Turn Ganache Into Hot Fudge With One Easy Ingredient Swap

Silky, smooth ganache is one of the simplest chocolate delicacies out there. With its rich flavor and creamy texture, it's hard to believe that a batch can be whipped up in a matter of minutes with just two ingredients: chocolate and heavy cream. It can be used as a filling or a frosting for cakes, swirled inside various baked goods, or used to create a creamy center in truffles, doughnuts, eclairs, and so much more. 

The only downside is that once it cools, ganache loses its liquid texture and becomes much more solid. This isn't such a bad thing for candies and other recipes that are less messy and more stable when made with solidified ganache. However, if you want to keep ganache in the fridge to drizzle over ice cream like hot fudge, you're out of luck — unless you try adding a special ingredient.

For those who don't know, ganache and fudge are quite different, similar as they seem. However, if you switch out the cream in ganache for corn syrup, it becomes a rich chocolate sauce that stays liquid and flowing. It's very similar to hot fudge, without the time and effort involved in actual hot fudge recipes (or the artificial ingredients and excess amounts of sugar found in the store-bought stuff). Instead of hardening when it cools, this chocolate treat will retain its sauciness.

Chocolate and corn syrup melted together will make a nice chocolate sauce, but there are ways to make your ice cream, brownie, and cake topper even better. To perfect a ganache-style hot fudge sauce, try adding a bit of milk, vanilla extract, and salt. These additions bring more of a classic hot fudge flavor, with extra depth from the vanilla and salt. The result will be an out-of-this-world "hot fudge" that doesn't require a candy thermometer or even a stovetop. Yes, that's right — just like regular ganache, you can totally whip this up in the microwave, if you like.

Whether you make it on the stove or in the microwave, the process is basically the same. Just warm all of the ingredients except the chocolate together, either in a saucepan or in a bowl in the microwave. Heat until the mixture starts to simmer, but be careful to avoid explosions if you're using the microwave. Heating in gradual intervals is key.

If you're using the microwave, add chopped chocolate directly to the mixture of hot milk, corn syrup, vanilla, and salt. Let it sit for a couple of minutes, and then stir until smooth and silky. When cooking on the stovetop, pour the heated mixture over the chocolate, wait for a few minutes, and stir to combine. Voilà! It's as simple as that.

Corn syrup is an almost magical ingredient in various desserts, from ice cream to pie fillings and dessert sauces, including ganache-based hot fudge. The syrup prevents crystallization of sugars, such as those found in chocolate, and lowers the freezing point of foods. In this manner, it acts as a stabilizer that prevents ganache from firming up too much or turning grainy, even when it gets cold. You'll be able to take your sauce out of the fridge and spoon the silky-smooth fudge right from the jar, any time the craving for a sundae strikes.

Corn syrup also maintains the consistency of the sauce's visual presentation. Whereas regular ganache will lose its glossiness as it gets cold, using corn syrup will keep it shiny, just like enticing hot fudge from a scoop shop. Refrigerating your ganache also keeps it from spoiling, of course. By swapping in corn syrup for the usual cream in your ganache, you'll get a perfect texture that can be savored for a good while, whether you've just made it or have stored it in the refrigerator for a few days.