Nancy Silverton's Hot Fudge Sauce

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Christmas is sneaking up on us unusually quickly this year. Or maybe it does this every year and every year I am surprised anew at how caught unawares I am. You'd think, by now, that the relentless reliability of it wouldn't quite discombobulate me so much, but it does. To make sure that gifts arrive before I take off for Berlin means I have to be done, really, with my shopping and crafting and noodling by - well - now. And that's just a kick in the pants.

I've taken to making at least a few of my gifts for people edible ones. That way, if there's a last-minute emergency, I don't have to wait for something to priority ship, I can just run down to the store and buy more syrup or chocolate. Last year, I made cashew brittle, which was a huge hit. And so, so easy. I mean, do-it-in-your-sleep easy. That's my kind of Christmas gift. I might just make it again this year, maybe for the people who didn't get any last year.

But I'll also be standing at my stove this year, simmering and whisking, until a thick, glossy, chocolate sauce comes together in a pot and I pour it into little glass jars, beribboned of course, to be doled out to deserving folks who need a little bit of molten chocolate to sweeten their holidays, to drizzle onto ice cream or pound cake, or simply to eat, from the fridge with a spoon, cold and fudgy and rich and complex.

Doesn't that sound like a lovely Christmas gift? Why, it's a good thing I can gift myself, too.

This might possibly be one of my oldest clipped recipes. It goes all the way back to 1998 and is a keeper, a category-killer, so to speak. First of all, it comes from Nancy Silverton, who happens to be a kitchen goddess of mine. Is there anything that lady touches that doesn't taste good? Second of all, it, too, is easy-peasy. You melt chocolate in one bowl, then boil together the rest of the ingredients (that most of us have lying about in our pantries already, thank goodness) in the other, then stir them together for a few minutes, whisk in some brandy and, hey presto!, you've got yourself a bubbling pot of hot fudge.

I love the high-sheen gloss on this stuff. It's gorgeously rich and keeps for months in the fridge, so you can jar little glasses of it and drop them off with people who you love. You'll have some very grateful friends, I guarantee. Fudge sauce makes anything better, wouldn't you say? Even the fact that Christmas is almost here.

Hot Fudge Sauce
Makes 2 cups

7 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into 2-inch pieces
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons water
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 tablespoon instant coffee granules
3 tablespoons Cognac or brandy

1. Melt chocolate pieces in large stainless steel mixing bowl (or top of double boiler) over saucepan of gently simmering water. Be sure water does not touch bottom of mixing bowl to prevent chocolate from burning. Turn off heat and keep warm over warm water until ready to use.

   2. Bring sugar, corn syrup, water, cocoa powder and instant coffee to boil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly to dissolve cocoa powder and sugar and to prevent burning on bottom of pan.

   3. Whisk in melted chocolate. Boil hot fudge for few minutes to reduce to consistency you desire. It should be quite viscous and surface should have glossy shine. Cool slightly and beat in Cognac or brandy.

Comments

[A Mouse Bouche]

Thank you for the ideas, Luisa! I have been looking for something to make folks for the holiday as there are just too many to buy for, and needed a new idea. I made peppermint bark one year, and spiced nuts another. But this looks like it might be just the thing for 2008. And I agree--christmas does come sooner every year! Or am I just getting older....

[Kacie]

Wow.. This sounds like a fantastic idea.. and decadent. Thank you for the recipe!

[johanna]

what a nice idea. your jars look so pretty, too. are they weck? i would make this immediately - or the cashew brittle for that matter, either would make highly original and tasty gifts i'm sure - but for the corn syrup which i can't bring myself to use. do you know of a substitute that might do the trick?

[maggie]

yum. does it stay quite liquid even when cool? or do people microwave it? do you need to sterilize the jars? I find that intimidating...

[Steve]

I'm delighted to see the use of the word 'discombobulate' it just isn't used enough! hehe Especially when it comes to food!

[Luisa]

Johanna - the jar in the second photo is Weck. Love it. I'm not quite sure what you should use instead of corn syrup (remember this stuff isn't the evil high-fructose version) as it does give the sauce the stability and viscosity that makes it so great. You could try and simply use sugar, 1 cup total, and see what happens...

Maggie - when first cooled, it's still thick and pourable. After you put it in the fridge, it firms up considerably. To make it liquid again, you simply microwave the glass or put it in an inch of simmering water for a bit if you don't have a microwave like us. No sterilization needed!! You're not canning here. Your jars/glasses should just be clean.

[Sues]

Mmmm homemade hot fudge is sooo much better than anything you can buy in the store. And your recipe looks fabulous...will definitely try!

[JUde]

Oooh I like your description of its glossiness. I could definitely stand to have a little jar of this on hand.

[lobstersquad]

that darn corn syrup! impossible to find in Spain. I might try with golden syrup and see how it goes

[Liana]

Made it this morning and flavored it with Earl Grey. It's been a very good morning indeed. Thanks for posting!

[Adrienne]

Wow, that looks decadent. And I think I have everything but the brandy in my pantry!

[mary]

Luisa this looks like such a perfect gift! If I can make it to the hardware store to pick up jars this is going in my gift baskets this year.

For those worried about corn syrup, you might try Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Corn Syrup (available at places like Whole Foods), which sidesteps many of the evils of the high-fructose stuff and is a significantly less industrial option than Karo (which, sadly, is part high-fructose).

I tend to think that if we only eat the stuff in homemade holiday treats, we don't really need to worry about it so much. It's when we're eating it in prepackaged foods all the time that we need to rethink our eating.

[Lisa]

Looks great! I'd also like to know how this stuff keeps at room temperature.

[Ellie from Kitchen Caravan]

YUM! My friend and are are getting together soon to make our holiday gifts and this decadent sauce is our list. Now I just need to find the cute jars!

[Dawn in CA]

Can I just tell you how thrilled I am to find a non-dairy fudge sauce recipe?! You are my hero. xo, Dawn

[Maggi]

Have you ever made a double batch at once? I see lots of deserving people I would want to give this to...

[cheztravie]

I wonder if the corn syrup could be replaced with honey? I would add some thickness and sweetness as well as more complexity than the corn syrup.

[DD]

I wonder if those receiving beautiful jars of fudge will know just how much that means. What a rad homemade gift.

[Justine]

Thanks for this recipe. I have a chocoholic mother who is jut going to love this!

[Luisa]

Ximena - let us know how it goes with the golden syrup!

Liana - Earl Grey in this? YUM. Great idea!

Mary - thank you for that tip.

Lisa - the recipe says to refrigerate, though if you knew you'd eat it up in a week or so, I'm sure it could stand to sit at room temperature.

Ellie - Heath Ceramics is selling those Weck jars.

Dawn - hooray! I'm so glad to oblige :)

Maggi - I haven't, but the recipe could very easily be doubled. No need to worry here about ratios, like with baking.

Cheztravie - I really don't know. If you try it, let me know how it goes.

[Jackie]

Funny! I just commented on your cashew brittle post; brought there by way of Orangette's post and then I came to your homepage, eagerly anticipating what awaited me there and you mention the cashew brittle! Fate.
I'm also now planning to make this hot fudge sauce as well. Thanks!

[Sara]

This looks like a good gift. Last year I did chocolate peppermint bark and I wanted to change it up.

[darla]

You inspired me last year to make Carolina Braunschweig's Apple Butter for Christmas gifts:

(http://wednesdaychef.typepad.com/the_wednesday_chef/2007/11/carolina-bs-app.html)

Despite having dropped a glass gallon of cider on my ceramic tile floor (cleaning sticky glass out of grout SUCKS), it was a wonderful way to spend the day rather than shopping. And everyone loved it.

I'm so thrilled to see this post today. Perfect idea!

[tara]

That is truly nothing short of gorgeous - I love how deeply dark this sauce looks! I have been making double chocolate pound cakes as gifts, and I think our especially lovely friends might be getting a jar of sauce tucked alongside. Thanks so much for sharing.

[Rachelino]

I have been reading occasionally via orangette, and just saw this post linked on bonappetit.com. Kudos! This idea is just what I needed since I have beautiful empty jars just waiting for this. I needed something easy to make for people - picky people especially. And this is perfect and simple.

[Rachelino]

P.S. It will be delicious with the golden syrup. You can use it in place of any corn syrup. I make pecan pie with it.

[b + h]

we just made this with golden syrup - works great! this sauce is fantastic. thanks for sharing.

[Biz]

That looks delicious! My daughter would love this, she's my icecream girl!

[ovenhaven]

Thank you so much for this. I lost my favourite hot fudge sauce recipe, and I'll definitely give this a try!

[Dee]

I just made a batch of this today, and I couldn't stop licking the spoon. Not sure how much would be left for bottling. I flavoured mine with Frangelico. Drool. Slobber.

Thank you. Merry Xmas.

[Carla]

Hi! Do you have the receipe in German? cups are always confusing me, because there are different cups for sugar, flour, and liquids.I would love to make that fudge and give it away as christmas present!!

[Luisa]

b+h - thanks for reporting that! glad it worked.

Carla - I don't have the recipe in German, however I can try to help. 1/4 cup sugar is 50 grams. 1/2 cup corn syrup is 170 grams. 3/4 cup cocoa is 85 grams. 7.5 ounces chocolate is 213 grams. 1/2 cup water is 118 grams (plus a little more since you have those 2 tablespoons). As for the coffee granules and brandy, you should be able to find the equivalents online, or you can just sort of wing it - those two things are not essential to the sauce. Good luck!

[Carla]

Thanks Luisa!! I will go shopping on Monday and it will be ready as an extra christmas present!!!

[Maria]

This is the most awesome idea for gifts. Its too late for this Christmas for me, but I'm definitely going to make it next year!

[Brian F]

i made this for gifts this year - a HUGE hit (i especially enjoyed tasting it myself). thanks.

[Katie B]

I added cinnamon, cardamom & cayenne to this. Thank you so much for sharing this versatile & delicious recipe.

[Ellie from Kitchen Caravan]

I made this for Christmas gifts this year and it was an absolute hit! Thanks so much for sharing. The only change I made was using Agave syrup rather than corn syrup. Since its quite a bit sweeter, I left the sugar out as well. Amazingly decadent. This recipe is a keeper!!

[Foodista]

That really looks delicious. I'd like to invite you to take some time to drop by at Foodista and share your delicious recipe with us. We have launched an online food and cooking encyclopedia ala wikipedia. Add a recipe and you can win a $100 gift card to Sur la table. Don't forget to register first so we know who to thank the recipe for. Thanks!

[Seattle Foodie Gal]

I also made this for Christmas gifts and everyone loved it - even my friend who (until now) always prefers Hershey Chocolate Sauce! Thanks so much!

[Rachelino]

I wanted to follow up and report that I did make this sauce for Christmas and had a hard time giving all of it away...because I wanted to keep it. It was so rich, and a beautifully glossy midnight brown. A truly great fudge sauce. I was looking up the recipe to make it again tonight!