Rich pumpkin and dark chocolate fudge bars, perfect for fall gatherings! This recipe uses cake mix to keep prep quick and easy, needing only about 15 minutes hands-on!
Key Tips - Easy Fudge Filled Pumpkin Bars
For best results, use baker's chocolate!
- I swear by baker’s chocolate for recipes like this one, because it melts down so much nicer than most chocolate chips. If needed, chocolate chips should still work fine in this recipe.
- I use Ghirardelli 60% cacao bars for this, it melts so well and stays silky when melted. I stock up whenever my grocery store runs a sale on these!
Make this for a crowd!
- This recipe is very rich, and makes quite a few pieces, so it's perfect for a fall holiday gathering!
For less sweet bars, don’t use the whole can of sweetened condensed milk.
- Even when using dark chocolate, the fudge will still be a bit sweet due to the sweetened condensed milk. If desired, you can use less condensed milk, which will result in a richer, true semi-sweet fudge. Anywhere between ½ to ¾ of the can should work well for this!
- You can use semi-sweet chocolate in this recipe rather than dark chocolate if desired, but it will result in a much sweeter fudge.
Check out the progress pictures below!
Dietary Restrictions - Easy Fudge Filled Pumpkin Bars
This dish is naturally Vegetarian
Make it Gluten-Free
- I believe this recipe would work well with gluten-free white cake mix, but I haven't test it myself yet. If you make it this way, please let us know how it went in the comment section!
A Note On Serving Sizes
I've listed the serving size as one bar, which is 1/30th of the pan (cutting 5x6). That makes each bar about 185 calories. This is a very rich dessert, so some people may want an even smaller slice than that.
Fudge Filled Pumpkin Bars
Rich pumpkin and dark chocolate fudge bars, perfect for fall gatherings! This recipe uses cake mix to keep prep quick and easy, needing only about 15 minutes hands-on!
Ingredients
For pumpkin bar batter:
- 1 15.25 oz box white cake mix
- 1 15 oz can pumpkin purée
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- ⅓ cup veggie oil
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- 2 teaspoon vanilla optional
For fudge filling:
- 8 oz dark baker’s chocolate, chopped or dark chocolate chips
- 4 tablespoon unsalted butter cubed
- 1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk may not use whole can, see notes
- 1 teaspoon vanilla optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F and grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
- In a large bowl combine the pumpkin puree, eggs, veggie oil, and 2 teaspoon vanilla. Gently mix with a silicon spatula or large spoon until the mixture is fully combined.
- To the bowl, add the white cake mix, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Try to break up any clumps in the cake mix bag before adding it to the mix (or sift it in if desired). Mix until everything is fully incorporated, but don’t over mix. Set aside.
- To make the fudge filling you can either use a double boiler, or the microwave method (easy and what I recommend). In a microwave safe bowl, combine the chocolate, butter, sweetened condensed milk, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Gently melt the mixture in the microwave, stopping every ~30 seconds to mix, until the chocolate is fully melted, and the mixture is fully incorporated. [Optional modification - even with dark chocolate, the fudge will still be a bit sweet. If you want a richer, semi-sweet fudge, do not use the full can of sweetened condensed milk. Instead, use ½ to ¾ of the can as desired.]
- Add ½ of the pumpkin batter to the bottom of the greased 9x13 pan in an even layer. Top with the fudge in an even layer, then add the remaining pumpkin batter in non-uniform dollops on top, covering most of the fudge but leaving some peeking through.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, until the top has browned slightly, and a toothpick inserted near the center comes up clean of pumpkin batter.
- Allow the bars to cool completely in the pan, then slice into small pieces (this recipe is very rich, so don’t cut them too large, I recommend 5x6, so 30 pieces). Store cut bars in an airtight container in the fridge or at room temp.
Notes
Even when using dark chocolate, the fudge will still be a bit sweet due to the sweetened condensed milk. If desired, you can use less of the condensed milk, which will result in a richer, true semi-sweet fudge. Anywhere between ½ to ¾ of the can should work well for this!
Nutrition
Serving: 1 barCalories: 185kcal
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Send me pictures of your creations -- it'll make my day! Message @CraftyCookbook on Instagram, email me ([email protected]), or tag me in a post! Please note, tagged posts are only visible to me if your account is public. Did you make any interesting changes or substitutions for this recipe? Tell me about them in the comment section below!
Emilia says
These were so easy and a huge hit with my friends!! They are superrrr rich though, so I agree you want to make sure you don't cut them too big. I cut them a little larger than recommended (more like normal brownie size) but next time I'll go a little smaller. Will totally make them again, thank you!