Carb fuel Fridays project 1: Hot Fudge Brownies.

Today, while sitting in the track office, I asked my teammates what they wanted me to make for the first Carb Fuel Friday. The general consensus was brownies. This comes as no surprise to me. Several of them don't like cake, a few don't even like chocolate (but like brownies... which makes NO sense to me...?). After hearing a few of their ideas, one of the guys mentioned something I hadn't thought about. He asked for hot fudge brownies.

He really got me thinking. I don't live on campus, so I couldn't warm these brownies for them, but if they were to pop these suckers in the microwave for 15 seconds, they'd be dripping with hot fudge flavor and packed with ooey gooey chocolatey goodness. I still wanted to achieve that hot fudge flavor even if they aren't warmed. I did some thinking... and a little research on how to make chocolate syrup... and I came up with this recipe. It works! It's wonderful for drizzling as a glaze for a chocolate cake or brownies like this. It's runny at first, and then it dries smooth until you pop it back into the microwave. I took pictures, too. This recipe makes about 3 cups... enough for about 3 batches of brownies or more.

Jessica's Hot Fudge Dessert Topping

2 2/3 cups of Heavy Whipping Cream

2 3/4 cups of Granulated White Sugar

1 cup butter.... make sure this is at room temperature!

4 handfulls of semi-sweet chocolate chips (3 if you have big hands! mine are tiny)

1 tablespoon of Vanilla Extract

1.) In a saucepan, combine heavy cream with granulated sugar over med-hi heat.

2.) Stir mixture every 30 seconds, paying close attention to the heat of the liquid. When the sugar has completely dissolved into the cream, the mixture will yellow slightly. When the mixture starts to simmer (tiny bubbles will appear around the sides of the saucepan... like the picture below), turn the burner off. 

3.) With the saucepan still on the burner, add the butter at room temperature and stir until dissolved. Add chocolate chips and WHISK.... if you think 3 handfulls might be too much, taste the mixture as you add more. However, do make sure it is uniform.... like pictured below... before you make an addition based on taste. Until the mixture is uniform, you will not get an accurate impression. The chips will look odd in the cream mixture at first. Finally, add the tablespoon of vanilla and keep stirring until thicker but still runny...

4. Transfer to a glass bowl and cover tightly with saran wrap. Store in the refrigerator for 25 minutes, but stir often. When the mixture is cool, but not cold, and much thicker but drippable,  it is ready for pouring.

5. Pour over desired dessert and wait 40 minutes. The topping should be dry, MUCH easier to transport! Enjoy!!!