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!
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 totalโit 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
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. โ โ โ โ โ “
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 useโafter 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. Itโs necessary when making soft caramel candies and homemade marshmallows, too.
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 (it’s especially delicious over this chocolate swirl pistachio 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
- ย 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 220ยฐF (104ยฐC). (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 |ย 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.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Found this recipe recovering from COVID and omg this on vanilla ice cream got me through. Absolutely delicious as is – thank you!
Love! We love it so much for our ice cream that we just made a batch that was X8 what this recipe calls for. We omit the sugar (just use corn syrup) for a more savory fudge. I also put a bit of celtic sea salt in. Best. Hot. Fudge. Ever.
All the places around changed their hot fudge recipes. Too SWEET. Thank goodness we found this one.
Used honey because I was out of corn syrup and it worked just as well as the last time I made this with corn syrup!
This makes an insanely good swirl for my homemade gelato, and I’ve been making it at least once a week for my household and friends. In a vanilla base with coarsely chopped Oreos, it rings the bell.
But occasionally I notice that it comes out with very tiny lumps. It’s not exactly what you’d call grainy, but you can feel the lumps on your tongue and I don’t know what that is. Could it be undissolved cocoa? And why do I find it sometimes and not always?
Anyway, this and your caramel sauce (which I put in the vanilla base with spiced walnuts) are making my gelato everyone’s favorite dessert.
It could be proteins in the cream curdling. Using room temperature heavy cream and/or a little less heat might help.
Your gelato recipes sound delicious!
Abbey, I think you were right on the nose. I let the heat come up more gradually (on my induction range with a heavy saucepan it takes about 12 minutes to get to 220F) and I now make sure my cream sits out long enough, and my last couple of batches have been perfect.
I am now making this sauce twice a week, and my next batch is going to be a swirl into peanut butter gelato, which I make with chunky peanut butter powder to keep the fat down. This has been a great hobby, and is all the more enjoyable for the really wonderful recipes here.
Iโve made this several times! Itโs now a standard in our home and always stocked in our fridge. Cooks quickly. Iโve used chocolate chips in a pinch and it turned out fine. Iโve also had it turn out too thick which might have been from too heavy a hand of corn syrup. I warmed some extra heavy cream and stirred into the sauce and it fixed the issue. Will continue to be a repeat recipe.
Hello Sally,
In my country, I do not have access to corn syrup.
What can I substitute for ?
Thank you
Hi Mel! The FAQ section above includes this: โCan I make this hot fudge without corn syrup? I donโt recommend it, and I havenโt tested an alternative like golden syrup, agave nectar, or honey. Without corn syrup, the mixture could crystallize or separate, and it wonโt be as syrupy, soft, and glossy.โ
I made it just today and substituted 50g of light agave; it’s a little thin but it hasn’t been in the friends yet. The flavor is wonderful!
Iโm surprised at the negative reviews! Itโs quick, easy, and I followed the recipe as written and have perfect hot fudge sauce.
Epic fail. Whatever you do, DO NOT use golden syrup.
I ended up with burned lumps of nasty, greasy, chocolate charcoal.
Ruined dinner!!!
Hi Stefanie, we are very sorry to hear you had this result, but we don’t recommend using golden syrup in place of the corn syrup in this recipe. The FAQ section includes this: “Can I make this hot fudge without corn syrup?
I donโt recommend it, and I havenโt tested an alternative like golden syrup, agave nectar, or honey. Without corn syrup, the mixture could crystallize or separate, and it wonโt be as syrupy, soft, and glossy.”
I had such great hopes for this fudge sauce. I used extra special ingredients (i.e. chocolate and vanilla), and it tasted great, but thickened up to almost a hard chocolate when I poured it over ice cream. It was too thick to pull apart with a spoon, and had to be cut. I cooked for 3 minutes and turned off the burner. I will go back to my old recipe (which never, ever, thickened up this much), and use the same high-quality ingredients. I suppose I could try your recipe again and check with my instant thermometer constantly, but it seems like a lot of unnecessary trouble and worry, not to mention expense. Very disappointed, Sally.
Hi Violet, Iโm so sorry it turned out too thick. Thatโs frustrating, especially after using high quality ingredients. It sounds like it may have cooked just a little too long or gotten too hot. Next time, try removing it from heat a bit earlier or aim for about 220ยฐF so it stays smooth and pourable. (It *will* thicken and set on cold ice cream, though.) Thank you for giving it a try and sharing your feedback.
Can this be frozen for longer storage?
The sauce turned out unexpectedly poorly. I’m not sure what I did wrong, as I followed everything exactly, other than using unsweetened Baker’s bar since I knew that it would be too sweet for me otherwise. It seemed almost lumpy. There were no actual lumps in it, it just did not run smoothly. The butter pooled on the top. I kept trying to mix it in, but to no avail. I ended up pouring off the butter (almost the full two tablespoons, melted!) and stirred in more heavy cream a bit at a time. That did the trick; it’s smooth now and not separated.
I’m still wondering what I did wrong, though. I’m pretty experienced with baking, but admittedly have almost no experience with stovetop sweets.
Hi Hannah, we’re happy to help troubleshoot. It sounds like the heat may have been a bit too high. If you wish to try again, we’d recommend turning your heat down just a bit. This will help it to come together more uniformly. If the butter begins to separate, remove the pot from the heat for a minute and stir vigorously to bring it together. Thank you for giving this a try!
Thanks for replying! I do hope to try it again sometime. The salted caramel sauce was out of this world!
This is delicious! Absolutely amazing! Iโll never but store bought again. I made it dairy free since 4 family members have allergies. Full fat coconut cream, plant based butter (Country Crock) and dairy free chocolate. No taste of coconut cream at all. Just deliciousness!
Thank you Sally!
Hi sally!
I have made this recipe so many times and it never fails!
Every time I make this, I substitute honey for the corn syrup,
and it is amazing!
Wondering if I could substitute half and half for cream?
Hi Jeanne, we don’t recommend it. The hot fudge sauce won’t thicken up as it should.
Yes you most certainly can use 1/2&1/2, I have before, and while it may not be quite as thick, it is still delicious. PS, I am a professional pastry chef of 25 + years. My friend tried this recipe, and wanted me
To look at it because she didnโt like how it came out. It seems like a pretty standard recipe, but I have made lots of ice cream toppings, and this is pretty much the same as my own recipe. I have had to use 1/2&1/2 on more than one occasion, and that was due to a truck not coming in on time.
I just added a little extra chopped chocolate and it was fine.
I made this to put on homemade brownie sundaes and discovered that when it was cool, you could eat it by the spoonful! It tastes just like a chocolate truffle. Little did I know, my husband and kids had the same idea-the ice cream didn’t have a chance! This is super easy to make and tastes amazing.
Lovely I made this with out the sugar. The corn syrup was enough sweetness.
I was looking for a topping similar to McDonald’s hot fudge and it is very good. Can’t wait to try on ice cream !
Hi there! Iโd love to try using this as a filling in a regular cake, do you think it will set thick enough to fill a tiered wedding cake that has to sit at room temp for a few hours?
Hi Kat, we wouldn’t use this hot fudge recipe for that, but chocolate ganache should work well!
Is the sauce pourable at room temperature?
Most delicious! While I don’t think it will last long – just how long can I keep it refrigerated?
Hi Susan! To store, let it cool completely and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Absolutely delicious! My children said it was the best ever sauce. They kept eating it on its own. Had it over hot chocolate fudge cake and topped with ice cream. Our new family favourite. Thank you
So, SO delicious!! I will never buy store bought fudge sauce again. Even better, I always have a half a bottle or so of corn syrup leftover from making anual apple cider caramels.
My only problem is, in the hot summer time, this fudge sauce can go rather quickly. A double recipe fills up about 1.5 pint jars for me… I’m thinking it would be nice to quadruple it and fill 3 full jars. Even going fast, this would be too much for one week’s storage, so I wondered… how might this recipe freeze?
I looked up the safety of pressure or water bath canning fudge sauce and that is a definite NO GO. It’s a low acid food and not safe for shelf storage. However, the National Center for Home Food Preservation does have a different fudge sauce recipe they recommend for freezing. That recipe also uses bar chocolate and sugar, evaporated milk instead of cream, but does not contain corn syrup… however, pecan pie uses corn syrup and freezes beautifully. I think it’s worth experimenting with freezing Sally’s delicious fudge sauce to have on hand all summer long without having to turn the stove on quite as often. ๐
Hi Melissa, sure can! Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature, then warm up before using.
Can I double or even triple this recipe ?
It should be fine to double. Enjoy!
I made this to go on ice cream cake and it was decisions. Best hot fudge recipe Iโve made. Will always use this recipe as everyone loved it.
Looks like another winner — just perfectly simple! Can I use dark corn syrup instead of light?
Hi Lesli, we’re so glad you enjoyed this! Yes, that swap should work just fine. You can sometimes detect a more robust molasses flavor when using dark corn syrup, but otherwise it shouldn’t be a problem.
Have you ever added this to ice cream as a swirl rather than topping? Would that work? Churned vanilla ice cream layered with it into a freezer container and then a knife swirling it through? Would it freeze okay?
Hi Melanie, we haven’t tried that, but don’t see why it wouldn’t work! If you give it a go, please report back!