Homemade hot fudge sauce comes together in just 5 minutes on the stove, and you can use it on any and all of your ice cream confections, from ice cream cake to brownie sundaes… or serve it as a dip for fruit… or simply savor a spoonful of it all on its own!
One reader, Jane, commented: “I made this hot fudge sauce to go with an ice cream pie and it was DELICIOUS. It did not become grainy after refrigerating and was smooth, silky, and oh-so-fudgy. I received many compliments from my guests. This is my new go-to fudge sauce. Thanks for another winner, Sally. ★★★★★“
You’ll never go back to store-bought once you’ve tried this homemade hot fudge sauce.
This was a recipe I worked on back in 2015 when I was developing recipes for my 2nd cookbook, Sally’s Candy Addiction. I was up to my arms in fudge and caramel, and ended up putting it on the back burner to focus on handheld candies and such. This past winter, I pulled it out of my recipe ideas folder and got to work on it again.
The result? An easy 8-ingredient thick chocolate sauce that’s ready for your next bowl of ice cream. This stuff is dangerously delicious.
Why Should I Make Homemade Hot Fudge?
- Homemade tastes infinitely better than store-bought (and has fewer ingredients!)
- Takes just 5 minutes on the stove, and only 10 minutes total—it joins 30+ others in my collection of Quick Dessert Recipes
- Thickens into a gooey caramel-like consistency
- Silky-smooth and glossy
- Tastes like melted chocolate fudge
Difference Between Hot Fudge & Ganache
Today’s hot fudge is a soft and smooth sauce with a caramel-like syrup consistency. Chocolate ganache, while made from 2 ingredients also used in hot fudge (cream and chocolate), is thicker and not as sweet. And when it cools completely, it’s much firmer than hot fudge sauce. In fact, chocolate ganache is a fantastic frosting for layer cakes. Hot fudge sauce, on the other hand, would drip right off.
Think of hot fudge more like a caramel sauce rather than a ganache.
Key Ingredients You Need & Why
- Real Chocolate: Many recipes call for chocolate chips, but I prefer to chop up good-quality chocolate baking bars such as Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate baking bar. (Not sponsored, just a fan!) If you can find high-quality chocolate chips, such as Ghirardelli 60% cacao baking chips or Guittard, go ahead and use them.
- Sugar: Some recipes use brown sugar. You can use that, but I usually just reach for regular granulated white sugar. Many recipes call for more sugar than what I use—after several recipe tests, I decided 6 Tablespoons is enough because I want the darker chocolate flavor to shine.
- Light Corn Syrup: Frequently used in candymaking, this ingredient prevents crystallization, which keeps the hot fudge sauce smooth. And because of its high viscosity, corn syrup keeps the fudge sauce syrupy, soft, and glossy.
You also need heavy cream, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla extract, and butter.
How to Make Homemade Hot Fudge
This part is super quick and easy! Simply combine all the ingredients except for the butter and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat and whisk to combine and melt the chocolate. No need for a double boiler; a medium saucepan does the trick.
Let the mixture boil for a few minutes, then stir in the vanilla and butter at the end. That’s it! You just made hot fudge sauce from scratch.
Success Tip: I recommend using an instant-read thermometer to determine its doneness, and so you get the perfect fudge sauce consistency.
Hot fudge thickens considerably as it cools, but it’s easy to reheat on the stove or in the microwave to thin it out again.
Now comes the best part… finding all the delicious desserts and other things you can pour it on!
Uses for Homemade Hot Fudge
Drizzle over a scoop of ice cream or serve alongside one of these ice cream confections:
Hot fudge sauce is incredible on ice cream, of course, but why limit this rich, glossy, deeply chocolatey topping to frozen treats? Try it drizzled over pound cake, brownies, cookies & cream pie, flourless chocolate cake… oh and let’s not forget cheesecake in its many forms, including no-bake cheesecake, easy cheesecake pie, and no-bake cheesecake jars!
It also makes a fabulous dip for fruit, pretzels, biscotti, you name it.
No. This is not like a chocolate shell topping. While it thickens considerably when cold, it won’t have that “snap” that cooled melted chocolate would.
I don’t recommend it, and I haven’t tested an alternative like golden syrup, agave nectar, or honey. Without corn syrup, the mixture could crystallize or separate, and it won’t be as syrupy, soft, and glossy.
Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 1 and 1/2 cups
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Homemade hot fudge sauce comes together in just 5 minutes on the stove, and you can use it on any and all of your ice cream confections, from ice cream cake to brownie sundaes… or serve it as a dip for fruit… or simply savor a spoonful of it all on its own!
Ingredients
- 4 ounces (113g) semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (see Note)
- 6 Tablespoons (75g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (120ml) heavy cream (cold or room temperature)
- 1/4 cup (80g) light corn syrup
- 3 Tablespoons (18g) unsweetened natural or Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, whisk the chocolate, sugar, heavy cream, corn syrup, cocoa powder, and salt together until the chocolate is melted. Whisking occasionally, allow the mixture to come to a boil. Boil for 3 minutes. Use an instant-read thermometer to check the temperature; the hot fudge is done when it reaches 220°F (104°C). (If you don’t have a thermometer, 3 minutes is usually the amount of time.)
- Immediately remove from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla extract until combined.
- You can use the sauce immediately for ice cream or other desserts. To store, let it cool completely and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Hot fudge will thicken as it cools and in the refrigerator. To reheat, warm it over low heat on the stove or in the microwave.
Notes
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Saucepan | Whisk or Rainbow Whisk | Instant-Read Thermometer
- Chocolate: You can use 4 ounces of high-quality chocolate chips if needed (I prefer Ghirardelli or Guittard), but I recommend using chocolate baking bars, in either semi-sweet or bittersweet. You can find them right next to the chocolate chips in the baking aisle. They are sold in 4-ounce (113g) bars. I like Ghirardelli brand best.
- Corn Syrup: I don’t recommend skipping this. Without corn syrup, the mixture could crystallize or separate, and it won’t be as syrupy, soft, and glossy. I haven’t tested an alternative like golden syrup, agave nectar, or honey. They should each work as a 1:1 substitute, but the flavor and consistency will vary slightly.
Adapted from Food Network. I reduced the sugar, heavy cream, and butter, and added cocoa powder for more flavor.
How long will this keep? I am also wondering if it would work to add a bit of mint flavoring.
Hi Salgal, To store, let it cool completely and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. A bit of peppermint flavor would be great here!
Oh my gosh, this sauce is so easy, delicious and fun to make. This coming from someone who LOVES vanilla everything. I would easily put this on my vanilla ice cream. Hot chocolate also comes to mind.
Can this sauce be canned without affecting the consistency
Hi Clara, we haven’t tried canning this sauce, so we’re unsure how it will work. Let us know if you do any experimenting.
Hi, this was absolutely delicious, but, mine came out quite chewy and solidified over ice cream even when they ice cream had been sitting for quite some time. My attempt was with halved ingredients for a smaller batch. What might I have done wrong?
Hi Danni, it doesn’t sound like you necessarily did anything wrong—it’s normal for the sauce to thicken as it cools and start to solidify on top of ice cream. Be sure not to over cook it on the stove, as that could cause it to become a bit “chewier” than intended. We’re so glad you still enjoyed it!
Hi Sharon, I understand. It’s not an ingredient that I use regularly in my baking and recipes. However, it’s a common ingredient when making candy and certain syrups/sauces/pies. You can certainly skip it here, but the consistency will change. Or you can skip this recipe entirely.
So delicious! Creamy, smooth, and oh, so very fudgy. I made a no-bake cheesecake with chocolate cookie crust and a layer of this fudge sauce (chilled) and chocolate cookie bits in the middle. My family declared it worthy of a restaurant dessert!
I made this with honey and chocolate chips. it was so good!
What can I substitute the light corn syrup with?
Hi Heather, we don’t recommend leaving it out, and we haven’t tested an alternative like golden syrup, agave nectar, or honey. Without corn syrup, the mixture could crystallize or separate, and it won’t be as syrupy, soft, and glossy.
I substituted corn syrup with maple syrup and it was fabulous! Creamy, delicious and oh soooo good!
hi, if i wanted to make a chocolate orange variant, other than using different chocolate, what would you recommend?
Hi Emily, we haven’t tested adding any flavoring here, but a small amount of orange extract might work! Let us know if you give anything a try.
Perfect! Not too thick, not too sweet!
I used the thermometer for perfect consistency!
I only buy unsweetened chocolate squares. Can I use with more sugar?
Hi Marcia, that would require some testing—we’d start by using the recipe as-is and then adjust further for future batches. Let us know what you try!
Made with homemade golden syrup and homemade ghee! Looks gorgeous. To complement a chocolate steamed pudding.
Can Kosher salt be used in this recipe instead of salt and can peppermint extract be used instead Pure Vanilla Extract or can both be used?
You can make both of those swaps, but I would leave in some vanilla extract. (Such as 1/2 teaspoon.) For the peppermint extract, I would only add 1/4 teaspoon, taste, and then add more. For the salt, it’s such a small amount that the swap is fine. Again, taste, and add more if you’d like.
I am confused. I started making this and was weighing the cocoa. 2 tablespoons scooped and leveled were already over 15g. Is there a reason the weight is so off? Do different cocoa’s have different weights? I did not pack it whatsoever.
Hi Darci, thank you for catching this mistake in the recipe! 2 Tbsp of cocoa powder actually weighs 15g. Go with the 3 Tbsp measurement, so about 22-23g. Sorry for the error!
This is such a delicious and decadent hot fudge sauce. The depth of the chocolate flavor means it isn’t overly sweet. It is so easy to put together that I would call it foolproof! Which is a good thing because I am not above eating spoonfuls of this without ice cream.
This is a fantastic recipe! Just a few ingredients and very quick to prepare. I used the semi sweet chocolate chips, but next time I would chop them some. This is a winner. Thanks for such a great recipe!
How long can you store the rest of the hot fudge? If it can be stored whats the best way you would recommend? Thanks!
Hi Sasha, To store, let it cool completely and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Hot fudge will thicken as it cools and in the refrigerator. To reheat, warm it over low heat on the stove or in the microwave.
Hi, just wondering if I may have done something wrong. The sauce is absolutely delicious, but when I put the sauce on ice cream it seemed to solidify. My personal preference is for hot fudge to stay silky like what you may get at an ice cream parlor.
Hi Cheri, that is normal, especially if your ice cream is particularly hard/cold. You might try letting your ice cream sit for just a few minutes to soften a bit before adding the sauce.