Homemade Chocolate Sauce

One thing the South has that I love are great consignment shops. Here in Tuscaloosa there are several shops that are fun to visit but my favorite Consignment shop is called Twice As Nice. I love this place and the other day I found these precious little dessert dishes. I had to have them. And as soon as I bought them I visualized two pretty scoops of vanilla ice cream or some fresh sorbet in them. I had been wanting to make a homemade chocolate sauce, so buying these dishes gave me a great excuse.

I went into my beloved cookbook, "Joy of Cooking" and found this recipe. It was quick and easy but delicious. It is the perfect dessert to whip up last minute but is an impressive homemade treat. Also this chocolate sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Chocolate Sauce

1/2 cup light cream or 1/4 cup heavy cream plus 1/4 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla

I started off by chopping up the chocolate first because once you get going this recipe moves pretty fast so it is best to have it all out and ready to go. You can chop up your chocolate in a food processor or I got out a cutting board and a good knife and chopped the chocolate into very fine pieces. I used semi-sweet baking chocolate that comes in an 8 oz. package or you can use some ghirardelli chocolate. I say the finer the chocolate the better the taste.

Combine the creams/milk, sugar and butter in a heavy sauce pan. Stirring constantly and keeping a close eye on it, bring it to a full rolling boil. Remove the sauce from the heat and then add your finely chopped chocolate. Continuing to stir constantly until all the chocolate is melted and the sauce has a smooth texture (no lumps). Set the mixture aside for one minute and then add your vanilla. Once again, stir until mixed well and the texture is smooth and velvety.

As a side note, when I was making this I wanted the sauce to be a little thinner so that it made a good chocolate sauce for ice cream, so I added a couple more tablespoons of cream and was pleased with the texture.

Thad gave this Chocolate Sauce a Thad rating of 9.5, so it is worth your time to try it out.

Bon Appetit!

Adapted from Joy of Cooking