Hot Fudge Sauce

This recipe is from the Joy of Cooking, but I’ll bet hardly anyone knows that. I have no idea when mom discovered it, but she felt very proprietary about this recipe and was emphatic that it was the very BEST hot fudge sauce. Most people who had it on a sundae at our house would likely tend to agree because this sauce is FUN as well as delicious. Cooked a little, it’s like ordinary hot fudge sauce, but when cooked longer, it gets slightly chewy and candylike, which is a fun surprise when you dig in with your spoon.

She went through a period where she ate this on orange sherbet, which is an unusual and good combination. But eventually she settled down with a traditional New England favorite – coffee—and that was pretty much it. It’s good plain, but to make a true Sara sundae, softly whip some heavy cream and top with toasted nuts.

MELT OVER EXTREMELY LOW HEAT: 2 oz unsweetened chocolate 1 T butter

STIR WELL AND ADD: 1/3 c boiling water STIR WELL AND ADD: 1 c sugar & 2 T corn syrup

Let the sauce boil readily but not too furiously over direct heat. Do not stir. Cover to wash down any sugar crystals for about 3 minutes. Uncover, reduce heat and cook 2 minutes more without stirring.

If you want the sauce to harden over ice cream (this is how mom made it), boil it, uncovered, about 3 minutes more.

Add just before serving: 1 t vanilla

Stir in well. The sauce will bubble up as the alcohol burns off; this is normal. Store any leftovers in a glass jar. Reheat gently in a water bath on the stove or the lowest microwave setting.