It’s bad enough that hot fudge you get from the ice cream spot around the corner is crack. But when you make it at home with good quality ingredients, Ghirardelli (like I did) or even better…Callebaut or Valrhona? This happens:
(Image courtesy of Tumblr, katty-mee)
We were entertaining some old friends and so I thought I’d set up a little sundae bar with some of my favorite toppings: this hot fudge sauce, walnuts, and sprinkles (the ROUND kind, not those silly cylindrical ones. hmmph. who came up with those?? i’ll tell you who, someone with kids because they know once these sprinkles make landfall, they get scattered EVERYWHERE.) Get fancy with bananas, gummy bears, whatever you like. Just not whipped cream. I just don’t get whipped cream over ice cream. The latter is so much more rich and flavorful, what is the point of the whipped cream?? If your opinions on this are as strong as mine, please comment below.
This is the first thing I made from my copy of Rose Levy Berenbaum’s The Cake Bible. Ok second. First was Swedish pancakes, which were a disaster. Anywho, she says to use dutch processed cocoa, but honestly, I have such a hard time finding dutch processed cocoa (in fact most of her chocolate cake recipes call for it. I’m going to have to experiment with subbing natural cocoa and making the appropriate leavening adjustments) and never get around to ordering it online, so I just went ahead and made it with good old fashioned natural cocoa. As many of you know, dutch processed cocoa is less acidic than natural and usually has a darker color, but I can tell you I did not miss a thing. And for the solid chocolate, I am sure she finely chopped 3 ounces of THE BEST CHOCOLATE IN THE WORLD, but I just used my semi sweet chips from Costco. They are already flavored with vanilla, so I did not add any, as the original recipe calls for. Make this for your next lunch/dinner party!
Adapted from Rose Levy Berenbaum’s The Cake Bible.
Ingredients
- 3 oz semisweet chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
- 1/3 cup water
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp corn syrup
- pinch salt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla (if your chocolate isn’t already flavored with vanilla)
Directions
- Combine the chocolate chips, cocoa and water in a small saucepan (she suggests nonstick, but I used my usual stainless steel All Clad saucepan). Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate is melted and everything is combined. Add the butter, sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Stir until the sugar melts. Then let it cook away, boiling moderately, for 5 to 10 minutes, until the mixture reduces to 2/3 cup (I stopped at 5 minutes, weary of overcooking it). If you want to measure: coat a heatproof glass measuring cup with oil, then pour in the sauce.
- Cool slightly before adding the vanilla. Can be reheated in a microwave. Keeps in the fridge for 1 month.