Red Velvet Hot Fudge Sauce

Take that ice cream sundae to the next level with this creamy red velvet topping!

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Table of Contents

• ❤️ Why you'll love it
• 🧾 Ingredients
• 🔪 Instructions
• 🥫 Storage
• 📖 Variations
• 💭 Things to know
• 👩‍🍳 FAQs
• 📚 Related recipes
• 🍽️ Serve with...
• 🥄 Restless Chipotle recommends
• 📞 The last word
• 📖 Recipe
• ✍🏻 A note from Marye...
• 💬 Comments

❤️ Why you'll love it

• Decadent hot fudge sauce takes less than 10 minutes from start to slurp
• An easy recipe that tastes so much better than store-bought jarred stuff
• You only need one pan to make it, so clean-up is a piece of cake

Red velvet homemade hot fudge sauce perfectly captures the tangy, sweet, richness of the classic Southern treat.

It's the perfect topping for all of your favorite desserts—ice cream sundaes, vanilla cake—or even just licked straight off of the spoon!

Can you imagine it drizzled over this red velvet cheesecake?

🧾 Ingredients

This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.

The buttermilk and cream cheese give this red velvet hot fudge sauce a slight tang. It's  just like a big bite of red velvet cake.

I've used a small amount of extra dark unsweetened cocoa because I think it gives the best flavor.

Of course, you can try it with regular unsweetened cocoa and see which you like best.

🔪 Instructions

This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.

1. In a heavy saucepan, whisk together the cocoa powder and buttermilk.
2. Pour in the sweetened condensed milk and corn syrup. Let simmer.
3. Add the butter and cream cheese, whisking until melted.
4. Stir in the vanilla extract, salt, and food coloring and simmer until thick.

🥫 Storage

With the perfect balance of red velvet flavor, it's hard not to eat all of the amazing sauce in one sitting. However, this easy hot fudge recipe does keep very well if you manage to save some.

Store leftovers in a heavy, airtight container. I prefer to use a mason jar with a tight-fitting lid, but you can use any glass storage container as long as it seals well.

Homemade hot fudge keeps in the refrigerator for up to two weeks, or in the freezer for up to three months.

To reheat, let it thaw in the fridge if frozen. (Only thaw it once—don't thaw, then freeze it again.) Then, pop it in the microwave until it's warm enough to drizzle decadently over your favorite ice cream!

📖 Variations

• For a thicker homemade hot fudge sauce, let the mixture simmer a bit longer (three or four minutes) over low heat on the stove.
• Dark cocoa powder is best for this recipe because it delivers just the right amount of chocolate flavor. However, if you can't find it in your grocery store, you can use lighter/regular cocoa powder.
• If you already have dark corn syrup at home and don't want to purchase light corn syrup, you can swap one for the other. It may make the hot fudge sauce a little darker, but you likely won't taste a major difference.
• Feel free to use a different shade of food coloring if your ice cream sundae bar has a certain theme or color scheme! However, darker colors work best, and don't use too much, or else you'll taste it.
• Jazz up this simple recipe with shimmery sprinkles for a festive holiday touch! They just seem to glow against the rich red velvet color.

💭 Things to know

Expert Tip: For best results, let homemade hot fudge sauce cool fully to room temperature before sealing it up for refrigeration.

• Adjust the color by adding more red food coloring but if you add too much it will have a bitter aftertaste.
• Easily dissolve the salt in water by using the microwave! Don't skip this step or the granules will make the creamy texture taste a bit grainy.
• Don't swap the cocoa powder for any other form of chocolate—it just doesn't work the same way!
• When making your own hot fudge sauce, monitor the heat carefully, and stir often so that it doesn't burn.
• Remember, evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk aren't the same, don't work the same way, and don't taste the same, so shop carefully! Grab sweetened for this recipe.
• If you prefer thinner hot fudge sauce, you can stir in a little bit of hot water, hot milk, or hot heavy cream until the consistency is to your liking. (This easy hot fudge sauce recipe creates the perfect texture, so use this tip if you accidentally over-simmer it. Things happen, I get it!)
• My favorite way to serve red velvet homemade hot fudge for an ice cream party is in a plastic bottle—you know, the squeezy kind you can get for condiments and toppings? You might have to cut the opening in the lid a little larger, though, since the fudge is thick unless you've heated it up.
• This easy hot fudge sauce recipe makes a great gift. Portion it into cute little jars and add a ribbon or a note. Pair it with some homemade ice cream for a truly thoughtful (and delicious) present!

👩‍🍳 FAQs

📚 Related recipes

• Perhaps the only rival to warm chocolate sauce is warm caramel sauce, especially when it's made with rich whiskey flavor. Try Jack Daniels Caramel Sauce and you might not ever want chocolate syrup again.
• Red Velvet lovers can't get enough of this smooth, melt-in-your-mouth Red Velvet Silk Pie, especially because it takes just five minutes of prep.
• A great treat for parties and gifts, Old-Fashioned Fudge is so decadent and smooth, you almost have to close your eyes to savor the goodness.
• Haven't had enough red velvet yet? Here are 50 More Red Velvet-Inspired Recipes that'll knock your socks off.

🍽️ Serve with...

• This Homemade French Vanilla Ice Cream recipe is so much more creamy than pre-packaged and easier than you'd think!
• You can't make the best hot fudge sundae without some whipped cream—this Homemade Cool Whip is easy and doesn't require gelatin.
• Vodka-based Red Velvet Martinis are a fun, adults-only treat to finish off the evening. They're great for Valentine's day, Christmas, or any time you want a sip of something sweet and festive.

🥄 Restless Chipotle recommends

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You'll need the following items to make this recipe successfully.

• Mason jars
• dark cocoa

📞 The last word

'Tis the season for all things red velvet! This is the best homemade hot fudge sauce recipe EVER! It's thick, rich, and so unique. Take a look at that beautiful red color!

This fudge sauce has all the flavor and crimson color of a yummy red velvet cake. It keeps in the refrigerator for a week or two. When you're ready to serve just warm it in the microwave and drizzle it over ice cream, cake, or my favorite - a spoon!

I absolutely am in love with the color of this glorious red velvet hot fudge sauce! It's so easy to make that you'll want it in the fridge at all times. Try it over a scoop of the Blue Bell Christmas Cookie Ice Cream... Dang!

If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!

If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📖 Recipe

✍🏻 A note from Marye...

I know y'all don't always like the stories bloggers tell so when I have one I try to put it at the very bottom so you can read or skip as you like.

Red velvet is trendy right now and has been for a couple of years. You'll find recipes for red velvet cookies, fudge, cake, and even hot chocolate.

In my area, red velvet has always been a Christmas tradition, Valentine's Day tradition, and a wedding tradition for decades.

In between times we just eat it because it's so good!

Thanks to Steel Magnolias the rest of the country has learned to enjoy red velvet in all of its mouthwatering glory, too. I don't know if it's the color or the flavor or what - I just know that I try to keep this in the fridge at all times.

Updated from the original December 2016 post. Last updated February 13, 2023 for better images and step by step images.