Cocoa Hot Fudge

 

So ok, say it’s the holiday season and you’re crankin’ out the batches of cookies left and right.  Cookie-splosion!

But then you panic.  You’re running through the list of cookie recipients in your head and you’re all like crap, do I have enough?!  I probably don’t have enough.  Oh my, oh dear, what am I to do?!  Can’t…squeeze….in….another….batch….I can’t not give tasty treats though, there’s just no way.  None.

Then a stroke of brilliance, it hits you:  hot fudge.  Yes, jars of hot fudge!, and you dance a happy dance.

Right?  I mean, who doesn’t love hot fudge?  Actually I’m sure there are folks out there who don’t but…..what?!  Nooo, c’mon.  Can’t be.

Ok, hot fudge it is!  Nice!!

But hey, ho, hold up there cowboy, do I have the ingredients?

Yes, I’ve been known to run through a roller coaster of wacky conversations with myself in my head.

Searching through my stash of hot fudge recipes, they call for oh this or that and those things are not currently in my possession or for ingredients I’d prefer not to use.  Perusing the pantry I see I have oodles of cocoa powder.  Ok, all right, time to hit the interwebs.  Sometimes I really really wonder how we ever survived without the handiness of the internet.

Literally just a handful of ingredients and you’re in hot fudge heaven.

Anyway, I hit upon this Cocoa Hot Fudge Sauce recipe from Foodess and it sounded *mwah,* perfect!  I have everything in the house, it’s corn syrup free, the balance of items seem proportionately appropriate, there are no funky whoo-ha slightly less than natural items, just good, straight up honest, simple ingredients.

Sweet!

Heh, literally!  Though actually, not too sweet.  Honestly and truthfully, I think this is the best hot fudge sauce I’ve ever made, the ideal sweetness level.  Seriously.

And the bonus?  It is arrg sooooooo easy to make and it’s done in I dunno, what, not even ten minutes.

Even bigger bonus?  Who needs the flippin’ holidays to enjoy some of this hot fudge drizzled over your favorite ice cream?!  Not me, thank you.  Mike and I are equal-opportunity ice cream eaters, any season, any weather, any time bring it on, especially when a jar of this is in the fridge.  (“mmm, babe, this hot fudge is gooood. mmmmm”  Mike Stamp of Approval, so you know it’s good.)

Start by mixing the cocoa powder, sugar, and cream together.  I use a spiral whisk* to get any and all lumps out.  These spiral whisks, like ’em more than regular whisks for most tasks actually.

At this juncture, yeah, it looks goopy and kinda freaky weird. Trust me, it won’t be.

One a’ these days, I’mma gonna try this recipe with brown sugar I think.  Or split the sugars between the two.  Seems like a grand idea, yeah?

I also used Blommer Chocolate Factory natural cocoa powder which if you’re from Chicago, yeah, you know Blommer.  If you live near the factory as I had many years ago, it is sheer utter torture when the wind blows just right and your windows are open on a warm summer evening and that scent….a multi-block radius is heavily perfumed with the scent of deep dark fudgy brownies baking.  For hours.  Hours on end.  Wafting.  Oh man.

I imagine you could use any cocoa powder you prefer whether it’s Dutch process, natural, or unspecified and this will turn out splendidly.  Don’t understand the difference?  No worries, click here.

Right, ok, so next microwave that mixture above for about two minutes.  Make sure, for reals here, you use a large bowl; the stuff expands more than you might expect while being zapped.

 

Ah, much better, and looking like hot fudge now.

Give it a niiiice stir and you can start cookie-panicking less.

Next up, add the butter, stir it around, and pop it back in the microwave again for another two to three minutes, checking on it and giving it a stir every thirty seconds.

Mmmm buuuuuutter.

Once your hot fudge has thickened up a bit, toss in your vanilla and salt, stir stir stir….

Yo, where da’ ice cream at?!

….and you’re good to go.  And oooooh yeahhhh, you now have hot fudge in a flash at the ready any time!

Now, you can either pour it into some form of a reclosable receptacle like a quaint mason jar* and give it away as an uber nice gift or be all nuh-uh, this schnizzle is staying with me, gosh darn it.  I toiled and labored and sweated a whole solid maybe ten minutes on this, all that laborious stirring OOH!, I deserve a nice big bowl of ice cream and hot fudge right now!

Or pour it into your re-closable receptacle, let it cool completely, and hide it in the fridge behind a bunch of stuff so no one else eats it before you do.

Um, yum. Yummy. Would anybody notice if I drank this right out of the jar?

Note:  This content originally appeared on Flaky Bakers.

Cocoa Hot Fudge

Yield

10

Prep time

5 Min

Cook time

5 Min

Total time

10 Min

This thick and rich and chocolaty and gooey yet not overly sweet cocoa hot fudge recipe comes together lightning fast, easily becoming a go-to favorite.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup (149 g) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (42 g) cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup (114 ml) heavy cream, can substitute milk or half & half but cream is best
• 4 tablespoons (57 g) unsalted butter; if salted, use less of a pinch
• 1 teaspoon (5 g) vanilla
• pinch of fine sea salt

Instructions

1. Using a large bowl that's safe for the microwave, whisk the sugar, cocoa powder, and cream together until lumps are gone. The mixture will be thick and goopy.
2. Microwave on high for about two minutes or until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture has boiled.
3. Mix in the butter until it melts and then microwave again for another 2 to 3 minutes at 50% power, checking at 30 second increments or until the hot fudge has thickened up a bit.
4. Lastly, add the pinch of salt and the vanilla, give it a stir, let cool slightly, and serve immediately or pour the hot fudge into a jar and let cool. Once cooled, refrigerate.
5. To reheat for serving, microwave on high for 30 seconds or until it reaches the desired temperature.

Notes:

Adapted from Foodess.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

181.32

Fat (grams)

11.00

Sat. Fat (grams)

6.69

Carbs (grams)

19.15

Fiber (grams)

0.80

Net carbs

18.35

Sugar (grams)

15.52

Protein (grams)

2.17

Sodium (milligrams)

31.71

Cholesterol (grams)

31.51

Please see the "info" section for nutrition details.

hot fudge, cocoa, sauce

recipe

American

Created using The Recipes Generator

*The spiral whisk and mason jars are Amazon affiliate links.