Hot Fudge

Last night after dinner Vet2Be noticed that the home-made Hot Fudge Sauce was all gone! Oh, NO! No fudge sauce for his ice cream. He was so disappointed because he had just found the half-empty jar buried in the back of the refrigerator a few days ago. Who knows how long it had been tucked away under the lemon sauce in the back of the fridge?

So, amid the bottles of cooling grape juice and the stove top steamer (still 1 1/2 bushels of grapes to go!) I found a few moments to make more Hot Fudge Sauce. I'm not sure where I got the recipe, but this one is Vet2Be's favorite version. This recipe cooks up in about 15 minutes and I usually have all the ingredients on hand.

Hot Fudge Sauce (makes about 2 cups of sauce)

• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch cocoa
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 ounces fine quality bittersweet chocolate
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon Mexican vanilla

Bring cream, corn syrup, sugar, cocoa, salt, and half of chocolate to a boil in a 1 to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, until chocolate is melted.

Reduce heat and cook at a low boil, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes, then remove from heat.

Add butter, vanilla, and remaining chocolate and stir until smooth. Cool sauce to warm before serving.

The recipe says that it can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a week. Ours had been in the fridge for months and still tasted wonderful :)