Making chocolate cherry fudge is easy with just a few key ingredients. The trick is making the fudge a creamy texture as you melt the chocolate so that it doesn’t become chalky.
When you use fresh cherries, you need to be mindful of a few things. First the fudge is going to be amazingly delicious. But it will also be a little gooey around the pockets of cherries. Also, because the fudge has fresh fruit, it does not keep as long as other types of fudge. You’ll want to eat it within a couple days or freeze it until you’re ready to serve it.
Another key part of making chocolate cherry fudge is to use high quality chocolate. After all, chocolate is the primary ingredient in any fudge recipe.
How to Make Easy Chocolate Cherry Fudge
Start by pitting about half a cup of fresh cherries and chopping them into fine pieces. Use a paper towel to take out as much of the moisture from the cherries as you can.
To pit the cherries, you can use a cherry pitter that will remove them quickly. If you don’t have a cherry pitter, you can put them manually by removing the stems, cutting the cherries in half and using the tip of a knife or your fingers to remove the pit.
Next, warm your chocolate chips with the can of condensed milk in a sauce pan over medium low heat.
Use about one package of chocolate chips to 7 ounces of sweetened condensed milk. This cherry chocolate fudge recipe calls for two packages of chocolate chips, and one can (or 14 ounces) of sweeten condensed milk.
Continue to stir until the mixture becomes creamy.
Add the almond extract, rum, and unsalted butter, and continue to stir. Finally, when the mixture is a creamy texture, gently add in the fresh cherries. Stir them so that they are dispersed evenly.
Then pour the mixture into your prepared baking pan. Let it sit for about 4 to 5 hours to set. You can let it sit at room temperature or in the refrigerator. for fudge with fresh cherries, it’s best to chill it in the refrigerator.
How to Serve Easy Cherry Chocolate Fudge
Cut the fudge into equal bite-size pieces to serve.
You can serve the fudge chilled or at room temperature, but keep in mind because this recipe uses fresh cherries serving it at room temperature may make the cherries a little more gooey around the cherry pockets.
Be sure to have some napkins on hand for this chocolate fudge. Consider using toothpicks to serve the fudge for clean and easy bites!
Looking for other tasty bites? Try:
Easy Chocolate Cherry Fudge
Equipment
- Sauce Pan
- cherry pitter (optional)
- 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 baking pan.
Ingredients
- 2 packages high-grade chocolate chips (about 3¼ cups)
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz)
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ¼ cup rum (or cherry rum)
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- ½ cup fresh cherries
Instructions
- Line a baking pan with parchment paper.
- Heat chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk in a sauce pan on medium low, stirring continuously.
- Once the chocolate chips are melted, stir in butter rum and almond extract. Bring to a gentle boil. Fold in cherries and stir until they just are evenly mixed in.
- Pour the cherry fudge into the prepared baking pan. Allow the mixture to cool at least 4 hours. Cut into even, bite-sized pieces. You can store the fudge in the refrigerator for about 2 – 3 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.*Keep in mind that the fudge has fresh cherries, so it does not store as long as other types of fudge.
