What kind of cocoa should I use for hot fudge sauce?

Use what you have on hand. Dutch Process cocoa will give you a deep, rich dark fudge sauce, and natural cocoa will give you a lighter, but still delicious sauce. Whatever you use, be sure to use a good quality cocoa for the best sauce. Hershey's, Hershey's Special Dark, Droste, and Ghiradelli will all give you a great sauce.

Can I use chocolate chips for hot fudge sauce?

Chocolate chips have added lecithin that help them keep their shape in goods like cookies. If you try to melt them into a sauce like this, they will be slightly lumpy. You can always strain out the lumps if this really really bothers you or just forge ahead. No one will complain!

What's the best chocolate to use for hot fudge sauce?

Outside of the cocoa, use the chopped chocolate you like. Any milk chocolate, semi-sweet, or dark chocolate is good here. If I had to pick an all-rounder winner, it'd be Lindt 70% bars, but Ghiradelli 60% bars are excellent, and my kids love Milka milk chocolate bars. Any kind of chocolate bar that doesn't have chunky mix-ins like toffee or nuts will work here.

5 Minute Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce: Make Ice Cream Better

Name: 5 Minute Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce
Prep time: 2 min
Cook time: 3 min
Total time: 5 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1/2 cup cocoa powder (40 g); 2/3 cup light or dark brown sugar (141 g); 1 Tablespoon honey (21 g); 4 tablespoons butter (57 g); 1/3 cup whole milk (79 mL); 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or vanilla paste; 2 ounces chopped chocolate (dark, semi-sweet, or milk)

Description

Skip the store-bought jars, this homemade fudge sauce takes just 5 minutes to turn into the most luscious ice cream topping ever. You’ll be topping cakes and pies and stirring it into your coffee in no time.

Ingredients

Scale

Easy Hot Fudge Sauce

1/2 cup cocoa powder (40 g)
2/3 cup light or dark brown sugar (141 g)
1 Tablespoon honey (21 g)
4 tablespoons butter (57 g)
1/3 cup whole milk (79 mL)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract or vanilla paste
2 ounces chopped chocolate (dark, semi-sweet, or milk)

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Instructions

Make the Sauce

Mix the cocoa powder and brown sugar in a small pot.
Add in the honey and stir to make a grainy paste.
Add the butter to the pot and place the pot on the stove. Melt the butter over low heat, whisking until the butter melts.
Gradually dribble in the milk, stirring always as you gradually moisten the cocoa with the milk. If you dump the milk in all at once, the sauce could be lumpy.
Increase the heat to medium and bring the sauce to a boil. Boil for 1-2 minutes until the sauce is glossy, thick, and shiny.
Turn off the heat and add the vanilla and dark chocolate, stirring until the chocolate is melted.

Storing and Reheating

Scoop the finished sauce into a glass jar. You can use the sauce right away or keep it in the fridge for up to 1 week.
You can freeze the sauce right in the same jar (just leave about 1/2″ for expansion), or freeze it flat in a plastic bag for up to 3 months.
To reheat the sauce, scoop a little into a microwavable cup and then zap it for 15-20 seconds until warm. Stir it up before you drizzle it over whatever you’d like.

Notes

Make it dairy free: Use coconut oil in place of the butter, swap in coconut milk or your favorite dairy free creamer in place of the milk and use a dairy-free chocolate.

Hot Fudge Sauce Variations

White Hot Fudge Sauce: Use a white hot chocolate mix, cut down the sugar to 1/3 cup and use 2 ounces chopped white chocolate or white chocolate chips.
Milk Chocolate Hot Fudge Sauce: Add in milk chocolate at the end (Hershey’s classic, Milka, etc).
Dark Chocolate Extra Thick Sauce: Add in chopped dark chocolate at the end (Hershey’s Special Dark, Lindt 70%, Lindt 85%, Ghiradelli 72% or Ghiradelli 86%).
Peanut Butter Hot Fudge Sauce: Stir in 1/4 cup of peanut butter, Cashew Butter or Pistachio Butter into the sauce at the end.
Caramel Hot Fudge Sauce: Stir in 1/4 cup of caramel sauce like Vegan Caramel Sauce or better, Coffee Caramel Sauce when you stir in the chocolate at the end.
Peppermint Hot Fudge Sauce: Instead of chopped chocolate, stir in 2 ounces of a peppermint chocolate bar, chopped up York Peppermint Patties or Andes Mints or even better, Peppermint Bark. If you want a smooth sauce, you’ll need to strain it to remove the candy cane pieces from the peppermint bark. Feel free to skip this step if that doesn’t bother you.

Prep Time: 2 minutes
Cook Time: 3 minutes
Category: Jams and spreads
Method: Stovetop
Cuisine: American