Chocolate Fondue

In my world, fondue is just another word for fun with food. I mean, poking food onto sticks and dipping it into something melty suddenly makes the meal way more interesting. Proof of this is how much my daughter’s eyes light up whenever I mention chocolate fondue.

While a smooth pot of melted chocolate surrounded by a full spread of dippers may look fancy, it’s way, way easier than making a cake, pie, or cookies — and everyone gets to choose their own dessert adventure. Here’s a step-by-step guide on the very best way to make chocolate fondue at home.

We recommend using either semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips, or a combination of both. The difference between semisweet and bittersweet chocolate is the percentage of cacao in each. Semisweet chocolate contains less cacao than bittersweet chocolate and tastes slightly sweeter. Use good quality chocolate chips if can find it. You can also use chopped chocolate bars if that’s what you have on hand.

Semisweet and bittersweet chocolates need slightly different amounts of liquid to stay smooth, but going with 1 cup of liquid (equal parts milk and cream) for every 10 ounces of chocolate provides good, consistent results no matter the type of chocolate used.

Making fondue is as simple as melting chocolate, right? Well, not quite. Melted chocolate is quite thick and can be a little unstable and prone to seizing (which means turning grainy or separating). Adding some liquid helps thin it out and stabilizes it into an ideal dipping texture.

• Chocolate: The easiest route to go is just buying chocolate chips. But feel free to use bars of chocolate instead (just chop it up first).
• Heavy cream and milk: Most recipes call for a lot of heavy cream, but I’ve found a mix of heavy cream and milk makes for a chocolate fondue that still retains a good chocolate flavor but isn’t too heavy.
• (Optional) Your favorite liqueur: You can also add an extra boost of flavor with your favorite liqueur, like orange liqueur, amaretto, or a coffee liqueur like Kahlua.

• Gently heat up the liquids first. The heavy cream and milk are warmed over medium-low heat until just gently simmering.
• Add the chocolate and remove from the heat. Let it sit off the heat for a few minutes. This will start the melting process so that all you have to do is give everything a good stir to incorporate.
• Stir until smooth. You can also stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons of liqueur if you want.
• Transfer to a fondue pot. When it’s all completely smooth, pour it into the fondue pot for serving.

• To avoid burning the chocolate: You’ll use a technique borrowed from making chocolate ganache. Ganache is made by adding finely chopped chocolate to very warm cream, waiting a few minutes for the chocolate to melt, and then stirring the mixture until smooth.
• If the chocolate starts to get grainy: Don’t fret: Just stir in more milk a teaspoon at a time until it smooths out.
• If it starts to burn on the bottom of the pot: Just turn off the fondue fuel, as the fondue will stay warm on its own for quite awhile.

No fondue pot? No problem:

• Place the saucepan of melted chocolate right onto the table on a trivet and dip away.
• If it starts to cool off, a little bit of time over low heat will warm it right back up.
• You can also transfer the chocolate fondue to a small slow cooker and keep on WARM.

Now that we’ve got that perfectly smooth chocolate fondue ready to go, it’s time to pick the dippers. Sky’s the limit really, but aim to have a good combination of textures and flavors. I like to think of things in categories so that I end up with a good variety.

• Cookies and other sweets: Raid the cookie aisle and grab some pound cake. Don’t forget to check your kid’s candy stash for some holiday remnants.
• Fresh and dried fruit: Berries are favorites, but whatever you choose, make sure it’s cut into bite-sized pieces and thoroughly dried after washed. Water is the enemy of fondue.
• Savory options: Pretzels, crispy bacon, and potato chips are delicious options for those who like to break things up with something salty.
• Garnishes for sprinkling: A little flaky salt, crushed freeze-dried fruit, or even Pop Rocks add a welcome pop of texture.

If it’s your first time fondue-ing, there are a few tips you can choose to follow (or go rogue!).

1. Reserve the fondue fork for dipping. First up is that you use the fondue fork (or skewer, if you don’t have one) for dipping but not for eating. Drop the dipped item onto your plate, then use a different utensil for eating.
2. Make two platters of dippers rather than one. Divide everything onto two serving plates so that it’s within reaching distance on either side of the pot. That way, people don’t have to stand up or reach an arm over the fondue pot to skewer their next bite.
3. Have fun! Try something unexpected as a dipper, and dare each other to try wacky combinations.

Oh, and by the way: Leftover fondue chocolate makes a fabulous hot chocolate base. You’re welcome.