alright, so i have to tell you about the time i made hot fudge from scratch and my whole family acted like i had performed a miracle.
my mom literally said “you made this yourself?” three times. three times. like she needed to confirm it. i said yes all three times. she still looked suspicious.
here’s the thing. it’s four ingredients. it takes maybe 2 hours in the slow cooker and most of that time you’re just living your life and ignoring it. i was watching tiktoks and folding laundry while this was happening on the counter.
i made it the first time because we had ice cream and nothing to put on it and i refused to go to the store. desperation cooking is genuinely where the best recipes come from i think.
the second time i made it i brought a jar to my friend’s house and she put it on literally everything. ice cream, brownies, her finger. she has no shame and i respect that.
mine aren’t perfectly smooth every time. if the chocolate seizes up a little it looks grainy, but i just stir it hard and it comes back. not a big deal.
seriously though. once you make homemade hot fudge you cannot go back to the jar stuff. i’m sorry. it ruins you.
trust me.
why this works
four ingredients you probably already have
the slow cooker keeps it from burning or seizing
it’s thick and glossy and pours like a dream
keeps in the fridge for actual weeks
makes you look like you know what you’re doing
what you need
| stuff | how much |
|---|---|
| sweetened condensed milk | one can |
| chocolate chips | about 2 cups. semi-sweet or dark. |
| butter | maybe 2 tablespoons |
| vanilla extract | just a splash |
that is genuinely the whole list.
how to make it
this is so easy it almost feels wrong.
dump the condensed milk and chocolate chips into the slow cooker. cut the butter into a few pieces and add that too. don’t add the vanilla yet.
set it to low. put the lid on slightly cracked so steam can escape. stirring every 30 minutes or so is ideal. i usually forget the first stir and remember at like 45 minutes. it’s fine.
watch it slowly melt into this dark glossy sauce. around the hour mark it starts looking like actual fudge and you’ll want to just eat it with a spoon. resist.
stir in the vanilla at the very end once everything is melted and smooth. vanilla burns off in heat so adding it last actually matters here.
pour it into a jar. let it cool a little before you put the lid on or you get condensation inside the jar and that’s annoying.
done.
tips & variations
- darker chocolate: use dark chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet if you want it less sweet and more intense. that’s my personal preference.
- serving it: reheat in the microwave in 20 second bursts and stir between each one. it thickens in the fridge so it needs a little warming up.
- add espresso powder: just a tiny bit. you can’t taste coffee, it just makes the chocolate taste more chocolatey. weird but true.
- gifting: pour into small mason jars while still warm. label it (something i never do for myself but weirdly always do for gifts) and tie a ribbon. people will love you.
storage (jar chaos)
i always put it in a mason jar in the fridge. it keeps for honestly like 3 weeks maybe more. i’ve never actually tested the limit because we use it too fast.
last time i made two jars and put them both in the fridge without labeling because that is my entire personality. i forgot which one was hot fudge and which one was some leftover gravy and let me tell you that was a confusing moment when i went to make ice cream sundaes.
always label. i will never label. such is life.
the numbers
| thing | roughly per serving |
|---|---|
| calories | ~180 |
| fat | 9g |
| carbs | 24g |
| protein | 2g |
(a serving is 2 tablespoons which is a very generous estimate of how much i actually use)
questions
can i make this on the stove? yes but you have to babysit it constantly on the lowest heat possible. the slow cooker is more forgiving and honestly less stressful.
it came out grainy, help? this usually means the heat spiked and the chocolate seized. add a tablespoon of warm cream or milk and keep stirring. it should come back together.
can i use milk chocolate chips? you can. it’ll be sweeter and less rich. kids prefer it. adults usually want the semi-sweet or dark version.
is this the same as ganache? similar but not exactly. ganache uses cream. this uses condensed milk which makes it thicker, stickier, and honestly more fudgy. different thing, both good.
