Chocolate Fondue

ms_bold's Note:

I adopted this recipe after Mean Chef (IHHDRO) left the site. His original comments were, "A simple party dessert which is a year-round opportunity to use the season's best and ripest fruit." My comments submitted as a review when I first tried it were, "Excellent chocolate fondue. I cut the recipe in half and prepared it with Ghirardelli Semi-sweet chocolate and heavy cream. Hubby and I ate an entire pound of strawberries dipped in this luxury while watching movies tonight." I have made this many times since for just Hubby and I, and for guests. It is a very good chocolate fondue.

• Total Time: 35 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 5 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 10 ounces bittersweet chocolate or 10 ounces semisweet chocolate , chopped into small pieces
• ½-¾ cup milk (or 1/2 to 3/4 cup milk plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter) or ½-¾ cup half-and-half (or 1/2 to 3/4 cup milk plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter) or ½-¾ cup heavy cream (or 1/2 to 3/4 cup milk plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter)
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. To make the sauce, in a small bowl, combine the chocolate and 1/2 cup milk or cream and melt gently in a barely simmering water bath or microwave on Medium (50 percent) power for about 2 minutes.
2. Stir until smooth.
3. Add more liquid if the sauce seems too thick or look curdled.
4. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
5. Use warm fondue immediately or set aside until needed and rewarm briefly.
6. Have forks, skewers, or pretty (or goofy) swizzle sticks available for guests to dip with.
7. If the fondue gets too thick or cool, reheat gently (without boiling) for 1 minute in the microwave on Medium (50percent) power or set in a pan of barely simmering water.
8. Leftover sauce keeps several days in the refrigerator.
9. It is a prefect topping for ice cream.
10. Note: This is a versatile recipe that can be tailored to your taste and the type of chocolate you are using.
11. For the most intense chocolate fondue, use milk, rather than half-and-half or cream, and omit the butter.
12. For even greater intensity, choose a bittersweet chocolate labeled anywhere from 66 percent to 70 percent and use the greater amount of liquid called for.
13. Butter or cream results in a softer, mellower chocolate flavor.
14. Ideas for dipping: Kumquats or segments of seedless clementines, oranges, or ruby grapefruit- If possible, separate the citrus into segments without breaking the membrane.
15. If you set the segments on a rack to dry in a warm place or in the oven, preheated to 200° F, then turned off for several hours, the membrane will dry like crisp paper and the juices will burst in your mouth when you take a bite.
16. Chunks of pineapple Chunks of fresh coconut or large curls of dried coconut Chunks of banana Dried fruit such as apricot, mango, papaya, pineapple, or Bing cherries Strips of good-quality candied orange, grapefruit or lemon peel Cubes of pound cake or angel food cake, or toasted cubes of brioche or challah Cigarette cookies, fan wafers, graham crackers or digestive biscuits, or pretzels Marshmallows or meringues Toasted shaved almonds (to sprinkle on after dipping).

Reviews

[Tracy K]

Delicious! I served this for New Year's Eve with fresh strawberries (yes, I was shocked to find fragrant and yummy strawberries in December), banana chunks, fresh pineapple chunks and pound cake chunks. There were no leftovers! Next time I will definitely try the orange segments as well, thanks for the intriguing method of placing them in a warm oven to dry out.

[Miraklegirl]

Also made this for my New Year's bash. Turned out great! We dunked aniseed biscotti, melon, fresh pineapple, apple chunks, and bananas. Delicious. I let the left over chocolate harden overnight, then rolled them into balls and coated with chopped nuts, grated chocolate, and icing sugar (to make 3 varieties). Made a fabulous selection of little 'truffles'. Thanks Meanie

[Akikobay]

We made this delicious treat for our New Year's feast dessert. Actually, my 3yo DD made it herself (adult supervision for the flame) stirring the semi-sweet chocolate, milk, and butter to melting in the fondue pot. We helped her with the measuring, and it came out perfectly. Once the chocolate was melted, even at it's lowest flame, the fondue pot kept the chocolate almost at a simmer, so we turned off the flame. We dunked in honey castella cake, fresh strawberries, orange sections, marshmallows, and bananas. The chocolate was the perfect eating temperature and the flavor was excellent. Everyone proclaimed this a winner and must-do again dessert. Thanks for another great recipe!