Hot Fudge Sauce

Recipe first, story below 💖

Hot Fudge Sauce

Credit: The Joy of Cooking, 1975 edition

(Please see notes below before making!)

Melt in a double boiler (or microwave) (see note below)

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate

1Tbsp Butter

Stir well and add: 

1/3 cup boiling water

Stir well and add: 

1 cup sugar

2 Tbsp corn syrup

Let the sauce boil readily, but not too furiously, over direct heat (not in double boiler). DO NOT STIR.

For regular sauce: Boil, covered for 3 minutes and then 2 minutes uncovered, without stirring.

For sauce that will harden over ice cream (I HIGHLY recommend this option!): boil uncovered for 3 minutes more than for regular sauce - 5 minutes total after uncovering.

Remove from heat. It can be served immediately if you like. Just before serving,  stir in 1 tsp vanilla or 2 tsp rum (I admit I have never tried the rum version, nor do I recall seeing this, so I'll have to try it sometime!).

Store in refrigerator. It will get very thick when cold. Feel free, as I do, to grab a spoonful whenever you feel the craving for something decadent. Or warm it gently in the microwave (probably 10-20 seconds - start low to see how long it takes).

NOTES

* I almost never have unsweetened chocolate on hand, so I looked up a substitution (there's a section in the cookbook - page 594!): 3 Tbsp cocoa or carob powder plus 1 Tbsp butter or shortening (I use butter) OR 2 Tbsp water. I always use the cocoa/butter combo and you don't need to melt it first; just slap it in a pot and start with step 2.

* if using the chocolate squares there is really no need to use a double boiler, if you even have one. 1975 was either before or very early days of microwaves - melt it for 20 seconds or so at a time.

**Now for the personal backstory that I'm sure everyone wants to read!**

Back in the day, the Bible of Cookbooks was "The Joy of Cooking". Mom had a tattered copy (that I may actually have somewhere) and my own copy is one of the first wedding shower gifts I opened! I rarely use it anymore, because I just look recipes online and then post the ones I like when I get around to it. But I used to use it a lot! It's all marked up with spills and such, mark of a great recipe!

I got it down off the high shelf and dusted it off so I could make some Hot Fudge Sauce today. That's always been one of my favorites and I was craving something rich and decadent. It popped into my mind and we have ice cream to go with it.

We had this a lot when I was a child, and it was one of the first things I made all by myself!