Hot Fudge Sauce

Hot Fudge Sauce
Karsten Moran for The New York Times
Total Time
10 minutes
Rating
5(1,106)
Notes
Read community notes

This recipe for a classic hot fudge sauce came to The Times in 2004, from Kay Rentschler. “A well-constructed homemade hot fudge sauce moves forward with dark smoky accents and arrives with plenty of chew,” she wrote. Here, bittersweet chocolate and high-fat Dutch process cocoa bring that smokiness, while heavy cream, butter and sugar mellow it out. It’s a perfect contrast to the milky sweetness of a sundae loaded with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream.

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Ingredients

Yield:3 cups
  • 2cups heavy cream
  • 4tablespoons unsalted butter
  • ½cup light brown sugar
  • ¾cup granulated sugar
  • ¼teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 2ounces bittersweet chocolate in small pieces
  • cups sifted high-fat Dutch-process cocoa like Valrhona, Pernigotti or Droste (sift, then measure)
  • ½teaspoon vanilla extract
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

567 calories; 42 grams fat; 26 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 11 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 56 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams dietary fiber; 45 grams sugars; 6 grams protein; 128 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In medium saucepan, combine cream, butter, sugars and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Simmer 45 seconds. Add chocolate, and whisk to dissolve. Remove from heat, add cocoa, and whisk until no lumps remain.

  2. Step 2

    Return pan to low heat, and simmer sauce until glossy, whisking constantly, 20 seconds. Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla. Serve warm. To reheat sauce, warm in a saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. Do not boil.

Ratings

5 out of 5
1,106 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

It came out well; very rich in flavour. I only wished it was a little runny in consistency. How can I make the sauce a little thin now that I've made it? Any suggestions? Thanks.

This hot hot fudge is easy to make, to serve and to reheat. We halved the recipe and served the sauce over Hagan Das vanilla ice cream. Friends commented on how flavorful it was. I commented on how easy it was to make. The sauce doesn't harden, become a slab but stays "like a sauce." I used 70% bittersweet Scharffenberger chocolate and Droste cocao.

this is easy to make thinner: just add more cream, or even a little milk as it's rich enough to take it. you can add this at the beginning of the recipe. or when rewarming it. start with 1/4 cup more and see if that satisfies you. you could also add 1/4 cup of your favorite liqueur if you like- that would change the flavor (add it as the last step and skip the vanilla) of course....but would thin it out.

Easy to make. I tend to bypass the sifting and pour the cocoa directly in, just whisking extra to remove the clumps. Very rich, chocolate flavor that works perfectly with vanilla ice cream or most any dessert. Also stores well in the fridge and can reheat without trouble

If you double the recipe, 250 g=2.5 cups of cocoa powder; which is a small box of Droste. I always double and then give some away!

I made this just fine in the microwave. Half recipe in a 2 C Pyrex worked out great.

I threw this together in less than 10 min, and it is FAR superior to the syrupy hot fudge I am used to — probably due to the exclusion of corn syrup. I made it with Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder because I'm cheap as hell, and it turned out beautifully! Can't wait to serve it up on the 4th.

I have made 1/2 and even 1/3 of the recipe without any problem; for reheating I put the jar in a warm water bath in saucepan and stir a few times. works perfectly and no risk of burning/boiling

Made this vegan by substituting one 12.2 oz can unsweetened evaporated coconut milk and just shy of 1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk for cream and Earth Balance organic coconut spread for butter. Omitted the salt due to the salt in the vegan butter. I used my store brand cocoa thinking it would lack a bit of flavor and was shocked at how deep the flavor was. This came out super dark, rich and incredibly chocolatey.

4 tbsp butter is 57 g

This was amazing and worth every bit of the 5 star rating!! This is the best fudge sauce I've ever tasted - and definitely have ever made.

Really delicious. Sifting the cocoa into the sauce before whisking made life simpler. I would love to see exact temperatures for recipes that require precision, like chocolate.

My company loved it! Six senior citizens almost finished the entire batch over Breyers homemade vanilla ice cream. Some had never tasted homemade hot fudge and said they’d never be satisfied with store bought hot fudge again. I only used a cup of the cocoa. The consistency was perfect. It’s easy to make. It’s not too sweet. It is addictive!

I would guess your heat was up too high.

I made this with 1/4 cup of Amaretto liqueur instead of vanilla, because I wanted the sauce a bit thinner and I love the flavor of Amaretto. The sauce has such a rich chocolate vibe that the Amaretto is subtle. My husband loves it. "You can make that again." It's a winner.

This was too thin and runny. Can I fix it now, after it has cooled? Did I not "simmer" enough?

I loved this and it’s very handy to keep in the fridge and then just microwave a little when needed.

I like it a little thinner and, don’t hate me, a little more like the stuff at your favorite custard stand. I add 1/3 cup whole milk and 1/2 cup of light corn syrup to achieve this effect. Great compromise!

Kind of baffled by this recipe and all the great reviews. I followed everything closely; the texture was wonderful, so I give it 2 stars for that. But the flavor was so so sweet and not nearly chocolatey/fudgy enough. I had to make a double recipe of a much richer fudge and mix them together to try to save this, but it was still a bit of a waste. Very sad!!! Other recipes I’ve tried have 3-5 oz hard chocolate plus 2 tbsp cocoa powder. Did I do something wrong??

Very easy to make and amazing flavor.

Solid chocolate sauce, would make again, it’s easy, quick, and reheats well. Not really “hot fudge” though? It lacks chew..

I've made this a few times and it's my go-to for sure, great depth of flavour, much more satisfying than a ganache. I amp up the salt and vanilla and use regular supermaket cocoa as I never remember to seek out anything else. I should probably only do half a recipe but it keeps well.

Perfect homemade hot fudge sauce, just like I remember making as a kid working in an ice cream shop. I've made many recipes over the years but they never quite hit the mark until I made this one. The high fat cocoa powder is important - I used Anthony's Organic Culinary Grade Cocoa Powder and followed the directions to sift. Freezing had no effect on the quality when warmed up again — still delicious with perfect texture!

I would not describe this as a fudge sauce. Great chocolate flavor but not a hot fudge sauce, which should ideally cool into a fudgy chunk on ice-cream. This arrives at its thick texture through the incorporation of a lot of cocoa into the cream, not via the cooking of the sugars. It's a lovely chocolate sauce, but not a fudge sauce.

FYI, two ounces of dark chocolate is about 1/3 of a cup. Tasty recipe, and nice with a little less sugar!

This recipe is a lot of work to make. But in the end, it tastes great. We had it with vanilla ice cream. But it would taste great with anything 🍦

Took dried cherries that had been hydrated in a little boiling water. Poured off water, and soaked cherries in a bit of brandy for 10 mins. Added cherries (without excess brandy) to chocolate sauce. Also added 1/4 tsp. of white pepper, but could've substituted a pinch of cinnamon or ginger, instead. It was a big hit, and the leftovers can be frozen.

I wonder how long this keeps in the refrigerator.

Nice flavorful chocolate sauce but not American Hot Fudge. It's runny like chocolate syrup.

Today is July 4, 2023. I made this for the first time tonight!!! I was looking for a new recipe that didn’t require boiling to the candy stage. The texture of this sauce is incredibly smooth, heavy and luxurious. My family raved over it and when they finished their ice cream they had seconds of fudge sauce! Substitutions I made we’re all white sugar, and I ran out of cream making the ice cream base so I used 1/2&1/2. It’s hard to imagine this would be even more delicious with all cream. It would

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