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Wednesday 23 February 2011

Hot Fudge - Homemade and Completely Natural



In my post about my Daughter's Birthday Dessert Cake I mentioned that I had made a Hot Fudge topping and that I would soon post about it. This is that post!

I have also previously posted about Hot Fudge or Choc Sauce but the difference is in the ingredients, in how it is made and most importantly how it tastes.

I've never really liked the fact that my first recipe uses Liquid Glucose / Corn Syrup to thicken the mixture. I kind of felt that it wasn't terribly healthy and to this day I don't really know what goes into Liquid Glucose. So, some time ago, I tried something out that has changed the way I make my Hot Fudge.

Rather than using a thickening agent like liquid glucose or corn syrup, I wondered what would happen if I started off with making something that was already thick and then thinning it down a little - something like a caramel sauce.


So I made a caramel, added in some butter, then some cocoa and then some milk. IT turned out brilliant and tasted like any store bought or restaurant found Hot Fudge. As I said before I've made this many times but I've never really measured anything out. This time I did and this is the recipe.


Ingredients
8 Tbsp Sugar
75g butter
10 Tbsp Cocoa Powder
1.5 Cups Fresh Milk
2 tsp vanilla
Method
Melt the sugar in a saucepan with a little water to make a light caramel. As soon as it turns golden, reduce the heat and add in the butter, being careful as it may splutter. Stir well and add in the cocoa. Mixture will thicken considerably and may even get lumpy. Dont worry at this stage. Add in the milk and using a whisk, stir the mixture until well combined and smooth. Keep stirring over medium heat until the mixture thickens nicely. Add in the vanilla.

You may need more cocoa or sugar depending on your taste and this can be added in once the mixture has cooked and is thick. The Hot Fudge keeps really well in the fridge and you just need to zap it for a few seconds in the microwave or reheat it over low heat.



It's brilliant with ice cream or as an accompaniment for waffles, cake or practically anything that needs hot fudge! You can even add in some other flavouring instead of vanilla like orange essence or even some rum or brandy for extra flavour. Say goodbye to canned/bottled hot fudge or chocolate sauce and start making your own!

11 comments:

Alicia Foodycat said...

That looks really luscious, Dharm!

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Hot fudge is so decadent! Yours looks terrific.

Cheers,

Rosa

Elle said...

Brilliant to make the sauce like a caramel sauce and add chocolate...and it looks delicious! Lucky Sarah.

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

Ha now a dad that makes chocolate fudge sauce-were you going to coolest dad of the year Dharm! I bet you got it with this :)

Wendy said...

Hi Dharm! Thanks for stopping by my blog! I will have to try your hot fudge recipe as my recipe too calls for corn syrup. Does the sugar recrystallize? I have had problems with that in the past with recipes that do not call for corn syrup. So nice to hear from you! Wendy

Reeni said...

What a great idea! This looks super chocolaty and delicious!

Choclette said...

Your fudge sauce sounds wicked. I can see you're a fellow chocoolate fan ;-)

amish baby crib said...

The fudge sauce is so lovely. Perfect consistency. Cheers on this one.

sherri said...

Can you say how much water to use while melting the sugar? Also , how long to boil it all after everything is added? You say to cook until nicely thickened, but about how long? I've made this 2 times now and it's very delicious, but it to me has the consistency of a pudding, but it's not gooey like hot fudge? Your picture looks darker and shinier than mine, maybe I should cook it longer? It seems like I've cooked it for about 10 mins?
THANKS

Dharm said...

Sherri,
Maybe about 2-3 Tbsp of water. The water is just to help melt the sugar but you can also use the dry method of making a caramel without the water. You say you get a consistency of pudding? That probably means you are cooking it too long. I cook mine for maybe 5 mins or so - keep whisking too as you cook it. Also, do note that as it cools, it will thicken even more so you'd need to heat it before using. Else, you can also add a little bit more milk if it is too thick. The consistency I get is definitely pouring consistency but when it touches ice cream it will thicken to a nice thick fudge. The type of cocoa, the temperature you are living in will also make a difference. Hope this helps. Good luck and let me know how it turns out.

sherri said...

Dharm,
Thanks so much for the answers to my questions! It definitely came out sooooo much better! It's the best! Thanks again for such a great all natural recipe, they are hard to find!