How To Make Chocolate Fondue

Fondue is a total pain in the butt to do. It can be really delicious, but lots of things are delicious. And they aren’t such a hassle.

Fact is, the hassle is why we do it. It turns dessert into a social activity. Anyone can buy a cake. We need more socializing.

Ingredients

1 cup heavy cream
2 ounces dark chocolate
2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
1 teaspoon vanilla
assorted chopped fruits: strawberry, banana, apple, pineapple
marshmallows
poundcake

Directions

Use good chocolate if you’re going to do this. It’s pricier than the more common brands, but still way less than buying a prepared dessert. I like Ghirardelli. It’s made in California, but better than lots of imports in my opinion.

If you want to be fancy, you’ll use a fondue pot that sits over a flame. I’m all about the electric. Be aware that these things are able to heat a quart or two of oil hot enough to deep-fry meat and vegetables. Set it on the lowest setting to melt chocolate.

Break the chocolate up and put it in the pot.

You can see that the chocolate started melting right away. I had the thermostat set too high. So I immediately added the cream to cool it down before the chocolate scorched.

Then added the rest of the chocolate, and the vanilla. (No, I didn’t measure anything. Living on the edge, woo-hoo!)

Stir constantly (not kidding … don’t stop) until the chocolate is completely melted.

Then keep stirring until you’re ready to serve it. I’m thinking next time I’ll bring it to the table when it still looks like this.

Sample the strawberries before bringing it out.

Go ahead and have a banana, too.

If you’ve got more than a couple of people, chances are it will be a bit of a reach for some of them.

That’s why we got this mini-fondue set for the girls.

They love having their own pot. Makes them feel all grown up.

Lou doesn’t mind reaching.

Keep the chocolate over the lowest heat you can, and give it another stir every couple of dunks.

And that’s it.