This is an old fashioned Hot Fudge Sauce Recipe that only has 4 ingredients but results in a silky, smooth hot fudge with a rich chocolate flavor. A pastry chef’s recipe that is just as delicious on ice cream sundaes as it is eaten with a spoon!
In a sauce pot that is at least 3 quarts (the deeper the better), whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder and salt.
Add the vanilla bean pod followed by the cream and water.
Whisk gently to combine. You have to have a little patience here. Cocoa powder is hydrophobic (like cats 😂) and it doesn’t want to hydrate and mix with the water and cocoa powder. Just keep whisking and it will succumb to your will eventually.
Heat over medium heat until it begins to boil. Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer until thickened. You can use a candy thermometer (205°) but I like to test it like jam on a frozen or refrigerated plate. Just dab a bit on the plate and hold it vertically. If the sauce runs, it isn’t done. If it holds a line, it is done.
Strain sauce if desired, or just pick out the vanilla pod. Cool sauce in an ice bath. To make an ice bath fill a larger bowl with ice and a little bit of water. Nestle the bowl with the sauce in it inside the larger bowl.
Cover the top of the sauce with plastic wrap to keep it from forming a skin and poke a few holes for steam to escape. Place the whole set up (water bath and all) in the refrigerator until it is completely cooled.
Transfer to a sealable jar. Store in the refrigerator for up to a month.
Video
Notes
Yield – 2 cupsFlavor Tips – After about 15 minutes of cooking, I stop scraping the sides of the pot.Technique – If the sauce boils over or starts to burn, just switch the pot and keep cooking.Storage – Store hot fudge sauce in a clean, sanitized container in the refrigerator for up to 6 months or frozen for well over a year.