Rainbow fudge is a gorgeous fudge made from six colorful layers of white chocolate fudge! It's a little time-consuming because each layer is made individually, but it's not at all difficult since it is made entirely in the microwave. You can always vary the colors of the layers to suit your tastes. Serve this beautiful and eye-catching fudge at your next party, shower, or celebration!
"A wonderful addition to any celebration. The rainbow colors draw instant excitement. And while the layers of colors require chill time in between, it's still easy and worth the trouble to produce something so fun." —Renae Wilson
Line a 9x9 pan with aluminum foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray. A 9x9 pan produces a fudge that is a little over an inch tall. If you want taller fudge, using an 8x8 pan will produce pieces that are almost 2 inches high.
In a bowl, combine 6 ounces (about 1 cup) of white chocolate chips, 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk, a pinch of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Microwave the bowl for 30 seconds, then stir.
Continue to microwave the white chocolate in 15-second intervals until it is completely melted and smooth when you stir. This can take anywhere from 45 to 90 seconds, depending on the strength of your microwave. Watch it carefully, as white chocolate can easily scorch.
Once melted and smooth, add a few drops of purple gel food coloring and stir until the color is dispersed.
Scrape the fudge into the prepared pan and smooth it into an even layer. It will be very thin, but remember we are making six layers in all!
Chill the pan to set the layer in the freezer for about 10 minutes.
Repeat the process from step 2 again. This time, once your white chocolate is melted, add blue food coloring and stir until combined.
Pour the blue fudge over the purple layer and spread it out, then chill the fudge again.
Continue to repeat this process, adding green, yellow, orange, and red layers of fudge.
Once you have added your final layer, freeze the fudge until it is completely set, about 1 hour.
When you are ready to cut it, remove the fudge from the pan using the foil as handles.
Use a large sharp chef's knife to cut the fudge into small 1-inch pieces. Return the fudge pieces to the freezer and freeze overnight. Keep frozen until ready to serve. The fudge may get soft after a few hours at room temperature.
If you don't have a microwave, you can melt the chocolate using a double boiler instead. Fill a small saucepan with an inch of two of water and place a heatproof bowl on top of it. The bottom of the bowl should not be touching the water. Bring the water to a gentle simmer and melt the chocolate with the condensed milk, vanilla and salt in the bowl, stirring occasionally.
The rainbow fudge can get soft if kept out at room temperature for too long. It is best served chilled.
How to Store
Rainbow fudge can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a month or in the freezer for up to four months.
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)
Monitor the Temperature with a Candy Thermometer. If you end up with soft fudge that turns into a puddle in your hands or hard fudge that is a bit reminiscent of a crunchy candy, improper temperature is likely to blame. ...
Avoid Stirring Once the Mixture Comes to a Simmer. ...
Beating fudge when it's still over heat creates sugar crystals, aka the grittiness you feel in the fudge. Instead, wait to pick up the spoon (our Test Kitchen loves using wooden spoons) until the fudge drops to between 110 and 113°F, about 15 minutes.
It should hold together well without being too hard and, above all, has to be melty and silky in your mouth. It's the size of sugar crystals that makes the knees of fudge lovers buckle…the smaller the crystals, the less they are perceived on the tongue and the more the fudge tastes smooth and creamy.
Once the sugar has dissolved and the mixture has come to a boil, do not stir it. If you do, the sugar can crystallize, giving your fudge a gritty texture. As you beat the fudge, pay attention to color and texture. Once the fudge loses its sheen and thickens, put down your spoon.
You have to control two temperatures to make successful fudge: the cooking temperature AND the temperature at which the mixture cools before stirring to make it crystallize. Confectionery experiments have shown that the ideal cooking temperature for fudge is around 114 to 115 °C (237 to 239 °F).
If the fudge is very soft and slightly chewy then it is possible that it did not quite cook to soft ball stage and next time the mixture should be cooked to a slightly higher temperature (soft ball is 112-116c/235-240F and a sugar or candy thermometer can help).
Once the fudge reaches soft-ball stage on the candy thermometer, remove from the heat and let the temperature drop to 110°F. Keep that spoon or spatula out of the pot until this happens. If you stir too early in the process, you'll make the sugar crystals too big and end up with grainy fudge.
To fix it, you can reheat the fudge mixture over low heat and continue cooking until it reaches the proper temperature. Be sure to use a candy thermometer to monitor the temperature accurately. Alternatively, you can try to salvage chewy fudge by mixing it into ice cream or using it as a topping for desserts.
One of the most difficult steps in making fudge is knowing when to stop beating. Once the candy becomes thick and almost holds its shape when dropped from the spoon, it's time to quickly stir in the nuts and push the mixture into the prepared pan (Step 8).
Stir the ingredients to dissolve the sugar until the mixture comes to a boil. If your recipe uses milk, stirring will keep the mixture from curdling. But once it reaches about 236–238 degrees F/113–114 degrees C (the "soft-ball" stage), do not stir it or even shake the pan.
The main reason is that your Fudge has not reached the optimum temperature. If your mixture only reaches 110 or 112 degrees Celsius it will always be soft. That's why we recommend investing in a sugar thermometer. Another reason your Fudge is not setting is that the ratio of liquid to sugar is too high.
According to most recipes, the ingredients of fudge are cooked to what is termed in kitchen parlance the soft ball stage, that point between 234 and 240 °F (112 and 115 °C) at which a small ball of the candy dropped in ice water neither disintegrates nor flattens when picked up with the fingers.
Secondly, the pot's material should allow for good heat distribution hence your top choice should be copper cookware or a pot with a copper core. Copper's exceptional heat conductivity offers unparalleled temperature control, an asset when working with finicky ingredients like sugar.
Good use of failed fudge: fudge that is too hard, too soft, too runny, too sugary, too chewy, etc. Proportions are as follows: for every 2 cups (roughly 1 pound yield) of any failed fudge that is not runny, you'll need 1 egg, ½ cup all-purpose flour, and ½ cup milk. If fudge is soupy, halve the milk (to ¼ cup).
Cream of tartar is used in caramel sauces and fudge to help prevent the sugar from crystallizing while cooking. It also prevents cooling sugars from forming brittle crystals, this is why it's the secret ingredient in snickerdoodles!
The main reason is that your Fudge has not reached the optimum temperature. If your mixture only reaches 110 or 112 degrees Celsius it will always be soft. That's why we recommend investing in a sugar thermometer. Another reason your Fudge is not setting is that the ratio of liquid to sugar is too high.
How can you fix soft fudge? Put it in a microwave safe bowl that is large enough that it won't boil over. Reheat it to the boiling point and cook for about 3 more minutes. Then you can beat some powdered sugar into it if this doesn't make it set.
If your fudge is soft or runny, it probably didn't come up to a high enough temperature while it was cooking. Put it back into the saucepan and add 1–2 US tbsp (15–30 ml) of 35% fat whipping cream. Stir the fudge as it heats, but only until the sugar in the chocolate is completely melted again.
Introduction: My name is Arielle Torp, I am a comfortable, kind, zealous, lovely, jolly, colorful, adventurous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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