I remember my mother’s homemade chocolate sauce very well. She didn’t make it all that often, usually also around the time that she would make homemade ice cream. The taste of it is, however, firmly imprinted on the part of my brain that stores childhood food memories. There’s only been a few times that I’ve eaten another product that even came close to the same thing. Slickepott Fudge Sauce is one of these.
The fresh, creamy, silky-smooth fudgy taste lovingly wrapped itself around my tastebuds like a favorite blanket or beloved sweater, comforting and homey. One bite brought back all the warm memories my mother’s homemade chocolate sauce. Ian, the creator of this product, was in the city recently and was kind enough to give me some of his time to talk about Slickepott and how he came to make a business of this delicious creation.
As Ian describes it, Slickepott is like a cross between a ganache (usually a combination of chocolate and heavy cream blended together) and fudge sauce, not like the consistency of a thinner syrup. The quality of the ingredients, including dairy products from New York State sources, comes through from the moment that first bit of chocolate reaches one’s mouth. Just for him, I came up with this recipe for a classic dessert – and one of my favorites – using his product.
Poire Belle Helene
Prep time: 30 minutes
Serving size: 2 portions
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. Slivered Almonds
250 g White Sugar
250 g Water
1 Bosc Pear
4 Allspice berries
2 Star Anise pods
1 Cinnamon stick
Peel of 1/2 Orange
1/2 pint Vanilla Ice Cream (basically two scoops per person)
1/3 cup Slikepott Chocolate Sauce (or your favorite high-quality chocolate fudge sauce)
Assembly:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Centigrade / Gas Mark 4). Put almonds on a baking sheet and cook for 5-10 minutes until golden brown. Set aside to cool. Place sugar and water in heavy-bottomed saucepan and cook over low heat until the sugar is completely dissolved and the water is simmering.
You can stir it with a wooden spoon if the sugar seems to be hanging around on the bottom of the pan. Add allspice berries, star anise pods, cinnamon stick, and orange peel. Peel and core the pear and cut it in quarters.
Place the pear quarters, cut side up, in the spiced syrup to cook for 15 minutes until they are soft but not mushy. The point of a knife or a cake tester should easily go through them. Let the pears cool for 5 minutes in the syrup and then remove them from the liquid.
Strain and reserve the poaching liquid separate from the spices and orange rind. This makes a great syrup for tea or a base for cocktails. While the pears are cooking and cooling, get the ice cream and chocolate sauce ready.
Place two scoops of vanilla ice cream each in two separate bowls. Once the pears have cooled to the point that they won’t melt the ice cream, place 2 quarters of the pear in each bowl. Drizzle the chocolate fudge sauce on top of the pears and ice cream. Sprinkle the toasted almonds on top of the sauce.
