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The only thing better than hot fudge sauce? Chocolate Caramel Fudge Sauce! You’re going to want to put this on EVERYTHING!
How to Make Caramel Fudge Sauce
Whenever we’re in Paris, I try to visit as many grocery stores, boutique food shops, and boulangeries as humanly possible. They’re so much fun to peruse and never cease to delight me! As a blogger, and a food lover in general, it’s fun to discover new items I’ve never seen or heard of before, and I always end up splurging on a few to bring home and try out. Last trip I hauled home not one, but two (!!!) giant jars of salted caramel chocolate sauce from a small shop in Montmarte. The kind girl working there offered me a sample before I checked out… and seconds after tasting it I swiped up a second jar. Clearly she is very good at her job haha.
But seriously! It was literally one of the best things to ever hit my tongue. And so when I ran out of my second jar last weekend, I knew what needed to be done. So I got in the kitchen and did what I do best…
I tested and tweaked and tested some more. And after quite a few fails, I finally recreated a chocolate caramel fudge sauce that’s worthy of sharing with you! It’s thick, rich, supremely flavorful, and so decadent. Perfect for ice cream, but you can also use it in recipes like my death by chocolate cake… or just spread it on toast! I’m sure you’ll find a million ways to gobble this stuff up.
My favorite way to eat this chocolate caramel syrup? By the spoonful! No shame in my game 😉
How to make Chocolate Caramel Sauce
Tips and Tricks for Recipe Success:
- You’re going to want to use a pot with very tall sides, because when you add the cream to the caramel it will bubble up furiously! Please be careful during this step ♥
- Speaking of the pot, be sure to use a high-quality heavy metal pot. Most cheap cookware is very thin and heats unevenly, so avoid using them for caramel. I also don’t recommend non-stick pans since high-heat can damage them. I love using this Kitchenaid saucepan.
- Once you’ve added the sugar, water, and corn syrup to the pan, you’ll want to whisk them together until well combined, and then avoid stirring the rest of the time. Instead, occasionally, and gently, tilt the pan side-to-side to help the ingredients cook evenly and avoid burning. This no-stir method helps avoid sugar crystals from forming.
- The caramel takes time to develop, so be patient while it boils. You want it to reach a deep golden brown color before removing it from the heat. Removing it too soon can cause gritty caramel.
- Once you’ve removed your caramel from the heat you want to add your cream right away! Make sure you’ve placed it in a spouted measuring cup so you can slowly add it in. As mentioned earlier, the mixture will aggressively bubble up, but as long as you used a tall sided pan, it won’t overflow. Be sure to whisk the mixture together well after adding the cream.
- For the chocolate, I suggest using a quality dark chocolate, such as Lindt 70%. I don’t recommend using milk chocolate, but semi-sweet chocolate may be used if you prefer a very sweet sauce.
- Because the caramel is so hot when it comes off the stove, it will look very thin. However once it cools it will thicken up quite a bit. If you’d like to return the chocolate caramel fudge sauce to a liquid form, simply reheat it in the microwave or on the stove top.
- Finally, if you burn your caramel sauce… there’s unfortunately no method of saving it. Just toss it and start over again.
If you try this recipe for Chocolate Caramel Sauce Recipe, let me know! Leave a comment below and don’t forget to snap a pic and tag it #bakerbynature on instagram! Seeing your kitchen creations makes my day.
More Fudge Recipes:
More Caramel Recipes:
Chocolate Caramel Fudge Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup light corn syrup
- 1 and 1/3 cups heavy cream
- 6 ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped
- 2 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Whisk together the sugar, water, and corn syrup in a 3-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat, gently tilting the pan side-to-side to help the ingredients cook evenly and avoid burning, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the sugar turns a deep golden brown/copper color. Once the caramel reaches this color, remove from heat and immediately add in the heavy cream. Be very careful during this step - the caramel will hiss and bubble up aggressively!
- Add in the chopped chocolate and stir smooth. Finally, stir in the vanilla and sea salt. Vigorously whisk the mixture smooth and set aside to cool. Store covered, for up to one week, in the fridge.
Oh my word! This is the best thing I’ve ever seen. I can imagine eating this by the spoonful
Can this be water bath canned to preserve for longer?
I was wondering the same thing … I would just follow safe canning practices and I absolutely think it could be!
I dont know if it could be canned or not, because of the cream. It could probably be frozen but I would be careful about canning it.
Hi! I made this recipe and when adding the heavy cream the caramel turned hard. The heavy cream was at room temperature. I couldnt melt the caramel again. Why did this happen?
Thanks
Hi, you should warm up your heavy cream first. Because if the cream is cold or at room temperture the caramel would get harden or worse can splash everywhere due the temperature shock
I made this just today, the caramel almost went lumpy & hard but I kept stirring while adding the fresh cream. Then I added the vanilla & salt and put it back on heat to dissolve the caramel lumps. It went smooth and lovely
A quick question before making this…how does it freeze? I’m making an ice cream cake with a couple of different ice cream flavours and would like to layer this sauce in between them. Many thanks!
This look so good ! I would definitely try it but I live and Paris and I would love to know in which store did you buy the sauce if you remind it. If I find it, I can even send some to you if you want !
I’m sure it is Maison Georges Larnicol!
Anything to substitute corn syrup?
I made this. It was two firsts in one for me, having never made caramel or hot fudge sauce before. While there were a couple of snags, owing to my inexperience, it turned out pretty well, and made a good birthday present for my friend. Of course, practice makes perfect, and I feel the need to practice making this recipe, this time for myself.
This seems like such an obvious idea so I don’t know HOW I’ve never thought of it! It looks PHENOMENAL Ashley! I so so so need to make this!
Just tried this today, Amazing and relatively easy!
Since I always read comments and always look for 5 star recipes to help to narrow the vast number of choice down I’m just curious why you gave it 4 stars while saying it was amazing and relatively easy?
Hi,
I love your recipes , I tried this one but it was too liquid. Any advice?
Thank you so much
Sounds delicious, you did your best to recreate the original. The only difference between yours and original recipe, is corn syrup. Nobody use that, here in Europe, trust me. It is used only in large candy factories. But if the outcome is the same, it seems legit to me!
Just made this to go on a Heath Bar Cheesecake.
Delicious!!!! I’ll be making this again.
There’s quite a bit left so I’m giving it to my best friend.
I know she’ll love it.
Thanks so much for sharing.
Looks too good..small clarification ..is there any s substitute for corn syrup or can I omit it?
I wonder if Lyles golden syrup can be substituted for corn syrup??
I feel like it could be. I’ve seen recipes for snack bars where corn syrup and Lyles golden syrup were pretty much interchangeable. If it were me I would try it I hope it works for you whatever you decide to use!
I’ve used honey as a substitute in the past – for other recipes calling for corn syrup – but does give a slight honey flavor.
Hi, my mouth is watering from your cake/photo. two questions, some chocolate cake recipes add coffee to heighten flavour. You do not. And, how do you keep cake so moist.? So happy I found you.
Pat
Do you know what the temperature of the mixture is when you take it off the heat (the golden brown color point)?
When I did it, I brought it to roughly 350. It turned out perfect!
Delicious!!! I’m trying to keep myself from eating this by the spoonful! : )
I love this recipe and the taste. I just finished making it, and I’m wondering if you happen to know how long it takes to set up to be as thick as the pictures, approximately. I’m prreeeeety impatient and want to pipe it between macarons today 🙂
Thanks!!
Hi! I made this recipe and when I added the heavy cream the caramel harden, why did this happen?
Thanks
Can you freeze this?
I just made this sauce and the flavor is out of this world! I did have some trouble with the sugar mixture setting up hard When I poured in the cream. Could this be alleviated by adding the cream in a slow stream while whisking? (I had to carefully reheat the mixture to melt the caramel into the cream, over very low heat and stirring constantly.) But the end result was fantastic with just a little more time and patience. 🙂
I am wondering why there’s no butter. Usually caramel is made with butter and sugar. And I wonder the girl from Paris who commented said they don’t use corn syrup or anything and I’m sure they use butter to make that original one what do you think
I just made this caramel chocolate fudge. It is so yummy. I also made the cake cake too. I can’t wait to put it all together. Thank you for your detailed recipe.
Thought I had dark chocolate but the box was empty all I have is semi sweet chips . Would that work?
I’d love to make this…but Corn syrup is not available where I live…any suggestions for a substitute?
Hello I am a little confused I thought this recipe was the chocolate fudge sauce not Caramel for the chocolate cake?
Can this sauce be thicken to form chocolate caramel fudge?? i love this recipe, but looked for a fudge form of it.
Is it possible to use coconut cream in place of cream? I cannot have cream.
Hi Candy! I’ve never tried that, so I can’t say for sure. If you experiment, let me know how it goes!
I made this three times, each one successfully.
On the third attempt, I substituted 1/3C coffee for the water. Intense flavor, which might not be right for some——-but for me, incredible.
Thanks for taking the time to create and share this recipe.
Can you tell me how thick this gets? I’m thinking of filling a macaron with it or is it too saucy? Thank you!
I make this a lot and use it for cake and cupcake filling. It gets thick when it’s cooled. I think if it’s not too warm when the macrons are served, it will be ok.
Do you think this can get thick enough to fill a macaron? Looks incredible!
This has got to be one of the best fillings/toppings ever. I use it for everything! Cakes, cupcakes, ice cream, by the spoon… It’s soooo good!
Couple things. I followed the instructions but my carmel would not come to the brown/copper color. I even tried increasing heat and cooked 15 minutes but only got a light yellow. The other thing, in the instructions you don’t indicate not to stir so I did stir and it did form some crystals. I see in the “how to” part it mentions not stirring. It would be good to put all of the dos and don’ts in the actual instructions. I eventually took it off the heat and added the cream, which it did want to harden but stirred vigorously and saved it. It turned out ok but not quite as thick as I’d like. Next time I’ll try not stirring and see how it goes. It is super sweet. I used dark chocolate and will go with the 70% next time, too
Very good! I’ve made several times and it is loved by all! I sprinkled Malden on top this time.
Absolutely delicious. After reading comments, I chose to heat my cream in microwave until very warm. I had no issues with the caramel becoming lumpy. I think this is a crucial top to follow. I also strained my hot fudge thru a fine sieve for extra silky texture.
Can the fudge be processed for canning?
Yes!
For years I have searched for the perfect hot fudge recipe and now I’ve found it! I made this today and can’t wait to serve it on Christmas. I know everyone will be asking for the recipe.
Thank you!
Do we store this in the fridge? I’m wanting to make it ahead of time for your chocolate cake. Do you know how long this will last? Thanks!