fudge-a-licious

Love and leftovers can make you do the darndest things. Cornelius loves ice cream. So much so that he once was tempted to officially change his middle name after his most favorite dessert. I'm so glad he didn't. I think we both would have died of embarassment at our wedding ceremony if the officiant had said, "Do you, Cornelius Ice Cream Bergen, take this woman to be your wife..." Indeed!

When it comes to ice cream, I'm more of a purist. I like my ice cream hard and icy without much fuss or muss. And while I appreciate the asthetic retro charm of a nicely composed sundae, I can do without the overly sweet sauce and day-glo cherry. Cornelius, on the other hand, keeps his sweet tooth at the ready all the time. So when I had a small amount of leftover whipping cream in the fridge, I figured I would do my best to meet his sweet tooth half way. Spying a recipe from Entertaining for a Veggie Planet, I figured I would do my best to make an ice cream topping worthy of the prettiest ice cream sundae. Although, I made a few changes to the recipe to cut down some of the fat and sugar, the recipe didn't suffer from the changes. Cornelius downed his first bowl in record time and while eating his second bowl of hot fudge topped ice cream, demanded that we buy larger bowls! Rich, sweet and guaranteed to satisfy any sweet tooth.

world's best peanut butter - hot fudge sauce
Recipe adapted from Didi Emmons' Entertaining for a Veggie Planet

1/4 c heavy cream
1/4 c milk
2 T unsalted butter, cut into small peices
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c brown sugar
1/2 c good quality cocoa powder
1/4 c natural crunchy peanut butter
pinch of salt

1. In a heavy saucepan, heat the cream and butter over medium heat. When the mixture simmers, add the sugars and stir until dissolved.

2. Reduce heat to low and add the cocoa powder, peanut butter and salt. Whisk until smooth. If you find it too thick, add some more milk and combine until smooth. Remove from heat. Serve immediately or keep warm.

This sauce can be kept for up to 3 weeks in the fridge. Reheat in microwave or in a heavy saucepan over low heat, adding water if too thick.