A "Recipe of the Day" in my inbox this morning promotes a 90-calorie chocolate sauce/fondue. "By choosing a darker chocolate and fat-free evaporated milk, we've cut the calories of this chocolate dip in half!,'' the pitch reads.
No, thanks. I'd rather indulge and make Yolanda Wright's rich, buttery, Hot Fudge Sauce -- and risk the calories and repercussions.
Yolanda Wright is the former restaurant reviewer for The Post-Standard (and The Herald-Journal, before that). During her tenure (1983-2010), she also wrote the monthly "Yolanda's Kitchen'' feature for both newspapers, cooking for days and creating the kind of elaborate feasts and meticulously styled spreads that you don't see often in newspapers these days.
I miss collaborating with her. And when I rifle through my recipe file, I find a lot of Yolanda's recipes in there.
The Hot Fudge Sauce recipe is one of my most treasured -- and requested. I make it a couple times a year -- Christmas, Valentine's Day, birthdays -- mostly for gift giving. Some recipients use it for sundaes, or as a dipping sauce for strawberries, apples and pears. Others say they like it straight off the spoon!
This sweetheart of a recipe is easily doubled. It keeps for two months in the refrigerator, but the longest it has ever lasted here is two weeks. Reheat the sauce gently in the microwave or place a jar in a shallow water bath on the stove and reheat it that way.
Enjoy. And Happy Valentine's Day!
Yolanda Wright's Hot Fudge Sauce
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon instant espresso or coffee powder (optional)
3/4 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons Kahlua (optional but recommended)
Melt chocolate and butter over medium heat. Remove from heat and blend in cocoa until mixture is very smooth.
In a somewhat deep, heavy-bottomed sauce pan, bring cream, sugar, corn syrup and salt to a rolling boil. The mixture will bubble up, which is why you want to use a somewhat deep pan. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate mixture, vanilla extract and Kahlua.
Cool mixture for about 15 minutes and pour into a jar or jars. The fudge sauce will keep for 2 months in the refrigerator. Makes about 1.5 cups.
Note: Reheat the sauce gently in the microwave, on a low setting, or reheat on the stove. Place the jar in a pan filled with an inch or two of water. Reheat slowly, over low heat. Take care not to get water in the sauce, the chocolate will seize up.
