie —Reply
This is my go-to Christmas fudge recipe. Everyone loves it. Thank you so much!Marie Roffey —Reply
I’m so happy to hear this, Janie. Thanks so much for making my recipe 🙂
Morgana —Reply
Forgot to rate – 5 stars!!!!Morgana —Reply
OMG! YUM! I have tried other fudge recipes before and have failed (usually the ones that require a candy thermometer), so was a bit unsure how this recipe would go. I was SO pleasantly surprised with the simplicity of this recipe and the amazing result! Beautiful moorish taste and texture, excellent with the extra salt flakes on top. Thank you!!
Marie Roffey —Reply
So happy you love it, Morgana. Truly appreciate you trying my recipe.
Paisley Hunter —Reply
They were very good.Marie Roffey —Reply
So happy you loved it, Paisley. Thanks for making my recipe 🙂
Becky —Reply
Love this recipe! Wouldn’t make fudge any other way now 🙂 the salt balance is absolutely perfect so not too sweet.Marie Roffey —Reply
This makes my day, Becky. Thanks so much for trying my recipe. I’m so happy you love it.
Janine —Reply
For the last year, I have been making salted caramel fudge using a recipe from a different site and have never had a successful batch. I could not find golden syrup so I made my own. This recipe was incredibly easy with fantastic results. I gave it out as Christmas gifts. Thanks Marie!Marie Roffey —Reply
So happy to hear this one is perfect for you, Janine. Merry Christmas 🙂
Thu —Reply
Made this 2nd time yesterday but I put my ingredients in a different way round…its turned into toffee?
I cooked sugars and butter melting on top…thought it would be same since all go together? Then carried on cooking snd poured in white chocolate rather than taking it off the hob until temp reached 115 Celsius? Is it the overcooking of sugars that turned my fudge to toffee?
Thu —Reply
Oh first time was excellent and I think I did follow your instructions at the time…
Marie Roffey —Reply
See AlsoSouthern Cheese StrawsOh, that’s great to hear Thu. So happy you enjoyed it.
Marie Roffey —Reply
Did you add in the sweetened condensed milk? I think what has happened is, because the sugar is on the bottom, they’re caramelising rather than melting into everything. Just add them in the order of the recipe and make sure to stir it all together well as it melts.
Thu —Reply
Thanks Marie. Yes everything in the pan and I guess it was the sugar that had caramelised.Fudge making seems easy, but it’s actually a delicate make…I should be impatient 😬 as your recipe is very lovely and I must control my partner eating it.
Marie Roffey —Reply
It has a few rules but it’s worth it. Just check that the heat isn’t up too high too. Thanks so much.
Cate Robertson —Reply
I’m looking forward to making some of your recipes. They look easy and delicious. Thanks for sharing.Marie Roffey —Reply
Hope you love them, Cate.
Sadey —Reply
I’ll be using slightly salted butter. How much should I reduce the sea salt flakes by? To ensure it doesn’t taste too salty
Marie Roffey —Reply
Hi Sadey, I’d cut the amount of salt in the fudge by half. Then have a little taste test before you add any on top at the end. Enjoy!
Becky —Reply
Thank you so much for sharing this fudge recipe, absolutely love it and turns out perfect every time!Marie Roffey —Reply
Thank you Becky. So happy you love it
K —Reply
Hi, we made this over the holiday and it tastes delicious, but it turned out more like a toffee than a fudge. Any thoughts on what we may have done wrong?
Marie Roffey —Reply
If it’s soft and not setting firm, then this is just because it hasn’t been cooked long enough. You could melt it again and add more white chocolate to help it get to a firm consistency but the flavour will change a little.
CPere —Reply
So frustrated! I followed the instructions precisely. All ingredients were room temperature. Cooked for 8 minutes once it began to bubble. Stirred constantly…it looked good. Once I took it off the heat and added the white chocolate (and a very expensive chocolate it was!), the fudge sized and became grainy looking. When I put it into the 8×8 pan, it had a huge slick of butter on the top. It is now cooling but is crumbly looking. I’m so disappointed. If there’s a possible fix, I’d really love to hear it
Marie Roffey —Reply
This can happen if you’ve overheated the mixture. Not sure where you are but sometimes humidity will mess around with candy making. You can return it to the stove and heat the whole lot over the lowest heat possible, stirring fairly vigorously (try not to splash it though) until it comes back together.
Amelia —Reply
Absolutely pumped to try this out! Sadly I can’t eat chocolate, can I follow the recipe in the same way minus the white chocolate?
Marie Roffey —Reply
No, unfortunately not. The chocolate both gives it a fudge texture and helps it set
Erin —Reply
Do you happen to know what temperature you cooked this fudge to? I tried it once and despite cooking it for the time specified in the recipe, it did not set (though the flavor was wonderful!). I would love to try it again, but I don’t want to waste another batch of ingredients. Perhaps if you could include the temperature it would be easier to get it right every time.
Marie Roffey —Reply
Hello Erin, no I don’t gauge the temperature on this. As long as you’re making sure to use the right quantities of all ingredients, just make sure it bubbles for 6-8 minutes while stirring constantly. It should be very thick and taking time to return to the sides of the pan when you stir. Check the video to see the consistency
Julie —Reply
Hi, I’ve seen lots of fudge recipes using all brown sugar. How does the taste differ with half white sugar and half brown sugar?
Marie Roffey —Reply
Hi Julie, this is always the way I’ve made it. It has a great caramel flavour but you can certainly use just brown sugar if you prefer.
Aurora Australis —Reply
how hard is it to makeMarie Roffey —Reply
It’s very easy Aurora.
Karen Wickham —Reply
I made this it was lovely and easy to do. Do you have a recipe for cherry bakewell fudge.
Marie Roffey —Reply
So glad you loved it Karen. No I’m sorry, I don’t have a cherry bakewell fudge recipe however I think if you use this Funfetti Vanilla Fudge (leave out the sprinkles and Easter eggs, add 3/4 cup glace cherries and 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract), it would taste lovely.
Nora White —Reply
Sorry I forgot to rate it – I give it 5 stars all the way for ease and taste!!Marie Roffey —Reply
Thank you so much Nora 🙂
Nora White —Reply
Well unfortunately substituting the whipping cream did not work – it made the fudge more like a soft taffy consistency. Very sticky and very hard to cut. The flavour was there – no denying that, but I will have to try it again with the correct amount of sweetened condensed milk.
Marie Roffey —Reply
Thats a shame Nora. Try freezing it and cutting while frozen, then just keep it in there and enjoy it straight from the freezer.
Noa White —Reply
I made this fudge today and because my sweetened condensed milk was only a 300 gram size, I added 85 grams of whipping cream. It seems to have worked, but I will have to wait for 3 hours now until it is set. It was definitely coming away from the pan when it was bubbling and I let it bubble until it thickened slightly. I also could not find liquid glucose or golden syrup so I used white corn syrup and honey. Thanks for the recipe. I have been looking for a great recipe since an old neighbour used to make it for the neighbourhood kids.
Shannon —Reply
Unfortunately, my fudge turned out more like a goo than a fudge. It did not set in place properly and I have to eat it with a spoon. Any reason why this happens?Marie Roffey —Reply
Hi Shannon, it just needs to cook longer. It may be you had your stove on slightly lower heat than I cook mine, so you just need to cook and keep stirring a little longer.
Holly —Reply
I have made this fudge a lot of times now and it’s been with a few disasters but the help I received from Marie over Instagram was amazing!! Ever since it’s been perfect. Family and friends request my fudge all the time. Absolutely love these recipes!! Thank you MarieMarie Roffey —Reply
Oh Holly, thank you so much. That makes my day. I’m so happy you love it 🙂
Nic —Reply
Hi
I’m making the fudge as part of a homemade Christmas bag. How long does the fudge last and how should it be stored once’s it’s made please? And I’m also thinking of putting some baileys in the mix to give it a bit of a Christmas feel. How much would you recommend I put in? Thank you
Marie Roffey —Reply
Hello Nic, it will keep for a week to 10 days no problem. It’s best stored in the fridge. I’m not sure about adding the baileys as I’ve not tried this. The liquid will likely affect how it sets.
Synnove —Reply
Oh my goodness! I made these today, they are soooo good! I wonder if I can use dark chocolate instead of the white, for chocolate fudge.Marie Roffey —Reply
Hello Synnove, yes you absolutely can – that’s the beauty of this simple fudge recipe. With dark chocolate I would chop it up more finely as it doesn’t melt as quickly as white chocolate. Enjoy 🙂
Karene —Reply
Hey there is there a substitute for sea salt
Marie Roffey —Reply
Hello Karene, you can use table salt but cut it down to 1/2 – 3/4 of the amount in the recipe. Sea salt flakes do have a nicer flavour so if you can get hold of them, I recommend doing that 🙂
Anu —Reply
Followed this recipe to the T but turned out a blobby mess, had a tough timing cutting it into pieces. The taste was ok.
Marie Roffey —Reply
Hi Anu, this just means you didn’t cook it for long enough. Make sure it cooks long enough that it’s coming away from the sides of the pan before transferring to the tin to set. It should start to set very quickly once you pour it out.
Rachel L —Reply
I’ve made this recipe multiple times and it is always a hit. For American cooks, you can get golden syrup on Amazon or at World Market/Cost Plus.Marie —Reply
Thank you so much, Rachel. I’ll make a note and link for the golden syrup in the post.
Rhonda —Reply
Hi Marie, Your recipe looks delicious , I have a question can you tell me what golden syrup is please.
Marie —Reply
Hello Rhonda, golden syrup is found in Australia and the UK. You can substitute with dark corn syrup. Hope that helps 🙂
Marie —Reply
Hello Rhonda, golden syrup is widely available in Australia and the UK. I’m not sure where you are but in the US, dark corn syrup will do the trick. 🙂
