Adapted from
Baked Occasions by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito
I served this to French friends last night, and it was a huge hit. I wasn’t sure if they’d take to the color and flavor, but they scraped their dishes clean and requested seconds. Whether you have French friends, or others, as guests, make sure to have extra hot fudge sauce on hand. Trust me.
Let’s face it, if you’re making candy cane ice cream, it’s gotta be red or pink. That’s part of the fun. In case you’re concerned about using red food coloring, you can either leave it out (which would be a shame, as that’s part of its appeal), or try a natural one. But it’s only 8 drops in a full batch of ice cream, a lot less than an order of
Tandoori chicken from your favorite Indian joint. You could try it with beet juice, or check out
India Tree, which makes a natural red food coloring.
For the ice cream, Matt and Renato insist you use pure peppermint extract, not mint or spearmint extract. Extracts can vary in strength, so feel free to taste, and add more if desired.
The team at Baked uses unsweetened chocolate, also called bitter chocolate, as a base for their thick, sticky hot fudge sauce. Unsweetened chocolate contains no sugar. If unsure, check the list of ingredients. In France, it’s called pâte de cacao (sometimes with the word pure or 100% is in there), and is available at
G. Detou. Lindt makes a 99% chocolate bar, which can be used.
I used crème fraîche in my hot fudge sauce, because I wanted a bit of tang in there. It’ll make a thicker sauce. Either way, the hot fudge may become rather thick if made in advance. Simply whisk in some water or milk while warming it up, to thin it out, until it’s the consistency that you like.