Old Fashioned Hot Fudge Sauce
This rich old fashioned hot fudge sauce is silky smooth and is made with evaporated milk and is the perfect topping for vanilla ice cream, chocolate fudge brownies or Oreo milkshakes!
Why This Recipe Works
- Made with flour. Using flour helps give a robust structure to the old fashioned hot fudge so it is thicker and smoother.
- Hot fudge sauce with evaporated milk. This recipe uses evaporated milk which is a milk product that has had half of the water content boiled out (hence evaporated) so the resulting product is thicker and creamier.
- Homemade is better. This recipe is from my mother-in-law and is a recipe my husband grew up with. He would always complain when I’d buy store-bought hot fudge! “This isn’t as good as my mom’s,” he would say. Well, he was right! Homemade is better. Always.
Ingredient Notes
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: I use the Hershey’s brand.
- Flour: Using flour in hot fudge sauce makes the sauce thick and more of a robust structure. If you were using just milk, butter, sugar and chocolate, you wouldn’t get an equally thick and full consistency.
- Evaporated Milk: This is milk that has had a half of the water content boiled off, resulting in a denser, creamier milk.
- Butter: Adding the butter gives an additional flavor element and provides a fatty element which helps bind the ingredients together (with help from the flour, too!)
- Vanilla Extract: I know it seems weird adding vanilla to a chocolate recipe, but adding vanilla extract helps round out the flavor of the fudge.
Step-by-Step Ingredients
- Add the dry ingredients to a saucepan and whisk to combine.
- Pour in the evaporated milk and mix until combined.
- Bring the mixture to a boil over medium low heat and boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. The mixture will slightly thicken, but be careful because we don’t want it to be too thick.
- Remove from heat and add the butter and vanilla extract. Whisk vigorously until smooth.
Recipe Tips
Hot fudge sauce will thicken as it cools. If you accidentally cooked the mixture too long (and the sauce is thicker than you’d like) stir in a splash of milk and that will help thin it out.
Whisk while pouring in the evaporated milk to help limit any clumping. Be sure the mixture is well mixed before turning on the heat.
Serve warm over ice cream, brownies, and a variety of desserts. Use the sauce to make a homemade ice cream sundae or banana split. Add toppings such as chopped nuts, whipped cream, and a maraschino cherry!
Make Ahead, Storing, and Freezing
Store leftovers covered in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 weeks. Once you notice liquid separation in the sauce, discard it.
To reheat the old fashioned hot fudge sauce, warm it in the microwave in 10-15 second intervals until warm.
You can freeze hot fudge sauce (Note: I have never tried it, but apparently it’s a thing). Simply store it in an freezer-safe container that is airtight and let thaw in the fridge overnight.
FAQs
As hot fudge cools it thickens, but doesn’t necessarily harden. This is due to the butter in the sauce. The sauce will thin out when warmed.
This sauce isn’t because it uses all-purpose flour. You can try to sub the AP flour for gluten-free flour. When doing so I suggest you use Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 baking flour.
Yes. Use the sauce within 3 weeks of making it. If you notice any liquid separation in the sauce, it’s time to discard it.
Yes, to properly store the sauce you should keep it in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
Haven’t attempted this personally, but I did a lot of research and it turns out you can freeze hot fudge. Place in a freezer safe container. Will last 3-4 month frozen. To use, thaw in the refrigerator and reheat in the microwave in 10-15 second intervals (stirring/whisking well to combine everything) until warm.
More Chocolate Recipes
- Hot Fudge Cake
- Chocolate Cake Pops
- Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Moist Chocolate Cake
- Homemade Chocolate Pudding
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Old Fashioned Hot Fudge Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons cocoa powder - I used natural unsweetened (Hershey's brand)
- 4 tablespoons all purpose flour - see notes
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 12 oz can evaporated milk
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan whisk the sugar, cocoa, flour, and salt.
- Pour in the evaporated milk and mix until combined.
- Place the pot over medium to medium low heat. Bring the mixture to a boil and boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. The mixture will thicken slightly, but be careful to not boil too long. The longer you boil, the thicker it gets.
- Remove from heat and add the butter and the vanilla extract. Whisk vigorously until smooth.
- Store, covered, in the refrigerator for 3-4 weeks.
Notes
This recipe was originally published on June 8, 2020. It was republished on Jan. 11, 2022, to include additional information and photos.
20 Comments on “Old Fashioned Hot Fudge Sauce”
I was craving a hot fudge sundae and this was one of the only recipes I could find where I had all the ingredients in the house. It came together in about 10 minutes from start to finish and was so delicious! It was also so easy, I’m saving this recipe for the future.
So happy you found this recipe, Veronica! It is a wonderful treat to enjoy again and again. Thanks for your review!
This is my go to hot fudge for our annual “ice cream social” at church. Have made it for the last 3 years, usually a gallon each time always the first topping to go. Made exactly to recipe.
Diane, that is such a wonderful story! I’m happy to hear this recipe has become a tradition for you. Thank you for sharing.
One batch ended up making enough that I split between one 16oz ball jar for us and two 8 oz jars to share with others. It is thick and rich and just delicious!
So glad you loved it, Karly! It’s a family favorite. Thanks for coming back to leave a 5-star rating and review!
Can you make this with regular milk?
So evaporated milk has been cooked to help evaporate off more than half of the water content. So evaporated milk is thicker than regular milk. With that in mind, I would stick with using evaporated milk and not regular milk. Thanks for the great questions Juju!
The hot fudge came out like Hersheys chocolate syrup. Didn’t taste bad, but wasn’t thick enough. I followed the recipe to the “T”.
The recipe states, “the longer you boil, the thicker it gets.” You must have not boiled it long enough.
Also, the hot fudge will thicken as it cools.
This is wonderful! I’ve tried a bunch of different hot fudge recipe and this is the best by far. It was the perfect consistency. It’s a thick gooey fudge, not a chocolate sauce. I added some chopped up chocolate and it was pure heaven. I can eat it by the spoonful. Thank uou for sharing this recipe
Looks great! Will it make enough for the Oreo Ice Cream cake or should I double it?
Thank you
I don’t think you’d need to double it. Let me know how it goes!
Turned out perfect thanks! Easy to follow instructions and was just the right amount for the cake.
I think maybe the nutritional values for one serving is based on the fact that at the top of the recipe it states that t he recipe makes 1 serving. At least I hope one serving does not have 92% of the number of calories recommended for one day.
How many servings does the recipe actually make? I want to make this for a gathering and keep it warm in a small crockpot, but do not want to show up with a shamefully small amount or a wasteful over abundance.
I would estimate it. makes about 2.5 cups worth. let me know if you have any other questions!
The best hot fudge ever! I had never attempted to make any until now. Thank you so much for such an excellent recipe! Went splendid with your ice cream recipe!
Yay! So glad we agree that this sauce is AMAZING!
I have been looking for an easy, go-to hot fudge recipe for years. Found it! This is so good, so easy, with ingredients I had on hand, and is the BEST! Thanks so much!
This hot fudge is the BEST! It was the perfect consistency and the flavor is unmatched. We used the sauce over brownies and ice cream.