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Dessert

Hot Fudge Sauce

A hot fudge sauce made by boiling milk, sugar, cocoa, and salt, then adding butter and vanilla.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Cocoa and vanilla work together. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 357 recipes. Both carry sotolon, which smells curry, maple. The science ↓

Hot Fudge Sauce

several

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Mix milk, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a saucepan and bring to a full rolling boil.

  2. Turn off the heat and add butter and vanilla.

  3. Let rest for a couple minutes until the butter is melted.

  4. Beat with a spoon and serve.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

467Calories
10 gProtein
28 gFat
42 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Chocolate1 oz (28g) semisweet155
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Cocoa + vanillatop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together357 recipes

    Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

  2. Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  3. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  4. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  5. Milk + cocoatop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together643 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

White granulated sugar
Provides sweetness and, with the boil, gives the sauce body as it thickens.
Milk
Supplies the liquid base that the sugar and cocoa dissolve into.
Cocoa
Gives the sauce its chocolate flavour and dark colour.
Butter
Adds fat for a smooth, glossy texture and rich mouthfeel.

The step that matters

Bring the mixture to a full rolling boil. The mixture must reach a true boil so the sugar dissolves fully and the sauce thickens once cooled. Undercooked sauce stays thin and can turn grainy or runny.

Swap the cocoa

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, sugar, butter, vanilla):

  1. Almondfits about as well
  2. Cocoathe original
  3. Chestnutfits about as well
  4. Hazelnutfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against milk, sugar, butter, vanilla. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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