Recipe #1: Neighborhood House Hot Fudge

For 20 years we've been making a giant batch of homemade hot fudge each summer for the wildly popular Bike Parade & Ice Cream Social. We've always kept that recipe somewhat of a "secret," but decided now was as good a time as any to share it. ..

The Story Behind the Recipe:

In 2000 The Neighborhood House held the first ever “Bike Parade & Ice Cream Social.” To add a little something special to the event staff members opted to try their hand at a batch of homemade hot fudge to use with the sundaes. Needless to say, the Bike Parade was a hit and so too was the hot fudge sauce. In the 20 years of the bike parade we receive phone calls asking for the date specifically because people don’t want to miss the hot fudge, and we’ve even had some guests arrive with jars to bring home any “leftovers.”

We have always joked about the “secret” nature of this hot fudge recipe, and honestly never expected to share it. As we’ve all recently learned, however, times change. At the moment, while we’re all doing our best at “social distancing,” we thought sharing the recipe would be a great way to bring us all together and also give families a fun cooking project at home. We hope everyone enjoys it, and look forward to sharing sundaes again someday soon!

Ingredients

• 5 oz. unsweetened chocolate

• 1 stick unsalted butter

• 13 oz. evaporated milk

• 3 cups confectioners sugar

• 1.5 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Roughly chop the chocolate. In our case, this worked out to 1&1/4 bars.

2. Cut butter into cubes to help it melt faster

3. Over low heat add chocolate and butter to medium size pot. Begin stirring and continue to stir throughout the process.

4. Once the chocolate and butter have completely melted add approximately half of the confectioners sugar and evaporated milk.

5. Continue stirring for several minutes until all of the sugar and milk is combined with the rest of the mixture and it appears glossy on top.

6. Add the remainder of the confectioners sugar and evaporated milk. Continue to stir.

7. Sauce will begin to thicken slightly. Keep stirring until it begins to slowly bubble. Depending on your cooktop and pot you may need to adjust the heat slightly— but always keep stirring.

8. Once some bubbles appear keep stirring and remove from head.

9. Add vanilla extract and mix. We use 1.5 tsp, but you can use more or less depending on your taste.

10. You can serve immediately over your favorite flavor ice cream. Leftover fudge can be kept refrigerated for several days in a food storage container or jar. It’s easy to reheat in the microwave (no more than 30 sec. at a time and can also be reheated on the stovetop over low heat while stirring.