When I was a kid, a chocolate sundae seemed like a mythic dessert, something imaginary children in movies ate out of towering glass cups while sitting in gleaming 1950s-style ice cream parlors. In my world—the early ‘80s hippie parent-manifested world of lentils and carob desserts and organic food co-ops—ice cream came portioned in small scoops, served in dry cake cones. The ice cream itself was the treat; adding more sugar on top would be gilding the lily.
It wasn’t until I was 21—yes, you read that right—when my college boyfriend (now my husband) took me to Sundae School on Cape Cod, that I actually tried my first sundae. Josh’s parents had approached the ‘80s with a more mainstream, Chef Boyardee-friendly approach to food, and for him, getting a sundae on the Cape was a regular rite of summer. He insisted that I order a proper dessert, with lots of hot fudge and a ripe cherry on top. I was instantly hooked.
These days, while I still consider a sundae a special treat, it’s one I am likely to make at home. Because here’s the thing: hot fudge sauce is really, really easy to make! All you need is cream, sugar, corn syrup (which smooths out the sauce’s texture), and some chocolate. Over the years I’ve tried a few versions, and I’ve landed on one sweetened with dark brown sugar (for a deep, rich flavor) and flavored with a combination of both melted semi-sweet chocolate and unsweetened cocoa powder that I consider the perfect accompaniment for any flavor of ice cream.
Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
The Best Chocolate for Hot Fudge Sauce
The key to a good fudge sauce is to use good-quality chocolate and cocoa, as they add all the flavor. Since I live in California, I usually use Ghirardelli or Guittard chocolate, as they have wonderful flavors but aren’t too expensive. (Whatever you do, don’t use chocolate chips; they contain stabilizers that will change the sauce’s texture.)
I also usually use 70% chocolate, which has a deep, rich flavor with just a bit of sweetness. Paired with a few spoonfuls of cocoa powder (either Dutch-processed or natural), it makes a sauce that is faintly sweet with a hint of bitterness that balances out a sundae’s inherent sweetness perfectly.
Why You Should Let Chocolate Melt Slowly
The recipe below asks you to add the chopped chocolate and butter to a pot full of hot cream, sugar, and corn syrup, and then let the chocolate sit and melt without stirring. This might seem like a waste of time—after all, wouldn’t the chocolate melt faster if it was agitated in the hot liquid?
While this is true, letting the chocolate melt on its own allows it to break down without disturbing its internal crystal structures more than necessary—and this gives your finished sauce a creamier, more velvety texture (especially combined with the added butter).
Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
Don’t Use a Small Saucepan
While you may be tempted to make this fudge in a small saucepan (all the ingredients look like they’d fit just fine), you should avoid that impulse and reach for a two-quart pan with plenty of extra room. When the sugar-cream mixture starts to boil, it can rise pretty quickly and might easily bubble over the sides of a smaller pan.
Adding Flavors
If you want to add a unique twist to your hot fudge, you can stir in a bit of some of your favorite flavoring right at the end, after the vanilla and salt. A good rule of thumb is to start with a very small amount of the flavoring, then taste the sauce and add more if needed. Also, make sure to taste and adjust the flavors while the sauce is hot; heat amplifies the volatile aroma compounds in extracts and zests, so if you try the sauce while it’s cool, it won’t have as much flavor as it does when it’s heated—and it might be overwhelming when you later reheat it to serve.
Some good flavoring options are:
- 1/4 teaspoon peppermint or coconut extract
- Finely grated zest of 1 orange or tangerine
- 2 to 3 drops food-grade lavender oil
Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
Other Uses for Fudge Sauce
While hot fudge is most often served on ice cream or an ice cream-based dessert, there are plenty of other foods that can benefit from a drizzle of chocolatey goodness. Try spooning some over a slice of pound cake, serving it on fresh berries, or blending it into a smoothie. For a fun communal dessert, you can also heat it gently and serve it as a fondue with pieces of fruit, cubes of cake, marshmallows, cookies, and small pretzels to dip into the sauce one by one.
