Hot Fudge

I’m certain that no one is surprised to discover that hot fudge is my favorite dessert topping. I love it drizzled over the top of cake slices or ice cream scoops, swirled into cake batter before baking, layered into an ooey-gooey, chocolatey pie or tart, or, my personal preference, loaded into an ice cream sundae. And I do mean loaded, it should be the first item placed into a sundae glass, overlaying each scoop of ice cream that goes in, and the final item to go on just before the whipped cream. You should get a good dollop of hot fudge in every bite and look forward to that last gooey bit that is nearly all hot fudge lightly swirled with a bit of melted ice cream.

There are certainly plenty of commercial options available to choose from, at least a handful of options in most grocery stores, more if you include chocolate sauces and syrups (to be clear, I do not – chocolate syrups and sauces lack the texture, body, and depth of flavor to be found in hot fudge). So why make your own?

• The ingredient list is relatively simple, consisting mostly of pantry/refrigerator staples
• The process is very accessible, even for someone new to cooking or baking
• You control the flavor – your favorite brand of chocolate will make your favorite hot fudge
• Once you know how to make it, you will never need to do without (or fall back on chocolate syrup)

Much like the caramel sauce I posted about previously, I consider hot fudge to be a must have, on hand ingredient in my kitchen. When it is so easy to make, there is absolutely no excuse not to keep a batch in the refrigerator and ready to go.

Hot Fudge

Decadent, creamy, rich and dark – perfect to drizzle over or swirl into ice cream, cakes, pies, or tarts.

Lightly adapted from Bon Appétit Desserts

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: dessert, fudge, hot fudge, ice cream topping, sauce, topping

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cup heavy cream
• 1 ½ cup sugar
• 6 ounce nearly unsweetened (95%) chocolate, chopped or unsweetened
• 3 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

• Place all ingredients other than the vanilla extract into a medium saucepan.
  1 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1 1/2 cup sugar, 6 ounce nearly unsweetened (95%) chocolate, chopped, 3 tablespoon unsalted butter, 3 tablespoon light corn syrup, 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Stir over low heat until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and the color is homogeneous.
• Increase the heat to medium and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring often.
• Continue to boil for about 8-10 minutes until the mixture has thickened and reduced.
• Remove from the heat and cool slightly before stirring in the vanilla extract.
  1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Transfer to a heat-proof storage container (such as a large mason jar). Use immediately, or store in the refrigerator until ready to use. Heat the sauce in the jar in the microwave for about 30 seconds at a time until it is pourable before using.