Sanders hot fudge cream puff is a choux pastry split, filled with vanilla ice cream and topped with warm Sanders hot fudge sauce. The Michigan birthday dessert.

Frederick Sanders Schmidt opened his first Detroit candy store at Woodward and Gratiot on June 17, 1875. By the 1910s Sanders shops were serving hot fudge cream puffs at counter, and by the 1950s the chain ran 57 retail stores across the Great Lakes. Hot fudge is the canonical Sanders product; the recipe survived the chain's bankruptcy and reformation, and is now produced by Morley Candy Makers in Clinton Township. The cream puff is a Michigan birthday-dessert staple.

Where to eat Sanders hot fudge cream puff in Detroit

The editor picks for Sanders hot fudge cream puff in Detroit are still in research. Meanwhile, see the Detroit signature-dishes index or the Detroit food guide.

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Make it at home

Serves 61 hrIntermediate

Ingredients

  • 125ml water
  • 125ml whole milk
  • 100g butter, cubed
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 150g all-purpose flour
  • 4 eggs, room temperature
  • 500g vanilla ice cream
  • For hot fudge: 200g dark chocolate
  • 100g unsalted butter
  • 200ml heavy cream
  • 100g sugar
  • pinch of salt

Method

  1. Heat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
  2. Bring water, milk, butter, salt and sugar to a boil. Add flour all at once and stir vigorously until the dough pulls from the pan walls.
  3. Cool 5 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time until the dough is smooth and shiny.
  4. Pipe or scoop 3-inch mounds onto the sheet, leaving 2 inches between. Bake 22 minutes until deep gold; turn off oven, crack the door and rest 10 minutes more.
  5. For the fudge: melt chocolate, butter, cream, sugar and salt over low heat, stirring until smooth and glossy.
  6. Split each cooled puff. Fill with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and replace the top.
  7. Pour warm fudge over each puff and serve immediately.

Editor tip. Sanders-style fudge stays glossy and thick at room temperature; cool it past steam-hot but not solid. The cream puff should be empty inside, not doughy.

Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Egg.