Chocolate Sauce

[jturn00]

I recently came back from france where I had the most delicious chocolate sauce on top of my profiteroles. I wanted to try to duplicate it here at home. Basically, the sauce was rich and velvety with a deep chocolate taste. It also didn't clump when placed on top of ice cream. (this sauce could be used for a coupe denmark or creme legiere).

I have quite a few cookbooks at home (wybauw, torres, bo frieburg, chris felder, etc) but with all the different sauces and combinations for sauce in each of these books I was looking for opinions on where you found the best recipe or what you consider to be the best combination of ingredients for making a good sauce. I have very high end chocolate at home (becolade, felchlin with percentages of 65% to 72%).

Jeff

[tan319]

I haven't seen most of the others but I use Bo Friebergs recipe the most as it doesn't have any dairy in it, thus reducing spoilage.

I usually use Cocoa Berry 58% or Cocoa Noel, same percentage.

For cocoa I use Cocoa Berry Extra Brut.

Have gone as high as a 72% for the sauce but most of the time I prefer to have the actual dessert feature the "bigger" taste.

Good Luck!

PS: If you were in France who knows, it may have been Valrhona or it could have been a very "ordinary" chocolate.

What kind of place was it in you had the profiteroles?

[Sethro]

Here's mine. I use E Guitard for almost everything.

350 ml water

300 g sugar

25 ml water

1 T cornstarch

80 g 72% couveture

50 g cocoa powder

Bring the sugar and first portion of water to a boil. Make a slurry with the second portion of water and the cornstarch, and whisk it in, letting it simmer for a couple minutes. Stir in the couverture and cocoa powder, and keeping stiring till its smooth and glossy. Strain and chill.

Edited October 17, 2006 by Sethro (log)

[chiantiglace]

The deep rich flavor actually comes from the cocoa.

You need a recipe that has water, dutch processed cocoa powder, sugar, and chocolate. Your thickening agent can be whatever you want, but a good easy choice is always cornstarch.

If you need a recipe let me know. I am just being lazy right now and not posting one automatically.

Edited October 18, 2006 by chiantiglace (log)

[jturn00]

PS: If you were in France who knows, it may have been Valrhona or it could have been a very "ordinary" chocolate.

What kind of place was it in you had the profiteroles?

←

We were in Biarritz at a pizza place called "Le Majestic Chez Fernanda" which is a Pizzeria Restaurant and Creperie. It made great pizzas (very fresh ingredients). I had a cepes pizza (which were just coming into season). It was also casual which made it nice after a day of sightseeing/driving.

Jeff

[highchef]

Here's mine. I use E Guitard for almost everything.

350 ml water

300 g sugar

25 ml water

1 T cornstarch

80 g 72% couveture

50 g cocoa powder

Bring the sugar and first portion of water to a boil. Make a slurry with the second portion of water and the cornstarch, and whisk it in, letting it simmer for a couple minutes. Stir in the couverture and cocoa powder, and keeping stiring till its smooth and glossy. Strain and chill.

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Question, I also have the E Guitard couveture, will this recipe 'do' with the white chocolate as well? I have boxes of both. This seems like an ideal recipe, as I assume when chilled it remains liquid. You serve this how? With what? Have you used it as an ingredient in say a strusal like cake? Forgive the questions, I will make the sauce anyway even if just to use on icecream, it just seems like it could do a lot of things...

[chiantiglace]

Here's mine. I use E Guitard for almost everything.

350 ml water

300 g sugar

25 ml water

1 T cornstarch

80 g 72% couveture

50 g cocoa powder

Bring the sugar and first portion of water to a boil. Make a slurry with the second portion of water and the cornstarch, and whisk it in, letting it simmer for a couple minutes. Stir in the couverture and cocoa powder, and keeping stiring till its smooth and glossy. Strain and chill.

←

Question, I also have the E Guitard couveture, will this recipe 'do' with the white chocolate as well? I have boxes of both. This seems like an ideal recipe, as I assume when chilled it remains liquid. You serve this how? With what? Have you used it as an ingredient in say a strusal like cake? Forgive the questions, I will make the sauce anyway even if just to use on icecream, it just seems like it could do a lot of things...

←

No because once you put cocoa powder in it, its not white chocolate anymore.

And yes, for the richness you need the cocoa powder.

[highchef]

Here's mine. I use E Guitard for almost everything.

350 ml water

300 g sugar

25 ml water

1 T cornstarch

80 g 72% couveture

50 g cocoa powder

Bring the sugar and first portion of water to a boil. Make a slurry with the second portion of water and the cornstarch, and whisk it in, letting it simmer for a couple minutes. Stir in the couverture and cocoa powder, and keeping stiring till its smooth and glossy. Strain and chill.

←

Question, I also have the E Guitard couveture, will this recipe 'do' with the white chocolate as well? I have boxes of both. This seems like an ideal recipe, as I assume when chilled it remains liquid. You serve this how? With what? Have you used it as an ingredient in say a strusal like cake? Forgive the questions, I will make the sauce anyway even if just to use on icecream, it just seems like it could do a lot of things...

←

No because once you put cocoa powder in it, its not white chocolate anymore.

And yes, for the richness you need the cocoa powder.

←

duh. Thanks, I needed that.

[jturn00]

The deep rich flavor actually comes from the cocoa.

You need a recipe that has water, dutch processed cocoa powder, sugar, and chocolate.  Your thickening agent can be whatever you want, but a good easy choice is always cornstarch.

If you need a recipe let me know.  I am just being lazy right now and not posting one automatically.

←

Thanks for the info I will first check the cookbooks I own for a recipe.

[reenicake]

a deep rich chocolate flavor is gained in chocolate sauce by actually simmering the mixture -- unlike when making a ganache where you only want to get it hot enough to melt the chocolate, in a sauce it is a good thing to get the sauce over the temperature where the cacao molecules bust open. (think fudge.) Just be vigilant and don't stop stirring or it will scorch.

[Sethro]

Question, I also have the E Guitard couveture, will this recipe 'do' with the white chocolate as well? I have boxes of both. This seems like an ideal recipe, as I assume when chilled it remains  liquid. You serve this how? With what? Have you used it as an ingredient in say a strusal like cake? Forgive the questions, I will make the sauce anyway even if just to use on icecream, it just seems like it could do a lot of things...

←

If you want a dairy-free white chocolate sauce (I mean, not including the milk solids in the chocolate itself), I use a glucose based one.

I only use the chocolate sauce for the plate. I don't really understand what you maean about baking with it...

[miladyinsanity]

Dana Bickford's recipe

I've not tried that recipe, but it looks pretty good. I think she's the PC at Eva's in Seattle.

[srhcb]

For a simpler, quicker way to get an enhanced chocolate flavor I just add a little strong coffee.

SB (cheating)

[Jon]

My wife was jonesing, last night, for a better chocolate sauce than I usually concoct, and found one that sounded good on Cooks.com. The actual results were disappointing, and we'd like to understand what might've gone awry.

The problem is that, while it tasted great in the pot, it hardened into an unpleasantly chewy, sticky, non-saucy solid when it hit the ice cream it was intended for.

My wide thinks she may have added too much flour (she eyeballed it). I suggested that the butter may be the problem. Confectionery isn't either of our either of our strong suits, so we're hoping someone can offer some insights as to what the various ingredients and processes in this recipe might be intended to do.

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HOT FUDGE SAUCE

2 c. white sugar

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. cocoa (Hershey's)

4 tbsp. flour

1/4 c. butter

1 1/2 c. water

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. vanilla (added later)

In a saucepan - mix dry ingredients. Add butter and water. Bring to a boil, and continue boiling for 10 minutes, or slightly longer. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Serve over ice cream.

[John DePaula]

There's a recipe for Hot Fudge Sauce in David Lebovitz' book The Perfect Scoop; I think it's great!

Unfortunately, I'm traveling right now and don't have it in front of me.

The recipe you've posted above doesn't look very good, I'm afraid. Flour??? I don't think so. And there's no Glucose (or corn syrup) in your recipe.

Also, I'd recommend to use Valrhona or Pernigotti cocoa powder.

Someone else here may have access to the Lebovitz recipe.

ETA: Here's a recipe that'll get you in the ballpark. It's not the one that I was looking for but looks pretty simple and good.

Lean Chocolate Sauce by David Lebovitz on Winston-Salem Journal

Edited August 13, 2007 by John DePaula (log)

[gfron1]

I questioned the use of flour too. I guess it depends on what you're looking for in a sauce. When I'm wanting a quick and easy sauce, I just make a lazy ganache - microwave my chocolate and add cream - enough to make it a sauce versus a thick spreadable. And I agree with John that the choice of chocolates becomes the most important factor.

[Jon]

Thanks for the link, John. I thought the flour seemed like an odd addition, too.

And there's no Glucose (or corn syrup) in your recipe.

So why would corn syrup be important here? Is it that the sugar needs to be a liquid? My wife has an Omnivore's Dilemma/everything's -made-of-corn problem with corn syrup, so she's wondering about potential substitutes.

What differences do you see when using the higher-end chocolates and cocoa powders? We live in a semi-rural area, so getting Valrhona or the like means a long drive and a startling price tag -- not very conducive to satisfying a spontaneous craving.

[gfron1]

Have your wife read this topic about corn syrup - very informative and not agenda motivated.

You can substitute honey if you want - slight taste difference, but for what you're looking to do, I think its a fair substitute. I personally would never add syrup for a sauce, but for a cake glaze to add some shine, or my chocolates to add flexibility.

As for sourcing there's countless topics about which cocoa powder, chocolate, etc. Readily available should be the hershey powder which got mostly positive, but mixed reviews in previous topics. And for chocolate, don't hesitate to get some good dark bars - WalMart carries Lindt typically which is a good everyday (aka no frills) bar.

I am going to look in Fran's chocolate book to see what she has in hers - its a very popular sauce.

[paulraphael]

yeah, just about everything looks bad in that recipe.

i prefer a ganache to any American style chocolate sauce or hot fudge. But my favorite is a family of sauces called chocolate butter sauces. If you do a search in recipe gullet you'll see a recipe that i posted ... it's really just a framework that you can interpret a million different ways. it's simple, versatile, and delicious. but you have to use good chocolate if you want it to taste good!

Edited August 13, 2007 by paulraphael (log)

[gfron1]

I just flipped through Lebovitz's The Great Book of Chocolate and he has a couple of recipes. One is just a thin ganache, and one is a fancy ganache with honey.

[Mary F]

John Schraffenberger has a recipe in his book for a simple chocolate sauce with just chocolate, water, and sugar. He suggests using lowfat milk as a sub for the water if you want more body. Its intriguing, I just havent gotten around to trying it.

I usually just do a thin ganache (I like my dairy fat!)

[Art]

John Schraffenberger has a recipe in his book for a simple chocolate sauce with just chocolate, water, and sugar.  He suggests using lowfat milk as a sub for the water if you want more body.  Its intriguing, I just havent gotten around to trying it.

I usually just do a thin ganache (I like my dairy fat!)

←

This is just a variation of the basic hot chocolate recipe. The basic recipe for hot chocolate uses water not milk. When you make hot chocolate this way, the chocolate flavor stands out better and is not masked by the milk or cream. You can of course, adjust your milk / cream content to suit your personal taste and that would apply to this application as well.

-Art

[CaliPoutine]

This is the Hot fudge sauce I use. Its great!!

Edited August 14, 2007 by CaliPoutine (log)

[Sony]

ETA: Here's a recipe that'll get you in the ballpark.  It's not the one that I was looking for but looks pretty simple and good.

Lean Chocolate Sauce by David Lebovitz on Winston-Salem Journal

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I just made this last night! Well, almost....I cut the corn syrup in half (because I don't like very sweet sauces and I was using semisweet chocolate), added a pinch of salt and a little vanilla extract. Because the corn syrup wasn't lending it's viscosity, I probably could have simmered the syrup a little more before stirring in the chocolate, but it was nicely drizzly last night....kind of like good tempura batter. Curious to see how it's holding up in the fridge and how it'll re-heat.

[alex chef]

The easiest and best chocolate fudge I have made is as follows:

1 1/2 pints double(heavy)cream

8oz Icing(confectioners) sugar

1 lb dark(imported i.e. calebaut/valrhona) chocolate

mix together cream and sugar in a heavy bottomed sauce pan. Chop chocolate.

Bring cream mixture to the boil, add in chocolate, return to the boil and pass.

This will set in the fridge but microwaves or heats on the stove very well.

It can also be used very sucsessfully to top cakes.

i used this all the time in a 1* michelin reataurant and it never failed me!

sorry for the pounds and ounces etc. my conversion is not too good, obviously it can be scaled up or down.