Get ready to wow everyone with the best hot fudge sauce ever. Seriously.
This rich, deeply flavorful sauce was my go-to recipe at the fine dining restaurants where I worked. It may not be the fastest or simplest, but its depth of flavor and perfect texture make it well worth your time to make. It turns chewy in the fridge and melts into pourable perfection when warmed.
If you’re looking for another fudge sauce option, check out my quick fudge sauce—but trust me, taking the time to make this one as written will give you the ultimate hot fudge experience. For more sweet inspiration, explore all my dessert sauces. Now let’s get to it.
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The Best Hot Fudge Sauce, At a Glance
✔️Skill Level: Beginner
✔️Skills: Stirring, Simmering
✔️Type: Dessert Sauce
✔️Number of Ingredients: 11
✔️Prep Time: 15-20 minutes
✔️Cook Time: 25 minutes
✔️Yield: 32-36 cookies
Related Recipes: Quick Hot Fudge Sauce, Chocolate Syrup, Chocolate Ganache
Jump Straight to the Recipe
This is a superb hot fudge sauce recipe! I have made it twice now. I found I did not need to strain the sauce as it is pretty smooth as is. It is a very easy recipe to follow with big flavour!
Reader C. Teshima
What Makes This Hot Fudge the Best?
This ice cream sauce is not the best because it has the fewest ingredients. No, that prize goes to good old ganache which makes a fine ice cream topping, clocking in at 2 or maybe 3 ingredients.
But if you want classic fudge sauce, this recipe is the answer.
Here are the things that make this fudge sauce the best:
- Thick and chewy when cold
- Melts beautifully when warmed
- Deep, rich flavor that complements any ice cream, from vanilla to coffee
- Balanced with just the right amount of salt to enhance every bite
- Customizable flavors to suit your preferences
Once you try it, you’ll keep coming back. It’s that good. It is truly an old-fashioned fudge sauce with you’re going to want to make again and again.
When you do make this recipe, it will help me and other readers if you:
✅Rate the recipes using the stars in the recipe card
✅Leave a review when prompted in the recipe card
✅Leave a comment on the post
Thank you! ❤️
Divine!!! Is the word that best describes this Hot fudge sauce.
Laura Schrock from Food In The Myakka Kitchen
I was looking for a recipe for one this morning and stumbled upon this on on my Pinterest account and my word I will not be looking for another any time soon.
If you’re already confident in making fudge sauce, please feel free to head straight to the recipe.
Ingredients and Substitutions
NOTE: If you don’t need all the step-by-step instructions, feel free to jump straight to the recipe.
The ingredient list is actually relatively long, but the process is pretty straightforward. Here’s what you’ll need:
- butter: Adds richness and body. Use unsalted if possible; if using salted, reduce added salt by a smidge.
- sugar: Sweetens and gives the sauce its classic chewy texture. Substitute light brown sugar 1:1 if desired.
- corn syrup: Prevents crystallization and enhances chewiness. Light or dark both work. If you do not want to use corn syrup, a light-flavored honey would make an excellent substitute.
- heavy cream: Adds body, volume, and richness. Dairy solids brown during cooking, deepening the flavor.
- salt: Enhances flavors and balances bitterness from cocoa powder.
- milk: Increases volume with minimal fat and adds dairy solids for flavor.
- cocoa powder: This provides the bulk of the chocolate flavor. Use quality cocoa (Hershey’s or Ghirardelli). Save your cacao powder for raw applications. Either Dutch process or American cocoa will work just fine.
- water (or coffee): Helps form a cocoa paste to mix into the sauce. Coffee subtly deepens chocolate flavor.
- light rum: Enhances flavor without overpowering. Substitute with your favorite liquor, liqueur, or coffee if avoiding alcohol.
- vanilla: Rounds out the chocolate flavor. Any vanilla works well here.
- semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate: Adds extra chocolate flavor and cocoa butter for body.
How to Make Hot Fudge
This sauce comes together in two main steps:
- Chocolate and flavorings: Place chocolate, cocoa powder, rum (optional), vanilla, and water in a large bowl.
- Dairy and sugar:
Boil heavy cream, milk, sugar, corn syrup, and salt to concentrate flavors and reduce liquid. Aim for 224-225°F for the perfect consistency—runny when warm, thick and chewy when cold.
Jenni Says: Keep the mixture at a “lazy boil.” If it boils up or boils aggressively, moderate the heat a bit. I generally bring it to a boil over high heat and then reduce to medium or even medium low to keep that lazy boil going.
Pour the hot dairy mixture over the chocolate and whisk until smooth. For an extra-smooth sauce, strain through a fine-mesh strainer. It’s optional, but worth it!
Jenni Says: For the smoothest texture, strain through a fine-mesh strainer. This is an optional step, but since it doesn’t take much time, I usually strain mine.
This sauce really is the best! The first time I made it exactly as written and it was so good it only lasted a couple days.
Reader Carolyn
Jenni Says: If you are not averse to having alcohol but don’t happen to have any on hand, use vanilla extract in place of the rum. I’ve done that before, and it’s delicious! If you want to make your sauce alcohol-free, substitute coffee for the rum.
NOTE: Since this hot fudge is dairy-based, it is not recommended to can this.
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If you want a non-dairy chocolate syrup that you CAN can, check out my chocolate syrup recipe.
Hot Fudge Sauce Q & A
Once fully cooled, store the sauce in a tightly sealed jar or container in the fridge. It’ll keep for several weeks, but let’s be real—you’ll finish it long before it goes bad! If it looks or smells off, toss it.
Since you add the boiled mixture to the alcohol mixture off the heat, none of the alcohol boils away. And even if you do boil it, while most will boil off, not all will. If for any reason you cannot have alcohol, you can substitute 2 Tablespoons of very strong coffee.
If you follow my advice to cook to no more that 225F, you shouldn’t have any issues. The fudge sauce will get chewy but not hard on ice cream. If you overcook and it does get too hard on ice cream, reheat the batch with a bit more cream or milk to loosen it up a bit.
When you pour your fudge sauce on your ice cream and it seems too thin, all running off and into the bottom of your bowl, scrape the rest of the sauce back into a pan, bring it to a boil, and let it boil for a couple of minutes to thicken it up. If using a thermometer, bring the sauce to about 225F.
It is not recommended to can dairy-based sauces. My advice would be to use a recipe specifically formulated for safe canning.
Graininess can occur if the dairy mixture is overcooked, leading to sugar crystallization. To fix this, add about 1/4 cup of milk or cream, heat until it just reaches a boil, then let it cool.
Caramelizing the dairy is technically an optional step. Your sauce will have more depth if you do caramelize the dairy first, so for more information, please read the next section.
Do I have to caramelize the dairy mixture?
While it’s optional, Tangela shares this comment:
Thank you so much for this recipe–I made a batch and LOVE it!
Reader Tangela
I **think** that I undercooked the dairy mixture–I was afraid of scorching it–I will bravely let it go another few shades darker next time in order to get the “chewy” factor.
I also made bomb hot chocolate using it!
Caramelizing the sugar/dairy does a couple of things:
- It evaporates out some of the water, concentrating the flavor and allowing for a thicker sauce and that old-fashioned chewy texture that is so incredibly addictive.
- The caramelized sugar and milk solids lend a deep, complex base flavor that you would not get if you don’t take this step.
If you want to use your instant-read thermometer to check doneness rather than just going by color, shoot for 224F/107C.
Here’s another comment in support of taking the time to caramelize the dairy in your hot fudge sauce so it really will be the best:
Gave this a try. followed directions. no alcohol.
Pinner Julie
I was nervous about the boil wait. But– Do THIS PART!!!
I couldn’t believe how creamy, rich and chewy-thick . Heated up serving 30 seconds in microwave from fridge–PERFECTION!!!
I WILL ONLY MAKE this very recipe!!! Thank You!!!
The Key to Perfect Hot Fudge Thickness: Temperature Matters
The hotter you cook your sauce, the thicker it will be upon cooling.
I generally go with the color of the dairy rather than whipping out my instant-read. Take the dairy to a light beige color, and it will still be fairly liquid (although thick) upon cooling. Take it to medium beige, and your fudge sauce will be more solid once chilled.
If you prefer to rely on temperature, which will yield a more consistent result, the magic temperature for cooking the dairy portion is 224-225F/106.7-107.2C.
Unless you plan on eating it straight from the jar with a spoon, always reheat the sauce before serving.
You can do this by immersing your container in a pan of hot water or in the microwave on medium power.
Jenni Says: When not using a thermometer, the color of the dairy matters:
Light Beige: pourable at room temperature and not quite so thick
Dark Beige: thicker at room temperature and chewy when cold
Other Delicious Dessert Sauces
Elevate all your desserts with one of these other dessert sauces:
- Strawberry Coulis: A vibrant, beautiful berry sauce perfect for drizzling over cakes or ice cream.
- Caramel Syrup for Coffee: Enhance your morning coffee with this rich, homemade caramel syrup.
- Spiced Pumpkin Caramel Sauce: A seasonal favorite that pairs well with a variety of desserts from cheesecake to ice cream
- White Chocolate Sauce: Smooth, creamy, and made with real cocoa butter, this sauce is ideal for adding a touch of sweetness to your treats.
- Real Butterscotch Ice Cream Sauce: A classic butterscotch sauce with deep, browned butter and caramelize sugar flavor
Questions?
If you have any questions about this post or recipe, I am happy to help.
Simply leave a comment here and I will get back to you soon. I also invite you to ask question in my Facebook group, Fearless Kitchen Fun.
If your question is more pressing, please feel free to email me. I should be back in touch ASAP, as long as I’m not asleep.
A Note About Measurements
NOTE: Most of my recipes are written by weight and not volume, even the liquids. Even though I try to provide you with volume measurements as well, I encourage you to buy a kitchen scale for ease of measuring, accuracy, and consistency.
Don't let its small price and small size fool you. The Escali Primo is an accurate and easy-to-use food scale that I have used for years. It's easy to store, easy to use, has a tare function, and easily switches between grams and ounces/pounds for accurate measurements.
Do You Love This Hot Fudge? Please Rate and Leave a Review. Thank You!
It will help me and other readers so much if you take a moment to rate and leave a review for this recipe.
You can use the stars to rate 1-5 (5 is best), and leave a review in the comments. It helps me make adjustments if any are needed, and comments help others decide whether the recipe is worth making.
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Thank you so much for taking the time!
The Best Hot Fudge Sauce Recipe
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Ingredients
- 4 oz unsalted butter (1 stick or 112 grams)
- 8 oz granulated sugar (1 slightly generous cup or 224 grams)
- 11.75 oz by WEIGHT light or dark corn syrup, (1 cup or 329 grams)
- 16 oz heavy cream (1 pint, 2 cups or 448 grams)
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 5.3 oz whole milk (about 2/3 cup or 149 grams)
- .67 oz cocoa powder (1/4 cup or 19 grams)
- 1.3 oz water (2 Tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon water or 36 grams)
- 1 oz light rum (2 Tablespoons or 28 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla paste
- 8 oz excellent quality semi-sweet chocolate, chopped or good quality chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli 60%, 1 1/2 cups or 224 grams)
Instructions
Start the Dairy Base
- Place the butter, sugar, corn syrup, heavy cream, salt and milk in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Heat over medium heat until it comes to a boil.
Make the Chocolate Mixture
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, water, rum (or your preferred substitute), and vanilla into a thin paste.
- Chop the chocolate into small pieces (or use excellent quality chocolate chips or paillettes) and add to the bowl.
Caramelizing the Dairy (Optional but not really)
- When the dairy comes to a boil, regulate the heat to medium so it maintains a slow boil but doesn't boil up in the pan. Your sauce will be bubbling all over the surface but not frantically so. More of a lazy boil that doesn't boil up.
- Stir the dairy frequently–at least every 2-3 minutes–and boil until it reaches a light caramel color, about 20-30 minutes (about 15 minutes if making a half batch). You don't necessarily want the mixture to be super thick, but you do want it a few shades darker than when you started. If you have an instant-read thermometer, the ideal temperature to shoot for is 224F.
- Once the dairy is a lovely shade of deep beige, pour it into the bowl with the chopped chocolate and cocoa paste. Do this carefully holding the pot away from you a bit since the mixture is so hot. Allow it to sit for a minute or two and then whisk until smooth.
- Optional: Strain the sauce through a fine-mesh strainer to make sure it is completely smooth.
- Allow the sauce to cool, and then store in jars in the fridge.
Did You Make Any Changes?
Notes
Fudge Sauce Variations
This sauce can be flavored in many ways. Here are some ideas to try:-
- Add a bit of orange zest and/or cinnamon to the boil
-
- Switch out the rum for orange liqueur.
-
- Use your favorite alcohol–a liquor or liqueur.
-
- Add some peppermint extract.
-
- Whisk in powdered freeze-dried raspberries or other freeze-dried fruits.
-
- Add some heat in the form of chipotle pepper or smoked hot paprika
Storing
Keep sauce tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. It will probably be good for longer than that, but use your best judgment. You can freeze the sauce for longer storage. This sauce is not suitable for canning unless you are well-versed in canning dairy products.Nutrition
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Enjoy the best hot fudge sauce. Every single bite of it.
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Can I omit the rum? Also, can this fudge be used as a chocolate fudge frosting for a cake?
I address substitutions for the rum in the post. I either up the vanilla or add some coffee. I have never tried whipping it to see if it would work as a frosting, but if you decide to give it a shot, please report back. Enjoy!
This looks so good! What a great topping to have on hand!
It’s a great one, and it keeps well for a long time in the fridge, too!
This has been my go to hot fudge recipe since September 4, 2021 (when I first sent a review for your recipe). I indulge in ice cream every 6 weeks and make your hot fudge each time without fail. My favorite substitution has been Grand Marnier (orange liqueur) instead of rum. Lord have mercy! Stirring the sugar mixture, and watching it caramelize, then pouring this into the chopped chocolate is mesmerizing and cathartic. This is a fantastic recipe.
It’s like alchemy, isn’t it, Janice?! So glad you love this sauce and I am so on board with the orange variation. Chocolate and orange is a magic combination. I really appreciate your letting me know how much you enjoy the sauce!
I was sceptical about the alcohol but when you said it was necessary to bring out the “alcohol-based” ingredients, I gave it a try. I didn’t have rum but I used vodka. It worked just fine. This sauce is so rich and thick and yummy. I plan to use it for an ice cream cake.
Confused, as 4 oz butter is not 112 g. Should it say 8 oz butter?
4 oz = 112 grams. 1 oz = 28 grams, so 4 ounces is 112 grams. Enjoy the sauce!
This sauce is nothing short of AMAZING! It truly is the best in the world. Do yourself a favor and make it! You will be so glad you did. I boiled to 222 degrees. Very pleased with the texture. Thank you for this recipe which I know I will be making many more times!
Oh, Patti, yay! I am thrilled you like it!
Hello Jenni, could I use milk chocolate in this recipe instead of dark?
Hey, Magda. Yes, you can. It will be a touch sweeter, and a touch less chocolatey. If that’s good for you, go for it. If you don’t want to lose any of the chocolatey-ness, add an extra Tablespoon or so of cocoa powder. Enjoy!
Been searching for a hot fudge sauce to be my annual holiday gift for a group of friends that celebrate together each year. I believe this is it. My addition: I find the flavors of chocolate and coffee to be nearly inseparable, so added 1 Tbl good quality espresso powder to the cocoa powder slurry – add more or less to your taste. Thanks for your straightforward approach seasoned with common sense. Much appreciated!
Thank you, Glenn, and I hope all your hot fudge recipients will be so happy! And I fully support your espresso powder addition. I put it in almost everything, including this sauce when I make it for myself. I need to add that as an optional but much-appreciated addition. I also appreciate your taking the time to let me know. So many come and go, and I never hear from them. Take care, and happy hot fudge making (and giving)! 🙂
Next time I’ll use the best chocolate I can find. This time I used organic cacao, which has always served me well. My mistake was using Tollhouse semi sweet chocolate chips. No one could taste chocolate at all. It was just very sweet. I used a scale and opted for light corn syrup. I didn’t have rum, so I used vodka. Other than using Tollhouse chocolate chips, is there anything that I have listed here that may have taken away from the chocolaty flavor?
That’s so interesting to me (frustrating for you, I know!) that you couldn’t taste the chocolate. You haven’t listed anything that’s beyond the pale for making this sauce. Maybe you cooked the dairy until it was a little more caramelized and that flavor masked the chocolate, or melded with it so well you ended up with a “hybrid flavor?” I’ve never made this with cacao before, only cocoa powder. At the restaurant, we used Valrhona, but at home, I generally use Hershey’s or maybe Ghirardelli. Thank you for letting me know. I may make a small batch and try to replicate what happened to you. Because fudge sauce should certainly taste deeply chocolatey.
can this somehow be canned so it doesnt go bad? I see it in canning jars but no processing info. Thanks for recipe.
Hi, Jocelynn.
I am not a canner, but from what I understand, it can be a safety issue to can dairy-based sauces. Since I am no expert, I do not give canning instructions. Other readers have said they have successfully canned it, but I don’t know for how long and if it kept it from spoiling at room temperature. Your best bet is to make a recipe that has been optimized for canning. If you want to make this sauce (and it really is delicious), know that it stays good in the fridge for several weeks, and you can extend that time by freezing it. It won’t freeze solid since it contains so much sugar, but you will definitely be able to keep it longer if you freeze it. Hope that helps. 🙂
I like the recipe. The annoyance of having to scroll through out of context instructions, comments and advertisements just to see if I have all the ingredients insures that I will not use your page, buy products from your ads or use the recipes. Utterly annoying that this is
de rigueur for bloggers.
You do you, Cherry Ann. I provide free recipes and run ads so I can live. This is my livelihood. You can complain, or you can use the “Jump to Recipe” button, conveniently located at the very top of the post, to bypass the “out of context instructions, comments, and advertisements” and go straight to the recipe. Have a nice day.
I substituted Kahlua because I didn’t have light rum. It is really delicious! I do see where rum could be better, going to make it again, and again, and again….. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
I’m so glad you’re putting this recipe on repeat!
It is very yummy. Actually I found it to be delicious even before I added the chocolate! I have two questions:
1. If I wanted it to be a bit less sweet (I know this would put me in the minority), could I reduce the sugar or the corn syrup?
2. Can I freeze it to extend the shelf life?
This sauce really is the best! The first time I made it exactly as written and it was so good it only lasted a couple days. The second time I made it, I only had 1 1/2 cups of the heavy cream so I used a half cup Baileys Irish Cream for the rest of the required amount of cream. All other ingredients were exactly as written. I liked this version even better than the first. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. This is now my go to fudge sauce recipe and I will be gifting jars of this sauce for Christmas presents this year! Thank you, you rock!
Hi Jenni! Thank you SO much for this awesome recipe! I see a few people asking for temperatures, so on my third and fourth remakes** of this hot fudge, I used my candy thermometer just to record the temperature when I visually decided to pull the dairy mixture off the heat, and both times I was just shy of 235F/soft ball stage. So that’s my suggestion for anyone who is more comfortable working off of temperature than gut.
Second, I wanted to add this in case anyone is struggling with the mixture completely splitting (where it looks as if all the butter has floated to the top and the rest of the mixture is firm and “seized” and cannot be emulsified back in with all the whisking in the world). The first time I made this, I got impatient and jacked up the temperature to medium-high to caramelize faster. Do not do this. Be patient. It will pay off. What I believe happened is that I scorched the mixture and shocked it with the sudden increase in temperature. However! Don’t panic! Don’t toss it out! I’m not sure what options exist, but how I solved this is allowing the fudge to completely cool in a glass jar (the oil solidified on the top like a layer of butter), then gently reheating in a water bath on the stovetop, and adding about 1/4 cup of warm milk when it was mostly warmed through, then stirring until smooth. Et voila. Smooth, emulsified fudge sauce.
Finally, my best friend is allergic to dairy, so I’m going to try to make half a recipe with dairy-free substitutions. This may be a fruitless endeavor, but I’ll report back when it’s done!
Thanks again for a great recipe!
**(Warning: Once you share this, you’ll have to make it over and over and over since people will demand it whenever they come over to your house!)
Lindsey, hello! I am thrilled you love this sauce–so ridiculously good, right?! Thank you so much for the temperature and also for the troubleshooting. I will add these to the post. I really appreciate your letting me know and for taking one for the team to take the temperature!
Let me know how the non-dairy version works out. My vote would be to use oat milk, but that’s just a gut instinct.