Brigham's Hot Fudge Sauce Recipe

One of the best things about running a cook shop is learning about great recipes.  This usually happens when asking a customer for what purpose they'll be using the item they wish to buy.  Today, Theresa came in to buy a double-boiler insert.  When I asked her what she was making, I received the most heavenly edible gift recipe ever, the iconic recipe for Brigham's Hot Fudge.  My eyes probably bulged out of my head and my hands flew to my mouth to muffle a gasp of joy when she uttered the words, Brigham's Hot Fudge.  My love affair with Brigham's Ice Cream began in the womb, it's embedded into my family's DNA, and I admit as a child I fantasized about a bedroom-sized ice cream freezer full of Brigham's Vanilla Ice Cream.  And right after my love for ice cream sits my love for all things chocolate, especially hot fudge.  According to Theresa, who grew up in West Roxbury (and realized she knew my grandmother, a Bernadine, during the course of our conversation), she gives out mason jar gifts full of this decadent sauce every year at Christmas to the joy of her friends and family.

Boston's Classic Hot Fudge 

I was incredibly overjoyed when Theresa kindly offered to write down the recipe for Boston's classic hot fudge sauce, because I was prepared to beg.  And the fact that she knew the recipe by heart attests to the commitment she has to making it as often as possible.  So without further ado, let's get down to making the most delicious recipe for hot fudge that is so good, you may become like some of Theresa's hot fudge gift recipients, who forgo the ice cream and just eat it straight from the jar.

PRINT:

For a printable version of Boston's Best Hot Fudge recipe click the "print" button.  What do you think?  Is this hot fudge sauce recipe not the best, most heavenly edible gift ever?

*Update

Home Made Boston's Best Hot Fudge Labels

I made labels for my ball jar lids using Avery Design & Print Online.  They almost look a little too professional, so much so that my dad didn't realize I had slaved over the stove to make him his beloved hot fudge sauce for Christmas.  I'd be happy to share these labels I made with you.  Just click HERE to print my Home Made Boston's Best Hot Fudge labels for your own canning jar lids.

The best thing about printing these from the Avery website is they let you choose how many you want to print.  This recipe makes about 4 1/2 regular sized ball jars, so I only wanted to print 4 labels and save my printer ink.  I was so happy that I was able to print just the 4 labels I needed.

Tips to Make Chocolate Cake Dog-Gone Delicious

I love to slather Ganache on top of Bundt cake, especially, Chocolate Bundt Cake.  And I also love creamy filling.  That's what lead to this creation, our Ganache Topped Devil Dog Cake.  The addition of ganache makes it dog-gone delicious!

Watch as we turn an every day Chocolate Bundt Cake into a Devil Dog Bundt Cake and kick it up a notch with the addition of the most delicious Ganache Chocolate:

Get the recipe for LaBelle's Chocolate Ganache we used on our Devil Dog cake HERE.

Cake Baking Essentials

It's always important to have the right tools for the job, and for making a Bundt Cake, it couldn't get more essential than using the right pan.  Nordic Ware's Platinum Bundt Pan is top rated and as our video shows, it makes the perfect, most amazing Bundt Cake.

And where would I be without this Wire Cooling Rack?  So versatile, we use it for everything from baking chicken to cooling off cakes and cookies.  Since we usually have a lot going on in our kitchen, we have about 4 of these excellent racks.

This cake looks great, doesn't it?  But it could be better.  Frosting it would take away from the beautiful edge created by the NordicWare Bundt Pan.  The only worthwhile alternative it to slice it in half and spread across some incredible cream filling.  Buttercream is always a nice choice. 

Another great tool to have in your arsenal is a long serrated knife and it was absolutely necessary in order to cut this Bundt in half in order to 'devil dog' it.  This 12" Slicer from Dexter is made in Massachusetts and most often used to slice bread and roasts, but it's also perfect for slicing cake.

And never skimp on chocolate chips!  Love those little devils.

It's important to use your favorite chocolate for your Ganache.  And spread it on thick!

Stay tuned for our Devil Dog Cake recipe!

Cape Cod Potato Chip Bark Recipe

Potato Chips Drowning in Chocolate

Cape Cod Potato Chip Bark popped into my head on the way home from work one cold, dark rainy Cape Cod evening.  (What is it about shorter days and dropping temperatures that makes me crave chocolatey confections?)  The night before I was inspired to make Cape Cod S'mores Bark and I knew from the reception it had received that a sequel was in order.  But how do you top S'mores Bark?  And that's when it hit me, chocolate covered potato chips!

Love at First Bite

I first tasted chocolate covered potato chips about 10 years ago at a food show Joe and I attended.  The two of us had to be asked to leave the booth.  Never before had we experienced such an unearthly combination of salty and sweet.  And we had to be careful not to experience it again too soon.  The fact that potato chips aren't allowed in our house 362 days a year didn't give me pause as I headed on towards our neighborhood grocery store for the only chips worthy of what I was planning, our island's very own Cape Cod Potato Chips.

Just 2 ingredients, a half sheet pan, and a piece of parchment paper

If you've never made chocolate bark before, the most dangerous part to consider is how is easy it is to make, because you may start making bark morning, noon, and night.  Once you've decided on your potato chips, choose your favorite chocolate for melting.  After indulging in milk chocolate in our S'mores bark the night before, I decided our potato chips would be complemented by a luscious dark chocolate.  I happened to have Dark Chocolate Candy Melts on hand which are perfect for making bark because they are ideally suited to melting.  You can use chocolate bars or chips, too.  In fact, chocolate bars are super for making bark.  If you use chocolate chips, you may want to add a little shortening to make it smoother.

Melt over a double boiler

Before you get melting, it's important to prepare your potato chips.  I poured out about 1/3 of the bag for crushing into small pieces.  Use cellophane or a baggie to keep your hands from getting greasy.  Also make sure you have a sheet pan lined with parchment paper waiting in the wings.  I found that a quarter sized sheet pan (9" x 13") was the perfect size for this recipe.

Now you're ready to start melting.  I like melting my chocolate using a double boiler made from a stainless steel bowl sitting on top of a simmering pot.  It's more hands-on than using a microwave and there's less mystery or risk of wrecking the chocolate.  Plus, I love stirring and inhaling chocolate.  Once your chocolate is melted, mix in your crushed potato chips and thoroughly coat them.

Then spread the coated chocolate-potato chip mixture into your parchment-lined sheet pan.  At this point I decided I wanted to add another layer of chocolate because I planned on sprinkling more chips on top and it looked like they needed a little more to sink into.  So it was back to the double boiler with another cup of chocolate melts.

Spread your next layer of chocolate and then sprinkle with more crushed chips.  Push the chip-chips into your top layer, then head for the refrigerator.  In less than 1/2 and hour, your bark is ready to break apart into servings.  I chose to slice my bark into small pieces so that I could put them in little cups to give out to customers during our Christmas Open House.

You can leave your bark in an air-tight container for several days, but most likely it won't last that long!  For a printable, easy-to-follow recipe click HERE.

You Need These 5 Things for the Perfect Chocolate Fondue, Especially the Last Item of #2.

Making the perfect chocolate fondue is really amazingly easy. Unlike savory fondue that needs various hard-to-find cheeses, wine, etc., Chocolate Fondue requires only 1 ingredient: Chocolate Candy Melts.  You'll also need some yummy things for fondue dipping, long fondue forks, and a heat-resistant fondue pot or bowl for serving.  A fondue maker is helpful, but not necessary.  I must admit, I love using our electric fondue maker.  And the cord unplugs so you can take it gracefully from the kitchen to the table.

You Need These 5 Items for Perfect Fondue

1.  Chocolate Candy Melts:  Available in both Chocolate and Dark Chocolate

2.  Great Dipping Food:  Create a smorgasbord of fruits and goodies like strawberries, bananas, kiwi, Oreo cookies, Milano cookies, shortbread cookies, marshmallows, and my absolute favorite, POTATO CHIPS.  (Have you ever tried chocolate covered potato chips?  Devine.)

3.  A double boiler | fondue maker | microwave:  You can use any of these three methods of melting your Chocolate.  The great thing about Chocolate Candy Melts is they melt so easily without adding any other ingredients.

4.  Fondue Forks:  Long handled with a forked tip, fondue forks make all the difference when you're enjoying fondue.

5.  Serving Bowl | Fondue Pot:  This should be heat resistant.  Stoneware is great, stainless steel, enameled cast iron, etc.  If you're using a fondue pot, you're all set!

Set of 6 Fondue Forks available in store

The Best Chocolate for Fondue

Great Stainless Bowls for a Double Boiler

If you have any great fondue ideas, we'd love to hear from you!

Chocolate Strawberry Shots with Ganache Filling

Turn Strawberries into Shot Glasses

Here's a great way to take Chocolate Dipped Strawberries to a whole new level:  Ganache-filled Strawberry Shots!  You can turn a strawberry into a shot glass with just a few flicks of the wrist.  First, hollow out your strawberries with either a paring knife or a strawberry huller to make room for a shot full of ganache chocolate.  Then slice off the pointed tip of the strawberry to make it possible to stand the strawberry up after it's been dipped in melted chocolate.  I love how it looks like a footed edible shot glass when it's all done!  Yum!

Chocolate Strawberry Shots with Ganache Filling                    Print

Ingredients:

• 1 pint of strawberries
• 8 oz Chocolate Flavored Candy Wafers
• 4 ounces heavy cream
• Sheet pan lined with a baking mat or parchment paper
• Strawberry Huller and Paring Knife

Directions:

1. Slice off the pointed end of the strawberry, just enough to form a flat surface
2. Slice off the top of the strawberry, and carefully hollow out a cavity.
3. Melt 4 ounces of Chocolate Candy Wafers according to package instructions
4.  Create the footed bottom of your strawberry shot by dipping the sliced end of strawberry into melted wafers. Place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet and chill for 5 minutes. You may have to hold the strawberry in place for a moment so that it does not fall over.
5. Melt 4 ounces of candy wafers according to package instructions. Microwave 4 ounces of heavy cream until hot. Stir melted wafers and hot heavy cream together to make ganache.
6. Fill strawberry cups with ganache. You can add whipped cream as a garnish.
7. Enjoy!

Here's a few of the kitchen essentials we used in today's recipe preparation:

Victorinox Bird's Beak Paring Knife

Our favorite Baking Liner

Delicious Chocolate

Sheet Pan

Chef'n Strawberry Huller

Ganache Chocolate Recipe

Ganache chocolate is a luxuriously decadent topping and filling that makes everyday cakes, cookies, and pastries boldly and extravagantly gourmet.  Ganache chocolate comes from the French culinary tradition, and since we're also of French decent, it is our duty to honor our forefathers by promoting the use of ganache whenever possible.  I like to call our chocolate ganache recipe, Ganache with Panache.

Traditional ganache is made from just cream and chocolate, but since we have a hard time doing just about anything the traditional way, we use 4 ingredients: semi-sweet chocolate, heavy cream, confectioners sugar, and instant coffee.  We've found that by adding the confectioners sugar, the ganache has less of the bitter taste found in traditional ganache and in addition, it gives it more body allowing it to 'hug' cake better.  We all want to hug cake, don't we?  It also makes ganache that is incredibly shiny and lip-smackingly de-luscious.  The instant coffee kicks the chocolate up a notch...and fyi, it may also potentially keep you awake a little longer if you're enjoying at night.

Speaking of 'enjoying the night', after watching the amazing half-time performance of Bruno Mars during the Superbowl, we decided our Ganache video would be another great showcase for his unparalleled talent:

Ganache with Panache                                    Print

Ingredients

8 oz of semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup confectioners sugar

1 tsp instant coffee

Directions

1.  Chop chocolate into small pieces to ensure even melting.

2.  Create a double boiler by placing a heat-proof bowl over pot with a few inches of simmering water.

3.  Pour chocolate into bowl and add cream, sugar, and instant coffee while stirring.

4.  Once chocolate has melted, and it looks creamy and de-luscious, it's done.

If you're using this ganache as a cake topper, and you can't wait for it to cool because you are in dire need of sweetness, we suggest wearing an oven glove to hold the bowl while using a ladle to 'bathe' the cake.  If you haven't started drooling at this point, you are a stronger person than I.

Savourer!