Spike It: Red Wine Hot Fudge Sauce

Hot fudge was such a huge staple in my childhood pantry, and it didn’t really have anything to do with ice cream. Well, OK — it had a little bit to do with ice cream. But it had a lot to do with the fact that both my brothers and I had a serious obsession with dipping a spoon into the cold “hot” fudge in the fridge and eating it as a snack. Or should I say, sneaking it as a snack. It’s not like my mom really condoned our doing that all that time.

So while we loved a big fat spoonful of the fudge in the middle of the afternoon on a summer day, what we really kept the hot fudge on hand for was … hot fudge milk shakes!

Hot fudge milk shakes are completely different from chocolate milk shakes, or vanilla milk shakes made with chocolate syrup. Hot fudge milk shakes taste like actual hot fudge sundaes and are 100 percent dreamy. They remind me of the boardwalk, the beach and hot summer days that turn into nights. They are super-decadent and probably contain more hot fudge than a sundae ever would, and therefore they are my lifeblood.

It only makes sense, then, that in order to make a boozy adult version of my favorite hot fudge milk shake, I have to start with boozy hot fudge itself. This chocolate lovefest is made with red wine — pick your favorite bottle and go with it. I prefer something in the middle, not too dry, and love Pinot Noir for that exact reason.

It makes the most-delicious fudge sauce, and you can use it on everything. My preference is obviously to use it in milk shakes, but drizzled over vanilla bean ice cream is an extremely close second. This is the best of both worlds for your Valentine’s sweetheart: red wine and fudgy chocolate! It’s how to make all dessert dreams come true.

Red Wine Hot Fudge

Ingredients:

3/4 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup red wine (I used a Pinot Noir)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup unsalted butter

12 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Add the cream and wine to a saucepan and heat over medium heat. Cook until the liquid is warm and there are bubbles forming on the edges of the pot.

Stir in the sugar until it is totally dissolved, and allow the mixture to come to a boil. Once it’s boiling, reduce the heat to low and stir in the butter until melted.

Turn off the heat and add in the chocolate, allowing it to sit for a minute. Then stir constantly until the chocolate is completely melted. Stir in the vanilla extract and salt. I like to let this sit for a while at room temperature to thicken even more.

Hot fudge sauce adapted from here.

Related Links:

Foodie Call: A Truly Boozy Breakfast with Whiskey Pancakes and Vermouth-and-Cherry Butter

Jessica is the voice behind the blog How Sweet Eats. She can be found on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, and she’s on Snapchat at howsweeteats.

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