Chocolate Syrup/ Sauce

Here are a few recipes for plain and differently flavoured dark and lighter chocolate syrup/ sauces suitable to be served with ice creams, parfaits, fruit salads and various other desserts.

SIMPLE CHOCOLATE SAUCE I
100 ml cocoa powder
100 ml sugar
100 ml water

Mix the sugar and cocoa powder in a small saucepan. Slowly add the water and bring the mixture to the boil, stirring frequently. Serve warm with ice cream or other desserts.

SIMPLE CHOCOLATE SAUCE II
100 g sweet or semisweet dark chocolate
(whole) milk, light cream or cream

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler and slowly stir in enough milk or cream to get a suitable consistency. Serve with ice creams or parfaits.

SIMPLE CHOCOLATE SAUCE III
100 ml cocoa powder
75 ml sugar
100 - 150 ml cream

Combine the ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Simmer the mixture on low heat until it has thickened. Add some more cream, if necessary.

SIMPLE CHOCOLATE SYRUP
175 ml sugar
125 ml water
In saucepan, dissolve sugar in water on low heat, stirring continually.
After sugar has melted, increase heat and bring syrup to the boil.

30 g cocoa powder
Place cocoa powder in bowl.
Pour hot syrup on cocoa powder in thin stream and whisk until smooth.
Pour mixture back in saucepan and boil for 1 minute, beating continually.
Pour mixture in bowl and let cool.

½ tsp vanilla sugar
Season with vanilla sugar.
Use as sauce for desserts or to flavour milk shakes and drinks.

Store syrup bottled up to 1 week in refrigerator.


FINE CHOCOLATE SAUCE
115 g semisweet dark chocolate
1 tbsp sugar
12 tbsp water
2 tbsp cognac, rum or strong coffee (drink)
1 tbsp butter
(dash of vanilla sugar)
(1 - 2 tbsp cream)

Place chopped chocolate, sugar, water and cognac in a small saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Simmer the mixture on low heat for about 5 minutes or until it has thickened. Remove the pan from the heat and add the butter (and the vanilla sugar). Let the mixture cool down. Store the sauce in refrigerator. Before serving, mix in the cream, if you like.

CHOCOLATE SAUCE WITH WHIPPED CREAM
2½ tbsp cocoa powder
50 ml sugar
50 ml water
(dash of vanilla sugar)
100 ml cream

Combine the cocoa powder, sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Let the mixture cool down (and add the vanilla sugar). Whip the cream until soft peaks form and fold into the chocolate sauce.


Chocolate Syrup With No Calorie Sweetener and Cream
3 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup cocoa
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup water
Dash salt
1 1/2 teaspoons plus 1/8 teaspoon liquid Splenda or
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon granular Splenda (SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Whisk in cocoa to blend. It will be very thick. Mix cream and water; gradually whisk into cocoa. Add a little at a time and be careful of gentle. The cocoa has a tendency to splash out of the pot and you don't want it on your clothes. Once the cocoa is blended well and the mixture is smooth, remove from heat and whisk in the salt, sweetener and vanilla. Cool and store in refrigrator. It thickens a bit on cooling, but is pourable.

Makes 1 1/4 cups

With granular Splenda:
Per Tablespoon: 48 Calories; 4g Fat; 1g Protein; 3g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 2g Net Carbs
Per 1/4 cup: 192 Calories; 17g Fat; 3g Protein; 12g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 8g Net Carbs

With liquid Splenda:
Per Tablespoon: 43 Calories; 4g Fat; 1g Protein; 2g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 1g Net Carbs
Per 1/4 cup: 172 Calories; 17g Fat; 3g Protein; 7g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 3g Net Carbs

(*) The Splenda does make it a little bitter, but I think it would be fine mixed into coffee or used to make a chocolate or mocha shake-type beverage. I didn't have anything low carb on hand to test it on, so I mixed a couple tablespoons into some regular white milk. It tasted quite a bit like Nestle's Quik milk.


CHOCOLATE CUSTARD SAUCE
40 g sugar
12 g grated dark chocolate or cocoa powder
4 g flour
140 g (whole) milk
20 g egg yolk (about 1 large yolk)

Combine the sugar, chocolate and flour in a small saucepan. Whisk together the milk and egg yolk and beat into the dry ingredients. Stirring constantly, simmer the mixture on low heat until it has thickened. Do not let it boil. Strain the sauce into a bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the sauce to prevent it from forming a skin. Stir the sauce every now and then during cooling. Serve with filled profiteroles (miniature cream puffs), etc.


COFFEE and honey CHOCOLATE SAUCE
150 ml strong, hot coffee (drink)
50 ml honey
100 ml icing sugar
150 ml cocoa powder
1 - 2 tsp vanilla sugar
unsalted butter

Pour the hot coffee in a thick-bottomed saucepan, add the honey and stir until diluted. Add the icing sugar, vanilla sugar and cocoa powder through a sieve. Mix until smooth and gently heat the mixture. Do not let it boil. Take the pan off the heat and mix in a few small pats of butter, one at a time, beating with a whisk until well incorporated. Serve the sauce warm or chilled with ice cream etc.


MINT CHOCOLATE SAUCE
50 g dark chocolate
25 g mint chocolate, peppermint patties (eg After Eight or homemade peppermint patties) or 2 - 3 drops peppermint oil *)
150 ml cream
25 ml sugar

Chop the dark chocolate, break the mint chocolates or peppermint patties in small pieces. Place all the ingredients in a small saucepan and bring gently to the boil. Heat until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Simmer the mixture for a few minutes, or until it has thickened sufficiently, stirring constantly. If you are using peppermint oil, add it to the mixture after boiling.

(*) Natural oil of peppermint (Mentha piperita). Only a couple of drops are needed to sufficiently flavour the sauce. In Finland peppermint oil is sold in pharmacies.


ALMOND CHOCOLATE SAUCE
85 g semisweet dark chocolate
25 ml cream
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp almond liqueur (eg Amaretto)
(25 ml toasted, finely chopped almonds)

Place the chopped chocolate, cream and butter in a small saucepan and heat gently until melted. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the liqueur (and the chopped almonds). Serve warm with ice cream etc.