Hot Fudge Sauce

This is reminiscent of an old-fashioned hot fudge sauce recipe, and it is THE standby. Rich with chocolate flavor, the reliable silky smooth texture, a short ingredient list, and can be prepared in just 15 minutes. Keep a jar in your fridge at all times for impromptu ice cream sundaes!

Well over a decade ago, on a random Saturday night, we had a craving for ice cream sundaes. From-scratch vanilla bean ice cream from ice cream sandwiches was in the freezer, and a jar of salted caramel sauce was in the fridge. The only thing missing was hot fudge.

When we started searching for a recipe, we wanted something that could be made with ingredients we already had in the house and that wouldn’t take long. We finally settled on a recipe that we merged from one of our cookbooks and Smitten Kitchen. It looked like it would be speedy and fairly foolproof, and it turned out to be a standby decision because this sauce is life-changing.

This chocolate sauce is rich, smooth, and has the absolute reliable 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. AND it tastes like liquid fudge!

What goes in the bowl

You only need a handful of ingredients to make a standby hot fudge sauce you’ve ever tasted! Let’s chat through them below, and as always, be sure to check the recipe card for a full list of ingredients and quantities.

• Heavy Cream – Gives this sauce it’s creamy texture. We don’t recommend any substitutions, but if you must, we wouldn’t go any less than full fat half and half.
• Lyle’s Golden Syrup – we find this in the ethnic/international foods aisle in our supermarket; you can also order it online or substitute light corn syrup.
• Dark Brown Sugar – You can substitute light brown sugar, but the dark gives the sauce a richer flavor.
• Dutch-Processed Cocoa Powder – we get ours from Costco or Amazon, but some grocery stores carry it, as well. For the cleanest, richest flavor, do not substitute natural unsweetened cocoa powder.
• Bittersweet Chocolate – we recommend using a 60% cacao for a standby flavor, but you can go higher if you prefer a darker flavor or use semisweet chocolate if you want it a little bit sweeter. You can use bar chocolate and finely chop it, or you can use dark or semisweet chocolate chips.
• Vanilla Extract, Butter, and Salt – For extra richness and flavor.

How to Make This Hot Fudge Recipe

This sauce comes together quickly and easily; here’s how it’s made:

Step 1 – In a small saucepan, bring the cream, golden syrup, cocoa powder, brown sugar, salt, and half of the chocolate to a boil. Reduce to a low simmer and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Step 2 – Remove from the sauce pan from the heat and stir in the rest of the chocolate, vanilla, butter, and salt until combined and melted.

Step 3 – Allow to cool for 20 to 30 minutes, as it will continue to thicken as it cools.

Ways to serve it

Aside from straight from the jar by the spoonful, the ways you use this are limitless! If you are in need of some ideas, here are a few to get you started:

• Drizzle over your favorite ice cream (browse all of our from-scratch ice cream recipes)
• Build the ultimate hot fudge sundae with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and a maraschino cherry on top!
• Stir it into your coffee
• Use it as filling for ice cream cake, ice cream sandwich cake, or banana split ice cream cake
• Use it as a drizzle for cakes like angel food cake, rum cake, and pound cake.
• Dip zeppole or doughnut holes in the sauce.
• Top your favorite brownies with a scoop of ice cream and then drizzle on the hot fudge.
• Gift jars of it for the holidays, friend birthdays, hostess gifts, etc.

Ways to serve it

This is reliable for making hours or days ahead of time and keeping a batch on hand at all times! Here’s how to keep it:

Storage: Store leftovers of this hot fudge in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

To Reheat: Microwave for 30 seconds increments, stirring after each, or until pourable but still thick.

To Freeze: Transfer the completely cooled hot fudge to an airtight, freezer-safe container and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Transfer to the refrigerator to thaw overnight, then reheat as instructed above.

Recipe Notes

• Flavored Extracts – Change up the flavor of the sauce by using different extracts; use ¼ teaspoon and reduce the vanilla extract to ½ teaspoon. Some ideas: peppermint extract, orange extract, and coconut extract.
• Rum or Bourbon – Give your hot fudge a little kick by stirring in a tablespoon or so of your favorite liquor (give it a taste and add more if you’d like).
• Flaky Sea Salt – Add a sprinkle of flaky sea salt at the end to balance out the flavors.
• Peanut Butter Hot Fudge – Transform this recipe into a chocolate peanut butter version by stirring 2 tablespoons of creamy peanut butter into the mixture once the chocolate is melted.
• More Flavor Ideas – You could also stir in some instant espresso (we would go with 1 teaspoon) for a mocha hot fudge or some ground cinnamon for a Mexican-inspired hot fudge sauce (use anywhere from ½ to 2 teaspoons depending on your preference).

Ingredients

• ⅔ cup ( 158 ml ) heavy cream
• ½ cup ( 156 g ) Lyle’s Golden Syrup, or light corn syrup
• ⅓ cup ( 71 g ) dark brown sugar
• ¼ cup ( 21 g ) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped, divided in half
• 2 tablespoons ( 28 g ) unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

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.

Notes

Lyle’s Golden Syrup – we find this in the ethnic/international foods aisle in our supermarket; you can also order it online or substitute light corn syrup.

Dark Brown Sugar – You can substitute light brown sugar, but the dark gives the sauce a richer flavor.

Dutch-Processed Cocoa Powder – we get ours from Costco or Amazon, but some grocery stores carry it, as well. For the cleanest, richest flavor, do not substitute natural unsweetened cocoa powder.

Bittersweet Chocolate – we recommend using a 60% cacao for a standby flavor, but you can go higher if you prefer a darker flavor or use semisweet chocolate if you want it a little bit sweeter. You can use bar chocolate and finely chop it, or you can use dark or semisweet chocolate chips.

Storage: Store leftovers of this hot fudge in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

To Reheat: Microwave for 30 seconds increments, stirring after each, or until pourable but still thick.

To Freeze: Transfer the completely cooled hot fudge to an airtight, freezer-safe container and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Transfer to the refrigerator to thaw overnight, then reheat as instructed above.

Flavored Extracts – Change up the flavor of the sauce by using different extracts; use ¼ teaspoon and reduce the vanilla extract to ½ teaspoon. Some ideas: peppermint extract, orange extract, and coconut extract.

Rum or Bourbon – Give your hot fudge a little kick by stirring in a tablespoon or so of your favorite liquor (give it a taste and add more if you’d like).

Flaky Sea Salt – Add a sprinkle of flaky sea salt at the end to balance out the flavors.

Peanut Butter Hot Fudge – Transform this recipe into a chocolate peanut butter version by stirring 2 tablespoons of creamy peanut butter into the mixture once the chocolate is melted.

More Flavor Ideas – You could also stir in some instant espresso (we would go with 1 teaspoon) for a mocha hot fudge or some ground cinnamon for a Mexican-inspired hot fudge sauce (use anywhere from ½ to 2 teaspoons depending on your preference).

This recipe was originally published in June 2012.

Photography by Dee Frances.