BEST VEHICLES FOR HOT FUDGE: Matzoh Crunch Ice Cream; Pecan-Pumpkin Pie; Pound Cake; Coffee-Toffee Ice Cream Squares; Chocolate-Bottomed Blondies
In honor of my impending birthday, dessert week at BGSK plunges on! On today’s menu: hot fudge sauce.
When I was a college student, I found my sanity in wax paper cups of ice cream with hot fudge sauce from Herrell’s in Harvard Square. It was the kind of treat that was small enough not to seem overly unhealthy-my grandma eats ice cream with hot fudge sauce every day, and she’s 93-but large enough to assuage any stress that exams, professors, or snow might contribute to my life. I ate ice cream all winter, all fall, and all spring.
So here I bring to you my recipe for hot fudge sauce, and perhaps the best-ever way to use it, atop a decadent brownie sundae (on a plate on which you may be able to make out the words Happy Birthday):
If hot fudge can be an everyday treat, a brownie sundae is a true extravagance, best left to times of celebration. Like Friday, my 26th birthday. Or tomorrow, moving day. I’m saying goodbye to 25 and to my closet kitchen, where I’ve cooked nearly everything I’ve posted on this blog. I’m saying hello to a beautiful, just-redone cooking space but a few blocks away, and I’m greeting another year-happy!
From my kitchen, albeit small, to yours,
Cara, THE QUARTER-LIFE COOK
**Recipe**
Hot Fudge Sauce
Makes just under a cup
Ingredients
1/2 cup cream
3 tablespoons butter
pinch salt
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup minus 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
2 tablespoons chopped chocolate
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon espresso powder
Combine the cream and the butter in a small, heavy saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the butter is melted and the mixture has just come to a boil. Stir in the sugars and the pinch of salt and cook for another minute, letting the mixture barely simmer. You want the sugars to be dissolved, and you can test this by spooning a little bit onto a plate and then rubbing it in between your fingers to make sure it’s smooth, not gritty.
Add the cocoa powder slowly, whisking as you go to stir out any lumps. The sauce should be uniformly smooth, thick, and dark.
Take the sauce off the heat. Add the chocolate, vanilla, and espresso powder. Let sit for about a minute, then whisk again until smooth.
Serve immediately, over ice cream or your dessert of choice.
Store in a wide-necked container in the fridge. It will solidify as it cools, so slowly reheat the jar in a bowl of hot water, or microwave in short bursts.
