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

1. Add the dry ingredients to a saucepan and whisk to combine. 

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2. Pour in the evaporated milk and mix until combined. 

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4. 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.
5. Remove from heat and add the butter and vanilla extract. Whisk vigorously until smooth. 

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6. Serve hot or cold over brownies, cakes or ice cream!

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

More Chocolate Recipes

• Hot Fudge Cake
• Chocolate Cake Pops
• Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Moist Chocolate Cake
• Homemade Chocolate Pudding

This recipe was originally published on June 8, 2020. It was republished on Jan. 11, 2022, to include additional information and photos.