Summer is upon us, so I figured you might need this Chewy Hot Fudge Sauce.
That’s right. CHEWY Hot Fudge Sauce. This is that amazing hot fudge sauce, that when ladled generously over some ice cream, solidifies just enough to get chewy. I’m not talking about magic shell here. That’s the topping that literally hardens to a cracking stage, the kind of chocolate that ice cream bars are dipped in.
And it’s not like a hard caramel that gets stuck in your teeth. Nope, this is the stuff that fudge filled chocolate dreams are made of. It’s ooey and gooey and chewy but then it softens and melts in your mouth as you eat it.
You know I’m not a drench anything in topping kind of girl. I don’t drench my pancakes in syrup. I don’t drench my sundaes in tons of toppings. If we’re talking about regular chocolate syrup? Just a drizzle please.
But there’s something about this hot fudge sauce that breaks all the rules. I think that it’s because there’s something caramelly about it. Buttermilk Caramel Sauce? That probably falls into the drenchable category for me.
That sauce is good on anything and everything from Chocolate Turtle Zucchini Cake to Spiced Applesauce Cake to Pineapple Upside Down Cheesecake Cake. Use it for pancakes and waffles and ice cream and…wait, we we’re talking about hot fudge, weren’t we?
Well, this Chewy Hot Fudge Sauce is the chocolate lover’s answer to all that caramel sauce mania. The point is, you’re going to want more. I try to keep everything in check around here, so even splurges have limits. So, I started everyone with a couple of spoonfuls of sauce on top of their scoop of ice cream, then I brought the hot fudge serving dish to the table .
One, because I knew everyone would want more. (Wait, what about limits?!?) Two, because I knew if I left it on the island, which is out of sight from my seat at the table, my son would be making a main dish out of it when he went to put his ice cream dish in the sink. #momseeseverything.
But the truth is, I wanted more. This isn’t like chocolate syrup that mixes up with your ice cream forming chocolate milk in the bottom of your ice cream bowl. This stuff sits regally on top of your scoop.
You take a bite and get that wonderful chew. Then you make sure you’re getting some chewy fudge in with every bite of ice cream because the fudge itself feels like it’s its own treat. And, then, it’s gone. Because it was so good you just had to chew through that whole top layer.
But you still have ice cream left, so you need another spoonful of fudge to accompany all that ice cream still left in your bowl. And so it goes….Yes. Keep the serving bowl nearby; this is one splurge that’s hard to limit.
You can make this ooey gooey goodness pretty easily. It all happens in one pan. Just melt the chocolate with the butter and corn syrup, then add your cream and sugar.
You’re allowed to stir up until this point. Then stop stirring, bring it to a boil and let it boil for 8 minutes. Off the heat and stir in the vanilla and salt and you are good to go.
I didn’t even get snobby about the chocolate. I had Baker’s Unsweetened Chocolate on hand and it works well in this recipe. (You can even see it’s bloomed a little.) However, better chocolate always makes for a better recipe, so if I had some Scharfenberger or other higher quality brand, I’m sure it would take this over the top.
But, I didn’t, and quite frankly, you might not want to invest in more expensive chocolate, so I’m here to tell you that the regular old unsweetened chocolate you find in the baking aisle is just fine. It will still be drool worthy. Promise.
Keep some vanilla ice cream, or whatever your ice cream flavor of choice is, on hand and you’ll always have a stop in your tracks delicious dessert ready to go. I knew you needed this Chewy Hot Fudge Sauce in your life. See that layer of chewy topping being lifted up by the spoon? Yeah,
that’s your first bite :)
Chewy Hot Fudge Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate finely chopped
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 Tablespoons light corn syrup
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
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In a heavy sauce pan, melt the butter with the chocolate and corn syrup, stirring over medium low heat until chocolate and butter are fully melted and combined with the corn syrup.
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Add the cream, then pour the sugar into the middle of the mixture so that you have minimal or no sugar crystals sticking to the side of the pan. Carefully stir until the sugar is dissolved.
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Once the sugar is dissolved, stop stirring and increase heat to medium. Bring the mixture to a boil without any stirring and let it boil for 8 minutes.
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Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla and the salt.
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Serve hot over ice cream or allow to completely cool before covering and storing in the refrigerator.
Recipe Notes
*I can't stress the importance of using a heavy pan. Thin pans do not distribute heat well and can easily burn a sugary mixture like this.
*It's important to let the mixture cool before storing. If you cover it too soon, the steam from the warmth of the mixture will condense, drip back into the mixture and cause graininess.
*If it does get grainy while being stored in the refrigerator, there's no need to fret. Just measure out however much you're going to use, add a splash or so of heavy cream, stir it up and reheat in the microwave. The grains should melt right back into the mixture and it will become smooth and glossy once again. If it's still grainy, just add a bit more cream and heat again for a few seconds until it's smooth. You can also add a teaspoon of corn syrup to the mixture to help retard any further crystallization and help with some of the chewiness.
*The sauce keeps in the refrigerator, covered for about a month. I just scoop out whatever I'm going to use and heat it up (I let it just start to get bubbly) with some cream (and maybe a little corn syrup) and I am good to go! Recipe from Gourmet Magazine, June 1993
I stored this a while back as it was acquired and worked with by my sister.
Chicago native and Mom used this as our special Birthday and other occasions
STICKEY SAUCE. It was our favorite as kids. Gonna try it out for my brother
on his 59th this month. We may be a little older, but STICKEY SAUCE will
be a hit once again. There is a little detail to the texture and the temperature, but
as I have cooked for 35 years in kitchens across the country, I am reasonably
confident in my outcome. Not a regular visitor to the internet conversation sites,
I will try to update with my results. Best to you and thanks.
George Keller
[email protected]
I look forward to your feedback, George. I love the name, “Stickey Sauce!” :) Hope it works out and brings back sweet memories!
This was my #16 recipe in, what seemed like a neverending search for my ultimate hot fudge sauce, the sauce of my childhood. Chocolate Sauce that would melt, and get chewy, as it hit the cold ice cream. At first, when I finished cooking it I thought oh no, another failure. I wasn’t really surprised because every recipe I’ve tried has promised to be “chewy” and 15 of them have not come close to the criteria. I let it cool for 10 minutes and then went to get some ice cream and try it out, I scooped up a spoon and still thought, “this isn’t it”, BUT, I was wrong …… It is the stuff my dreams were made of!!!! It was rich and chocolatey and chewy. I can stop searching. Now, I just need to compare it to the others (and yes I do have them all) and see why this one works.
THANK YOU BUNCHES ~
Renni, you are so very welcome! I am so excited that you found “the one!” Thank you for sharing a little of your journey. I know what it’s like to try, try, try again to find or create a perfect recipe. We LOVE this sauce. I’m so thrilled that you do too!
I love this recipe.
Reminds me of an upscale ice cream shop I’d go to as a child – it was only for very special occasions.
I reheated this in the microwave, it was still excellent.
Hi Andrea, I think the best recipes are the ones that bring back sweet memories. I’m touched that this recipe brought back one for you :)
It is OK it certainly does not have much of a fudge taste (I used Scharffenberger unsweetened chocolate) , but not bad, but not something I will make again.
Thanks for the feedback, Vicki. I like this for the chewy factor, almost like a caramel fudge. For a deeper chocolate flavor experience, I often like to make a simple and rich ganache.
This is the stuff I’ve been looking for. Exactly what I wanted and so easy. Thanks!!
You’re welcome, Jackie! Enjoy!
Nice.. A good topping for for almost anything!
Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome! Enjoy!
This sounded so good I couldn’t wait to make it, but, when I did what I ended up with was ……fudge! Was I not supposed to let it boil for the whole 8 minutes? So disappointed and I would like to figure out what I did wrong!
Hi Shelley! It’s always so hard to help someone trouble shoot when I’m not standing in your kitchen seeing exactly what you are doing. First, yes, you were supposed to let it boil the whole 8 minutes on a medium heat. So, one possibility is that your heat was too high and your sugar mixture cooked to a hard ball stage. It’s also possible that it got too hot if you didn’t use a heavy pan that distributes the heat evenly. It should flow freely while it’s still warm and then get more solid and chewy when it cools or hits cold ice cream. It will get pretty solid once you store it in the refrigerator but just needs to be heated with a splash of cream to get it flowing again. I hope some of this helps. It’s such a yummy sauce!
Thanks for responding! I used a steel bottom pan so I guess my heat must have been too high!
That’s probably the culprit. Back in my single days, I used to have lighter weight stainless steel pans that I thought were fine for all my cooking, but once I got All Clad pans, the difference was night and day. All Clad has stainless steel on the outsides with an aluminum core on the inside and they’re thick and weighty. It’s so hard to control heat with thinner pans. You end up with uneven heat and hot spots that can ruin your dish. I don’t have any secrets for using a lighter weight pan and having success. Maybe you can try with a lower heat, but this is pretty much like candy making and candy making really requires a heavy pan. I think that’s the issue. The pans aren’t cheap, but if you do a lot of cooking and it fits your budget, it’s worth owning at least one.
DIVINE!! I made this for dessert tonight. Literally ready in ten minutes and we had a little ice cream with our bowls of hot fudge. (Not kidding) When this cools the texture is just like a bowl of soft caramels. So dangerous to have in my house. Thanks for a great quick and delicious recipe!
Yay! Another winner! “Bowls of hot fudge” lol! I hear you on that! It really is dangerous stuff to have around, but soooooo good!
Yum! I’ve never heard of a chewy hot fudge sauce, but now that I have, I want extra on my scoop please! Your description makes it sound so heavily. I can’t wait to try this recipe. I’m sure its amazing!
Thanks, Tasbih! It’s like caramel sauce but it’s fudge. I love it! It reminds me of amazing hot fudge sundaes I had as a kid. Who knew it was so easy to bring back those yummy memories?
This reminds me of the hot fudge sundaes I used to get back in the day
Exactly!!! :)