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Recipe

6 oz milk chocolate (I usually use Nestle's milk chocolate chips)
4 oz sweetened condensed milk
2 oz dulce de leche (I have better luck finding this at larger big box stores)
2 oz (4 tbsp/half stick) butter
1.5 oz (3 tbsp) water
1 oz light corn syrup
Scant 3/4 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt or scant 3/8 tsp table salt

Using a kitchen scale, put all of the above in a microwave-safe bowl. Melt in microwave about 15-20 seconds at a time, stirring after each pulse, until smooth. Jar and let cool (and/or enjoy right away) and reheat to enjoy.

Unlike the real stuff, this sauce can be overheated and burnt slightly from over-microwaving it; don't microwave for more than 15-30 second pulses at a time (both when preparing and when reheating).

Other notes:

You may consider adding small amounts of other ingredients, such as a couple drops of almond extract, a teaspoon of vanilla extract, or adding some peanut butter (possibly replacing some of the butter).

Do consider adding some darker/semi-sweet chocolate and/or a couple teaspoons of cocoa powder. It's going to be tasty, although might not be as exact a copycat.

I know it is annoying to have leftover containers of sweetened condensed milk and dulce de leche covered in the fridge. I'll sometimes use the leftover sweetened condensed milk as a topping for french toast or to drizzle on fruit for a simple dessert, and I'll warm up the leftover dulce de leche and salting it to taste for a dessert topping.

And apologies those without a scale. I find volume measures for sticky ingredients really irritating and just pouring from the containers is so convenient. I'm sure ChatGPT or similar would be happy converting to cups/tbs if you need those measures.

The Backstory and Iterations

My Mom grew up in Michigan, and Sander's cream puff sundaes were part of our family's memories. Some time back, maybe a decade or two ago, I discovered us Illinoisans could easily procure Sander's hot fudge online or from our local Meijer. We've been enjoying hot fudge for quite some time.

...until 2022, when Sander's was bought by private equity and decided that they needed to go more upscale and charge more for a different hot fudge sauce with real butter, cream, and no corn syrup. That resulted in a mission in 2023: see if I could create a copycat of the original for my parents.

I had an old (uh somewhat expired and off-tasting) jar of the original stuff to use as a benchmark, and could compare attempts with that original in three ways: cold from the jar, warmed up, and on vanilla ice cream.

Attempt 1: A chewy mess

I started with a version published in the Detroit Free Press; there are other variations of this recipe on YouTube.

I didn't bother with the blender, instead using a stand mixer's whisk attachment. My note to myself, comparing the real stuff with the Detroit Free Press's copycat:

Tastes like I added a marshmallow to the original. Much sweeter. A bit thicker (should recheck after the air has come out). Less chocolatey. Less bitter.

Add salt.
Add cocoa powder. Consider adding some darker chocolate instead.
Whip and cool a little less.
Consider trace amounts of liquid to thin out slightly.

Fridge and ice cream test:

Does not refrigerate the same way - continues being chewy/stringy. When melted, also remains chewy and less fluid. On ice cream a bit too chewy. Not quite as pleasant to enjoy as the real stuff. Makes me think that I do have to go the true fudge route.

Attempt 2: What about real hot fudge?

I follow Claire Saffitz, and wondered what if I used some of her technique for her fudge sauce. I started off with this attempt:

5 oz milk chocolate chips
1 oz Ghirardelli 60% (any form, they're all the same)
1 tb cocoa (not dutched)
7 oz sweetened condensed milk
3 tablespoons corn syrup
3/4 tsp diamond crystal salt

Melt in a dutch oven and cook to 238 degrees.

My notes to myself:

Ended up being a little too varied... bottom got scorched.

Then add:

4 tbs butter
4 tbs water

My notes to myself:

Second tastes burned, but not unpleasant, texture better, salt good. I think sweetness is about right.

Original gets thinner than either when melted and actually tastes a little saltier and caramelier... actually about the same salt level.

Second a little redder than the original where the original is more like caramel color

So definitely more pleasant and closer, but texture and flavor weren't there yet.

Attempt 3: Trying fudge again... but failing and making Tootsie rolls

My notes:

Use version two.
Claire does stir and scrape the bottom - do that!
Use no cocoa - 5.5 oz milk chocolate, 0.5 oz 60%

I need to double check texture. Definitely a lot closer. Seems to need to be slightly more solid when very cold and looser when warmed. Maybe more butter and a little less corn syrup?

5 tbs butter, 5 tbs water, 2 tbs corn syrup? Keep using sweetened condensed milk.

Actually... texture with ice cream is honestly quite good. Flavor is very close if you don't have any comparisons nearby.

Let's drop the cocoa. Maybe decrease corn syrup, increase water, increase butter, but only slightly. Stir the bottom to avoid scorching.

5.5 oz milk chocolate
0.5 oz Ghirardelli 60
7 oz sweetened condensed milk
3 tablespoons corn syrup
3/4 tsp diamond crystal salt

Cook to 238

4 tbs butter 4 tbs water

My notes:

Good news: this tastes great, and the texture of what's in the sauce looks good

Bad news: I stirred it frequently and waited to see 238, and then had a hard time getting it out. Was overcooked and I waited too long to start mixing in butter and water.

I need to get the butter in quickly. The thermometer should not reach 238.

I ended up with a substantially overcooked mass that very closely resembled tootsie rolls and tasted very close to Sander's hot fudge. I assure you, this is a fantastic mistake, and I enjoyed eating it, but it wasn't what I was looking for.

Attempt 4: Cheat with a secret ingredient?

In the end, I was really discouraged with the finickiness of the real fudge route. How frequently am I going to make fudge if I can't rely on it turning out? How close can it get it without making real fudge?

I know various 'cheat' fudge recipes use marshmallows, peanut butter, or other thicker ingredients. I needed something that was pretty thick when cold and loose when warmed. I also needed something that had the caramelly taste of cooked sugar/fudge that the real stuff had. And there is an ingredient like that, although not stocked in every store: Dulce de leche.

Melt in a double boiler:

5 oz nestle milk chocolate chips
1 oz Ghirardelli 60%
3 oz nestle dulce de leche
3 oz sweetened condensed milk
A little less than 2 tbs corn syrup
A little less than 3/4 tsp diamond crystal salt
4 tbs butter

Once melted combined, take off heat and stir in:

4 tbs water

Jar and refrigerate

Notes:

Comparing version 4 and original:

Version four slightly thinner cold
Version four slightly thicker warm

too much deep chocolate flavor - probably need to get rid of Ghirardelli

Attempt 5: Getting very close and making final adjustments

There's no reason to get out a double boiler at this point... I'm just melting ingredients.

6 oz milk chocolate
4 oz sweetened condensed milk
2 oz dulce de leche
2 oz (1/4 cup, 4 tbs) butter, cut into tb or smaller pieces so melting goes faster
2 oz (1/4 cup) water
0.5 oz (1 tbs) corn syrup
3/4 tsp diamond crystal salt (scant 1/2 tsp table salt)

Put into microwave safe bowl, microwave on 15 second increments, mixing until smooth

Notes:

V5 is really close to the original... much closer than the new Sander's hot fudge.

V5 is looser than both out of the fridge. Compared with original warmed up, less stringy, more sweet, slightly more caramely. On top of ice cream, really difficult to tell apart. V5 seems less resistant to overheating in the microwave.

It seemed like all I had left is a minor texture and flavor adjustment, swapping some water for the corn syrup, resulting in the final V6 which is what is written at top.

Final Thoughts

I made a lot of hot fudge, and gifted the V6 and recipe to my parents as a Christmas gift in 2023. It's been a regular hit since. We compared the various versions and iterations that I made (although I saved the.. uh.. questionable old jar of the original for myself). Adding a couple drops of almond extract is something we tend to do as it gives some cherry cordial vibes.

I hope that this is something that helps those who wish the old fudge comes back one day. This copycat is as close as I can get without cooking real fudge; there are definitely some minor notes I miss with this, but I find it's really hard to tell differences assuming you are comparing it with your memories of a few years ago.