Fudge recipe condensed milk cocoa powder

This past weekend was another Chicago Food Swap, and of course I participated. I love coming home with all sorts of goodies, my favorites being the jams and pickles. I’m a pickle fiend, and Mister Man has Greek yogurt with preserves every morning for breakfast, so it’s perfect for us.

I wanted to make something more wintery for this swap, since it is December and all. I chose two of my favorites, roasted garlic butternut squash soup and homemade hot fudge sauce. Simply cook, cool, and place into a pretty glass jar. I cut some fabric to put over the first lid and under the screw top to make it look prettier.

? The homemade hot fudge was so pretty and tasted so good that I think I’m going to make these as teacher gifts for the secretaries in the office, the gym teachers, the art teacher, the therapists, etc. Because it isn’t that hard, and oh is it good. Plus, I can make a cute card and play on words about how sweet it is to have them in our lives. It’s a win all around, right?

Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce

Ingredients:

1/2 c butter
2 c sugar
1/2 c cocoa powder (unsweetened, not hot cocoa powder!)
1 12 oz can evaporated milk (not sweetened condensed milk)
3/4 t salt
1 t vanilla

Directions:

Heat a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add the butter, sugar, cocoa, evaporated milk, and salt. Stir with a whisk until combined. I found that using a whisk and stirring regularly helped give it a great texture.

Bring the mixture to a boil – slowly – while whisking every minute or so. You want it to come to just a slow boil, not a rolling boil.

Once it boils, turn the heat down to medium low to control the boil (you may have to adjust for your individual stove). Boil while whisking for seven minutes for a more traditional taste. To make it more caramelized, boil for up to twelve minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat and whisk in the vanilla.

Either use an immersion blender in the pot or carefully pour the hot sauce into a blender and blend for three or so minutes. This gives it a nice silky texture and keeps it from being at all grainy.

If you are using a blender, please be careful. Do not fill a blender more than one-third full of hot liquids. Use a potholder to hold the lid on to prevent the pressure that builds up from forcing the lid off and spewing hot liquid all over your kitchen. You may want to periodically vent the blender (after turning it off) to reduce pressure. Or just but an immersion blender.

Prep time:

Cook time:

Total time:

Ingredients

• ½ c butter
• 2 c sugar
• ½ c cocoa powder (unsweetened, not hot cocoa powder!)
• 1 12 oz can evaporated milk (not sweetened condensed milk)
• ¾ t salt
• 1 t vanilla

Instructions

1. Heat a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add the butter, sugar, cocoa, evaporated milk, and salt. Stir with a whisk until combined. I found that using a whisk and stirring regularly helped give it a great texture.
2. Bring the mixture to a boil - slowly - while whisking every minute or so. You want it to come to just a slow boil, not a rolling boil.
3. Once it boils, turn the heat down to medium low to control the boil (you may have to adjust for your individual stove). Boil while whisking for seven minutes for a more traditional taste. To make it more caramelized, boil for up to twelve minutes.
4. Remove the pot from the heat and whisk in the vanilla. Note that it is still fairly thin like a chocolate sauce rather than hot fudge. It's supposed to be like this still. It will thicken as it cools. Don't panic.
5. Either use an immersion blender in the pot or carefully pour the hot sauce into a blender and blend for three or so minutes. This gives it a nice silky texture and keeps it from being at all grainy.
6. If you are using a blender, please be careful. Do not fill a blender more than one-third full of hot liquids. Use a potholder to hold the lid on to prevent the pressure that builds up from forcing the lid off and spewing hot liquid all over your kitchen. You may want to periodically vent the blender (after turning it off) to reduce pressure. Or just but an immersion blender.

Notes

The best way to reheat it is to place the container into a bowl of hot liquid and let it gently reheat this way - like warming a baby bottle. If you need to, spoon some sauce into a small bowl and heat it in the microwave, but it only takes a few seconds, and you don't want to burn it.