DARK CHOCOLATE SYRUP
Makes: About 1 cup (250 ml)
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp (150 ml) water, plus more as needed
4 tbsp (60 ml/80 g)
Lyle's Golden Syrup (may substitute honey or agave nectar)
1/4 cup (60 ml/25 g) Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 oz (28 g) unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp (7.5 ml) vanilla extract Pinch fine salt
1. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the water and golden syrup and stir until the syrup is dissolved. When the mixture comes to a boil, add the cocoa powder and whisk to combine.
2. Reduce the heat to medium-low, stirring constantly until the powder has mostly dissolved and turned aromatic, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat, add the unsweetened chocolate and let sit undisturbed until softened, 3-5 minutes.
3. Whisk the softened chocolate into the syrup, followed by the vanilla extract and pinch of salt.
4. Scrape the syrup into the cup of your immersion blender (or a tall jar or container large enough to use the blender with) or the bowl of a mini food processor. Blend or process until completely smooth, 1-2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the cup or bowl as needed. It may not seem necessary, but this step gets rid of cocoa clumps that can come across as gritty in the finished syrup.
5. Transfer the syrup to a container, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. It will thicken as it chills but will remain pourable. Give the syrup a quick stir with a spoon before serving, thinning with more water, 1 tsp (5 ml) at a time, as desired.
Note: The sauce can be refrigerated in a sealed container for up to 5 weeks. It will thicken when chilled and may thicken more as time goes on, so thin with water, as needed.
A FEW IDEAS TO MAKE THE MOST OF THE SYRUP:
Egg cream: Some say you can only make an egg cream, the iconic New York beverage of milk, chocolate syrup and seltzer, with Fox's U-bet syrup, but some people need to relax. The instructions are pretty universal, in that you pour chocolate syrup into a tall glass, followed by milk and then seltzer, giving it a quick stir. You make it by eyeballing the proportions in the glass (slightly more syrup than milk) and not necessarily with exact amounts.
Chocolate milk: Stir your desired amount of syrup into a glass of cold milk, one or more tablespoons (15-30 ml) of syrup per cup of milk. Or shake the syrup and milk together in a lidded jar. This will be less sweet than the chocolate milk your kids may be used to, so keep that in mind.
Ice cream: The thickness of the syrup may vary, depending on the brand of cocoa you use and how hot it gets during cooking. If you find you need it thinner for drizzling over ice cream, you can gently warm it in the microwave for a few seconds or thin with a small amount of water.