Excerpt
At my house, it is important to have a really good chocolate sauce recipe available in case of emergency. Even if your house doesn't have emergencies of this nature, you can still use this recipe. Good chocolate sauce and a little good vanilla ice cream make a dessert more delicious and satisfying than 90 percent of those you could order in even a top-flight restaurant. Good chocolate sauce and an assortment of ripe fruits and chunks of cake will get you chocolate fondue. And when things look bleak, good chocolate sauce and a spoon will make you smile.
Chocolate Notes: This extremely accommodating recipe can be made with any bittersweet or semisweet chocolate. The range given for the milk or cream and the recipe instructions will guide you to adjust the liquid upward as needed for higher-percentage chocolates.
Alice's Chocolate Sauce
Makes 1 3/4 cups
10 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 to 1 cup milk, half-and-half, heavy cream, or any combination
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (if using milk instead of cream, but optional)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
Put the chocolate and 1/2 cup of the milk or cream in a large heatproof bowl set in a wide skillet or barely simmering water and stir frequently until the chocolate is melted and smooth. If the sauce is too thick or looks curdled, add more milk. Or add more liquid if the sauce hardens more than you want it to when you spoon a little "test" over ice. If you have used milk (or even water), taste the sauce and, if you like, tone down the flavor intensity by adding some or all of the butter, bit by bit. Remove the sauce from the water and stir in the vanilla and salt.
Use the warm sauce immediately, or set it aside and rewarm it briefly in a pan of hot water when you need it. (The sauce keeps in a closed container for several days in the refrigerator, and it can be frozen for up to 3 months.)