Bittersweet Hot Fudge Sauce
My goodness. I’m not going to use the weather as a conversation-starter anymore. I’m going to say, “Hello. My name is Sarah. Nice to meet you. How do you like your eggs?” It just might be one of the few (non-controversial) things all of us can enthusiastically chime in on.
Chocolate is today’s conversation-starter. And I have a confession. All those magnets, bumper stickers and aprons for chocolate lovers have never spoken to me. If I’m out for dinner and ask for the dessert menu, it’s not chocolate I’m hoping to see. I want a coconut dessert (which I absolutely cannot resist) or custard or something made from lemons. Pre-children, Yancey and I went on a week-long backpacking trip in the North Cascades. We ate freeze-dried soups and chunks of summer sausage and instant oats in the morning. At least 10 times a day, huffing up some hill or fording some stream, I’d say, “When we get back, I’m going straight to Gelatiamo for coconut gelato.” And I did.
You might be getting the wrong idea, though. I love chocolate, and eat my share of it. Friends came for dinner the other night, all of us and the kids smooshed around our kitchen table. We eat three huge pans of Yancey’s pizza, emptied lots of beer bottles, and still saved room for this crazy-rich sauce. I served it with dulce de leche ice cream, flaked salt, pretzels, and roasted almonds. It even gave coconut pies and lemon tarts a run for their money (and will take you five minutes to make).
Bittersweet Hot Fudge Sauce
From my (yellow) Gourmet cookbook. This is the kind of sauce that will firm up a bit when it hits the cold ice cream, making delightfully fudgy nubbins throughout. You can keep it in the fridge for at least a week, but I dare you to resist dipping a spoon in the pitcher every night. To rewarm it, put it in a saucpan and heat very gently over low heat.
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), finely chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
Bring cream, corn syrup, sugar, cocoa, salt, and half of chocolate to a boil in a 1 to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, until chocolate is melted. Reduce heat and cook at a low boil, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes, then remove from heat. Add butter, vanilla, and remaining chocolate and stir until smooth. Cool sauce to warm before serving.
mmmmm, yummmmmmmy…. I made chocolate mousse for the first time last night. I’m going to taste it tonight. I’m so uber impressed with myself that I didn’t get up at 2am and devour it.
Question about corn syrup - I’ve heard it’s really really bad for you. And I never keep it on hand because recipes only call for 1 or 2 tablespoons at a time. Can we get away without it? Substitute something else?
yum! I make a recipe that is similar to this, except it involves peanut butter as well with the chocolate. We call it “dream gravy” in my house, and it does that similar thing of slightly hardening when it hits the frosty ice cream.
Yum. . . .I wonder how this would be drizzled over eggs?!
Don’t jump to any permanent conclusions yet about your relative indifference to chocolate, compared to coconut desserts, lemon and custard preparations—–I didn’t “mature” into my fine, dark chocolate craving until well after forty—-and it endures. This looks wonderful; thanks.
Pam made me realize I have a favorite egg-chocolate recipe (pot de chocolat) that’s easy and good! Microwave 3/4 cup cream to almost boiling. Pour over the following in blender container: 1 T sugar, 6 oz TJ bittersweet chocolate, dash of salt, 1 tsp rum, 1 egg. Blend and pour into serving ramekins; top with whipped cream. So this goes under eggs as well as chocolate.
I like my eggs over-easy and my chocolate easy over and over.
I confess…I’ve copied out the recipe. I’m sure it will come in useful!
As always your blog is gorgeous!
Rosie
Hot fudge is a must on my ice cream. I love your gourmet combo with the salty pretzels & sweet caramel - nice!
- Hillary [don't miss my giveaway!]
Just started following your blog and I really enjoy it! Thank you for sharing your stories and your recipes.
I’m so with you on the lemon and coconut, but every girl needs a good hot fudge sauce up her sleeve. Well, at least in her files, anyway. Somehow I’ve never had a go at one — this looks like a keeper. Thanks!
I second the coconut emotion! How about coconut ice cream with the chocolate sauce over it? Like a Fran’s bar? (or a Mound’s bar, for non-left coasters)
my favorite indulgence is a hot fudge sundae at Mallards with toasted almonds on top of coconut chocolate chunk with almonds. That’s by far my favorite ice cream, but I rarely get it, which is probably why it’s so special.
Yum! Beautiful, beautiful photos too.
Love your blog! That chocolate sauce looks to die for, and easy enough… love that
This recipe has a lot more ingredients than I’d expected (or seen in previous recipes), but I’m very, very intrigued to try it! Why do you add the chocolate in two steps? Does it thicken by having half the bittersweet chocolate in the low boil stage?
Now I have an excuse to buy that ice cream I’ve been CRAVING this week … despite the 30F weather and snow falling outside! Thanks!
Chiming in on coconut here: Coastal Kitchen and Endolyne Joe’s have AMAZING hot fudge coconut sundaes.
And Metropolitan Market has the BEST coconut cream pie. I did a taste taste of three famous Seattle coconut cream pies plus one non-famous one for a magazine article. Metropolitan Market took top honors (over Tom Douglas, no less). I think part of their secret is that they use coconut milk in the custard. It’s great. Dang. I want some now … it’s not that far to Alki …