(Courtesy Founders Brewing)

Artisan desserts take on new meaning when made with serious beer. And who doesn’t enjoy a hot fudge sundae, especially when it’s dark fudge topping is made with the right barrel-aged  stout?

This recipe was inspired by Founders Brewing and it uses their KBS Caramel, the brewery’s newest barrel-aged stout variation.

And using Founders KBS Caramel variant brings incredible depth to a hot fudge sauce. The 12% ABV bourbon-barrel-aged imperial stout already carries espresso, dark chocolate, and vanilla notes, which means you are essentially building a complex “caramel-macchiato-bourbon” hot fudge.

To prevent the sauce from thinning out too much while preserving the beer’s nuance, the beer is reduced by half before folding in the cream and chocolate.

So let’s do this!

 Founders KBS Caramel Hot Fudge  

Ingredients:

½ cup Founders KBS Caramel stout

⅓ cup heavy whipping cream

¼ cup light corn syrup (prevents crystallization and adds shine)

¼ cup packed dark brown sugar

¼ cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

A pinch of kosher salt

4 oz high-quality bittersweet chocolate (60% to 70% cacao), finely chopped

2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

½ tsp pure vanilla extract

(Courtesy Garuda / Pexels)

Instructions:

Step 1

Reduce the Stout (5-7 min) – Pour the ½ cup of Founders KBS Caramel into a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring it to a simmer and let it reduce by half, until you have roughly ¼ cup of concentrated, syrupy beer.

Step 2

Build Base (3-4 min)  – Turn the heat down to medium-low. Whisk the heavy cream, corn syrup, dark brown sugar, cocoa powder, and salt directly into the reduced beer. Bring to a gentle simmer, whisking constantly until the sugar is fully dissolved and the mixture is smooth.

Step 3

Melt Chocolate (1 min -off heat). Remove the pan from the heat completely. Add the chopped bittersweet chocolate, butter cubes, and vanilla extract. Let it sit undisturbed for 1 minute to allow the residual heat to melt the chocolate.

Step 4

Whisk  (2 min) – Whisk the mixture vigorously starting from the center and working your way out. The sauce will rapidly transform from a separated liquid into a glossy, thick, velvety hot fudge.

Serving & Storage

Serve warm over vanilla bean or coffee ice cream. Leftovers can be kept in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. To reuse, gently microwave in 15-second bursts, stirring in between, until pourable.

###

Want more “ Cooking with Beer” recipes? We’ve got them…

OSKAR BLUES CITRUS-CHILI WINGS

DALE’S PALE ALE STUFFED PIZZA BREAD

BEER CAN TURKEY

CHOCOLATE STOUT BROWNIES

COOKING WITH BEER – SIERRA NEVADA BREWING BRATWURST SANDWICH