A soda fountain mainstay, this classic hot chocolate sauce can be dribbled over sundaes, whirred into malteds, mixed into Black Cows (you do know what that is, don’t you?), slathered over bananas, and more, including heaped on a scoop of plain ole vanilla ice cream. We recommend you keep a stash on hand at all times for just such emergencies. The alternative is just too disappointing.–Renee Schettler Rossi
LC Chocolate Sauce Sensation Note
Though this chocolate sauce recipe isn’t much more difficult or time-consuming than grabbing a squeeze bottle or unscrewing a jar, the chocolate flavor is far more complex than what you’ll find in any goopy, saccharin, chemical-laden, store-bought rendition. Go ahead. Try them. And then try this. See for yourself. Pretty sensational, eh?
Hot Chocolate Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- About 6 squares unsweetened chocolate, broken into pieces
- 1 cup heavy cream, warmed
- 1/4 cup sugar
Directions
- 1. Melt the chocolate in a bowl set above a saucepan of simmering water — don’t let the water touch the bowl. Alternatively, melt it in the microwave on medium in short 30-second bursts, stirring in between, until melted, about 2 minutes total.
- 2. Stir the hot cream and the sugar into the chocolate and mix well.
- 3. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.
Hungry for more? Chow down on these:
- DIY Chocolate Syrup from Annie's Eats
- Raspberry Sauce from Weelicious
- Coffee Ice Cream with Warm Chocolate Sauce from Leite's Culinaria
- Classic Waffles With Salted Caramel Sauce from Leite's Culinaria
Hot Chocolate Sauce Recipe © 2001 Elsa Petersen-Schepelern. Photo © 2001 Ryland Peters & Small. All rights reserved.
We make a fudgy-type sauce with only 3 ingredients, also. Ours, for some reason, is called “Janet’s Fudge Sauce.” It uses chocolate chips, evaporated milk, and vanilla. The best part? the next day, after it’s refrigerated, you can eat it with a spoon and it’s like semi-soft fudge—oh! wonderful!
How big are the squares? I know that “squares” can vary substantially depending on the brand of chocolate you buy.
Thanks to anyone who might have the answer!
All the chocolate squares I’ve used have been one ounce each.
Kathy did you have any problem with the recipe?
This looks so good! Bookmarked!
[Carrie S.] I’m on autopilot when it comes to chocolate sauce. When I was a kid, chocolate sauce came out of a Hershey’s can (and, eventually, a bottle), so in my adulthood, whenever I thought of chocolate sauce for sundaes, I thought of Hershey’s. Until I saw this recipe, I never thought about making it myself. But it’s easy to follow in terms of only having three ingredients and not taking a lot of time to make. The tricky part is choosing a type of chocolate—at my local grocery store, I found three different types of unsweetened chocolate and I knew that each one would result in a sauce with a different chocolate flavor. That said, this recipe is a good starting point. I followed the recipe and added extra sugar to amp up sweetness.
TIPS: I used 6 ounces of Ghiradelli’s 100% Cacao Unsweetened bar. I only needed 3-30 second zaps in the microwave at 50% power to melt it. I suggest checking every 10 to 15 seconds to prevent scorching.