Hot Fudge Sauce
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This hot fudge sauce was 100% impromptu and perhaps one of the best decisions that I have ever made at 9:45pm on a random Saturday night. This past Saturday my Chief Culinary Consultant was enjoying some guy time golfing and going to a baseball game, so I spent some quality time with my mom. My first instinct was to see if there were any chick flicks OnDemand. After a quick search, I realized that I forgot that 400+ channels yield virtually nothing in the good movie department. Then it dawned on me – there were actual sports to be watched. Unfortunately for my mom, that meant sitting through the Pirates game (she loathes baseball). She did perk up afterward, though, when I switched to the hockey playoffs to see New Jersey live to play another game. It was during the baseball game (specifically, after the Pirates scored 5 runs in the 4th inning) that I decided ice cream sundaes needed to happen. I still had some vanilla bean ice cream in the freezer from the ice cream sandwiches, and there was a tiny bit of salted caramel sauce in the fridge just begging to be polished off. Whipped cream and maraschino cherries? Check. The only thing missing was hot fudge. I hopped off the couch, grabbed my iPad, and bolted into the kitchen. In less than 20 minutes, we had hot fudge sauce, and not just any hot fudge sauce. The best, ever. I guarantee there will forever be a jar of this stuff stocked in my refrigerator.
When I started poking around for a recipe, I obviously wanted something that could be made with ingredients I already had in the house. Even though I live about 10 minutes from two 24-hour grocery stores, me putting on “real” clothes and going to buy ingredients just wasn’t going to happen. Luckily, I had what I needed for just about every recipe I found. The next hurdle? This couldn’t take forever. I wanted an ice cream sundae almost immediately. One recipe required cooking the sauce for an hour. That wasn’t going to work for me. I finally settled on a slightly merged recipe from one of my cookbooks and Deb’s site. It looked to be quick, fairly foolproof and had great reviews. I’m pretty confident I made the best choice possible, because this sauce is life-changing.
It’s rich, smooth, and the absolute perfect texture for pouring over ice cream. It lays on top, settles in puddles, and straddles the fence between melding into the ice cream and maintaining its own identity. Like I said, I don’t think I could have found a better hot fudge sauce. For all of the ice cream making that I do during the summer, I haven’t spent much time working on homemade toppings. Truth be told, I’m usually an ice cream purist and enjoy a cupful (or a bowlful) plain, without any toppings. I obviously didn’t inherit my dad’s zest for building grandiose ice cream concoctions. He would routinely top a bowl of vanilla ice cream with things like maple syrup and Grape-Nuts cereal (Elf, anyone?!). While I usually enjoy my ice cream for what it is, sometimes nothing beats an awesome sundae, and it totally hit the spot on Saturday night. If only I would have had one of my favorite chocolate chip cookies to throw into the mix 
Once you make this hot fudge sauce you’re going to want to hoard it, hide it in the back of the refrigerator so no one can find it, and only eat it when alone. I totally understand. The awesome news is that since it’s so easy and quick to make, you can whip up batch after batch in no time at all. So I encourage you to share the hot fudge love. Even though we’ve just merely dipped our toe into the warm days of summer, the winter holidays will be here before we know it, and I’m always on the lookout for ideas. This sauce would make a fabulous homemade gift. You could even play around with the flavorings, substituting a ¼ teaspoon of a flavored extract like peppermint, orange, or even raspberry, for a more festive sauce.
Whether you pour gallons of this over your ice cream, eat it with a spoon, or package it up and give it to a friend, this hot fudge sauce will certainly make your world a better place.
One year ago: Peanut Butter & Jelly Pie Bars
Two years ago: Blueberry Boy Bait
Three years ago: Irresistible Peanut Butter Cookies
Four years ago: Fresh Strawberry Tart
Hot Fudge Sauce
Yield: A heaping 2 cups
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
2/3 cup heavy cream
½ cup Lyle's Golden Syrup, or light corn syrup
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
¼ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon sea salt
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped, divided in half
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extractDirections:
1. In a 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the cream, syrup, brown sugar, cocoa powder, salt and half of the chocolate to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low or low (enough to maintain a low simmer), and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining chocolate, the butter, and the vanilla extract, stirring until smooth. Let cool for 20 to 30 minutes before using (it will thicken as it cools). Store in a jar or airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. To reheat, microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute until it's pourable but still thick.
(Recipe adapted from Gourmet Today and Smitten Kitchen)
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I saw your tweet with the picture and had a feeling it was chocolate sauce before I saw the post. This looks awesome!
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Who needs icecream? I would totally eat this right out of the jar
Looks amazing!
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Basically fudge is very sweet…made of sauce with fudge is may be very tasty and sweetly…i like it
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This is on my summer to-make list! Your recipe sounds delicious!
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This, along with your salted caramel sauce, would make just about the most amazing ice cream sundae. I need to make this now!!
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When I started looking at it I thought how difficult it will be, but it’s not, it’s like making a ganche, but will lot of flavors. This is something I must try.
Thanks for sharing.
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Mmmmm…. this looks so delicious! I need some of this in my life.
just-another-day1.blogspot.ca
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This looks fantastically yummy!!!
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Oh my goodness. I want that fudgy ice cream…like…now!
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Great impromptu decision and chocolate chip cookies with this would be amazing!!
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I can never keep enough hot fudge stocked in my fridge for my husband. I’ll confess I often buy him the Hershey’s syrup but this looks about a million times better! Perfect for summer too!
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Oh yummy!! I just started to make ice cream and this would be perfect to go on top! On my weekend to do list!!
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I am drooling over this. Fabulous!
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I want this for breakfast. Seriously.
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This looks delish. My cousin just gave me an ice cream maker, now I will make this to go along with it. The only bad thing is the waiting til both are done.
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Is this just like the jar hot fudge that’s full of junk?! I’ve been trying for a home made version but I can’t achieve the same glopy thickness so I still crave the jar when it comes to a hot fudge sundae and that’s no good! hoping this will do it!
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I must try this. I make ice cream weekly so finding the perfect hot fudge sauce is just going to indulge the madness.
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I could go for a bowl right now … sundea, not hot fudge sauce. Unless ….
lol.
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You often mention dutch-processed cocoa powder. Can you suggest a brand or where to get it? Can’t wait to make this and see if it compares to my Dad’s secret hot fudge sauce. He won’t share the recipe with me but passed it down to my son in a top-secret cooking session. Thinking it is time for a fudge sauce competition!
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I think I could use this topping for anything, not just ice cream. Thanks!
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This looks a lot like the one I make. I think I need to make some right now.
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GORGEOUS pictures-you have me craving ice cream now!
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I ALWAYS keep a jar of hot fudge in my fridge. It’s my all time favorite sweet item. I eat it by the spoonful when I crave chocolate. I tried to make it once and it was good. But this looks better, I think I will try it sometime!
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I asked my dad this weekend what dessert he wanted for Father’s Day, and he said chocolate chip cookies. I immediately thought of chocolate chip cookie bars, topped with ice cream and hot fudge. Homemade hot fudge… that’ll really take it up a notch! Thanks for the great recipe!
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Oh women please! Yummmmmy!:D
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You need to stop with these dangerous recipes! First the salted caramel sauce, now hot fudge sauce!?! I can’t handle all this temptation!
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MMMM, I love chocolate sauce! I was craving some last night to go over my mint chocolate chip ice cream! Instead of buying some though, I’ll just make it! Thanks girl!
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I love chocolate sauce with corn syrup in it – makes it chewy. YUM! I keep fat-free evaporated milk in the pantry for times when I want to make something yummy & don’t have cream.
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this is the perfect thing to go with the ice cream that i will be making when i get my new Ninja Pulse Blender at the end of the week. It looks so easy and rich. You are a constant source of information.
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WOW! This sauce must be something else if you speak that highly of it.
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Wow – Salted Caramel and now Fudge Sauce — my daughter made the salted caramel the other week and she shared. Now we need the fudge, too! She’s the “keeper of the chocolate” that we bought last winter…I’ll head her way with heavy cream – sounds like a rainy day plan!
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Saturday night TV is the worst. This recipe looks great, thanks so much for sharing! Some of the best recipes come about spontaneously!
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I made this hot fudge sauce and it is absolutely delicious!!! However, I’ve noticed that when I put it over ice-cream it turns hard and chewy almost immediately instead of remaining a sauce. Am I doing something wrong?
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Michelle on June 14th, 2012 at 10:58 am
Hi Rebecca, It shouldn’t turn hard, however I went through nearly a dozen homemade fudge sauce recipes (from cookbooks, blogs, etc.) and they all described the sauce as getting a chewy texture once it comes in contact with the cold ice cream, which was heralded as the sign of a great fudge sauce. If it got actually hard, it may have been cooked a bit too long, or your heat was too high.
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Rebecca on June 14th, 2012 at 12:29 pm
Thanks, Michelle! That makes sense. I love that the chewy texture is heralded as a sign of a great fudge sauce! I think the problem was that the first night that I reheated a little of it, I must have put it in the microwave for too long (it was bubbling when I took it out). Last night, I only reheated for about 10 seconds and it wasn’t as hard. It is absolutely delicious and I plan to give it as gifts!! I LOVE this site.
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I can’t wait to try this.
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Hot fudge sauce is always necessary! I find the recipes that come from places of desperation always turn out amazing!
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This hot fudge sauce looks divine… Can’t wait to make (and eat!) some
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This fudge looks incredible – nice and thick and gooey! And it’s from scratch – love that… I’m featuring this post in today’s Food Fetish Friday series (with a link-back and attribution). I hope you have no objections and it’s so much fun following your creations…
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I am in LOVE with this recipe! It looks so perfect for my husband & I! I am always adding hot fudge to my frozen yogurt when we go out and I would love to make it at home!
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I made this to take to a BBQ ( grilled fruit with sauce drizzled over) I had to make a double batch. One for my house one for the party!
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Can I make this, jar it, and then freeze it? The 2-week period isn’t long and I’m making large batches to use for gifts. Wondered if it’d keep well in the freezer until the week I’m giving them and then pull it out a couple days ahead to thaw in the fridge?
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I have made this using Bittersweet chocolate, semi sweet, and milk chocolate
I love the bitter sweet but the semi sweet I added instant espresso powder to and it was so yummy. The only reason I made with milk was hubby thinks the othetr two where bitter. I really dont like it with the milk
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Thanks for the wonderful hot fudge sauce recipe. I made a double batch and added 1/4 cup of bourbon to it. Yummmm. I like that it stays soft and fluid when you put it over ice cream, it doesn’t harden like many other hot fudge recipes.
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Some vanilla ice cream topped with this, and some of your homemade caramel sauce…life-changing doesn’t even begin to describe it!
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I just made some of this for an ice cream party I’m having in a couple hours. It’s soo delicious! I can’t wait to try it over the Andes mint ice cream we made.
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I just made this and I had to walk away… otherwise I’d eat the whole thing!!!
I used Hershey’s dark cocoa powder. All other ingredients were as written.
I tested it over a small amount of vanilla ice cream. Okay, so it was more than a small amount, but no one saw me so it doesn’t count, right?! Anyway, it did turn just a bit too chewy for me so I added a splash of milk to the pot and whisked it in. The second taste test was without ice cream but cooled enough to know that it’d be PERFECT!!
Thank you for an AMAZING hot fudge sauce recipe!!
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I make this on a basically weekly basis now – it doesn’t last much longer around here! My brother loves it and eats it out of the jar in front of the fridge
Thanks so much for sharing!!
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I just made this and it’s phenomenal!! The only thing I did different was use light brown sugar instead of dark (using what I had). Love the flavor and the texture. Just perfect! Thank you so much for posting it!!!
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I tried this recipe and felt it was very good. A bit on the ‘bitter’ or ‘dark’ side, even though I used Semi-Sweet instead of Bittersweet.. It set’s up beautifully and really does taste wonderful! My husband, the taste tester, said it was really good, but he’s just used to the store bought fudge which is a lot sweeter.. So it think I’ll keep experimenting to make it just a bit sweeter. It’s very good with Vanilla Ice Cream and turns really fudgy when it goes onto the cold IceCream
it passed the test! 
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I would like to make this and your salted caramel sauce as Christmas gifts. I am wondering if you have tried canning either of these to preserve them longer and how you did it? Can I just put it in jars and boil them? How long would they last this way? Any information would be appreciated. I am not experienced with canning.
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Michelle on December 9th, 2012 at 10:22 am
Hi Dawn, I have not canned either, and I don’t believe that you can simply boil the jars in order to make them safe for preservation. There are certain acidic variables that need to be present in recipes that are preserved, which makes them safe to be canned and consumed later. I would just make the recipes within a week or so of Christmas, refrigerate, and when you give it away, note on the package that it needs to be refrigerated.
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After boiling it burnt really easily, very annoyed!!!
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This was delicious! Thanks for the great recipe!
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Have just made this along with the Hot Chocolate Brownies from the Robin Hood website…I’m taking them in to work tomorrow along with some ice cream to serve to my hard-working staff. I cannot wait to try them both!
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wendyworldly on February 28th, 2013 at 5:32 am
OK, reporting back…this sauce was amazing! We had it with the brownies and ice cream and I just finished it up with just ice cream. So thick and rich and delicious, a really satisfying chocolate hit. My staff were saying they could eat it by the spoonful just by itself!
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Thanks for this recipe. It’s really yummy and easy to make. The sauce became a bit too chewy for me when I poured it over ice cream (I might have overcooked it). I added 1/4 cup extra corn syrup to the sauce and that gave me the consistency I like.
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Ice cream without anything else? Are you cray cray? HAha I do not remember the last time I had ice cream all by itself. Maybe as a very young child. At age 43, I eat my ice cream with peanut butter all. the. time. And usually Hershey’s chocolate syrup no matter wht kind of ice cream. When we were young, my mother wouldn’t buy anything but syrup but when we went to my Nana’s, oh boy! Nana had hot fudge, caramel, and butterscotch. Looking forward to trying this recipe!
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The other day I had a hardcore craving for classic mint chip ice cream. As I know there are some things you simply cannot recreate in your home kitchen (namely that whipped texture and ersatz flavour) I resolved to buy some.
Underwhelmed with my purchase, I decided to make a warm brownie sundae. I made the cook’s illustrated chewy brownie (highly recommend). In the ten minutes it took to cool before cutting, I made your outstanding hot fudge sauce. Delish! Great both hot or room temp. Stores well in a squeeze bottle. I’ll even admit to administering it directly into my four year old daughter’s mouth!
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I’ve been eating hot fudge sundaes since 1955. I don’t have any idea what “hot fudge sauce” is, however. I guess you are referring to hot fudge in the article although the recipe looks suspicious when you start boiling the cream. The French have severe restrictions on mangling their language. Perhaps that is partly why their cuisine is so remarkable.
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Wow, I just made this for my in-law’s and it was a huge hit! Thanks for the recipe
!
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This is ABSOLUTELY THE B-E-S-T fudge sauce EVER!! Seriously, I will only buy fudge sauce in an extreme time pinch anymore. I have made this many times now and always find it turns out thick and fudgy. Keeps well in the fridge and a quick warm up in the microwave gives it a fresh feel again! Thanks for sharing such a great recipe!
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I got this as a gift from my daughters 3rd grade teacher, as a thank you for helping out in the classroom this year. It was so good, I had to ask her where she got the recipe. I figured it had to be easy, she has a 3 year old and made it on a school night, the day before she sent them home (and she had to make 12 of them I’m told). My 3rd grader immediately recognized that it was made with a darker chocolate, which made her fall in love with it, the 2nd grader loved it because it goes on ice cream (and if it goes on ice cream what is not to love), I just loved the rich flavor!! I’ll be making some more of this, and doing what the teacher did – seal them in small glass jars to enjoy all summer long.
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I’ve been craving something chocolatey and well..just like this! I fully intend to eat most of it straight from the jar but as soon as I get to the shops and buy some chocolate this is what I plan on doing with (most) of it!
cant wait!
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Made this and it was perfection, so unbelievably good!!! I used 1/3rd cup milk in place of cream (as I had none but I absolutely HAD to make this immediately! ) my husband is a chef and just asked me for the recipe to put on with a dessert at his restaurant! Best recipe ever!!!
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Didn’t have any cream and had to make hot fudge for a recipe. I used whole milk and it was delicious! Thank you for posting this recipe!
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