Decadent Chocolate Fondue Delight

If you love sweet treats, especially chocolate, then a chocolate fondue is a true delight. Many people are familiar with fondue by dipping pieces of meat in hot oil, letting vegetables cook in broth, or dipping baguettes in cheese fondue. All delicious, of course, but sweet fondues with chocolate are a real recommendation too. You can enjoy a chocolate fondue at various moments: around teatime, at a (children’s) party, or as a (grand) dessert. Honestly, there’s always an excuse for a cosy and tasty chocolate fondue!

In this article, I’ll tell you everything about chocolate fondue. What do you need, how do you melt the chocolate, and what delightful treats can you dip into it? I’ll answer frequently asked questions about chocolate fondue and share some handy and delicious tips.

For this article, I’ve collaborated with Baktotaal. Besides finding everything you need for baking, you can also find the tastiest chocolate fondue there!

What do you need for chocolate fondue?

For a chocolate fondue, you’ll need a few things: the right ingredients, a good chocolate fondue recipe for melting the chocolate, and delicacies to dip in the melted chocolate.

Additionally, you want to prevent the melted chocolate from solidifying. You can do this by keeping the chocolate warm, which can be done in several ways:

1. Chocolate fondue set with a tealight, like this porcelain fondue set.
2. Chocolate fountain, where the chocolate flows continuously. It looks fantastic! Chocolate fountains come in various sizes, such as this medium-sized chocolate fountain (seen in the photo) or this large chocolate fountain.
3. Chocolate fondue pot, such as this chocolate warmer. This pot is primarily designed for melting chocolate, but you can also use it for the fondue.

What chocolate to use for chocolate fondue?

Chocolate fondue is nothing more than melted chocolate in which you can dip various tasty treats. Which chocolate melts the best? It’s ideal if the melted chocolate is slightly runnier than usual, making it easier for dipping. Using a chocolate fondue fountain? Regular melted chocolate (dark or milk) is slightly too thick, preventing it from flowing nicely.

You can use special chocolate for chocolate fondue. Callebaut offers special fondue chocolate, available in both milk chocolate and dark chocolate. This chocolate has extra cocoa butter added, making it nicely fluid after melting. Alternatively, you can use regular chocolate and add up to 10% cocoa butter yourself.

Preparing chocolate for chocolate fondue

Whichever chocolate you use, the most important thing is to melt the chocolate before pouring it into the fountain or fondue set. You can melt the chocolate using the bain-marie method in a pot (read here how to melt chocolate using the bain-marie method) or use the microwave.

Using the microwave? Put the chocolate in a plastic or glass bowl and stir every 15-20 seconds to prevent it from burning. Ensure that you turn on a fountain in advance (to preheat). This way, you pour the melted chocolate into a warm fountain, preventing the chocolate from solidifying.

Adding cream to chocolate

What you often see is cream being mixed with the melted chocolate to create a type of ganache. The chocolate thickens rather than thins, making it unsuitable for a fountain. However, using cream with a porcelain chocolate fondue set is possible. For this, use 400 grams of chocolate and 100-125 millilitres of cream. Gradually add the cream to the melted chocolate while stirring until you reach the desired thickness.

If you want the chocolate to be thinner and more fluid, you can add a splash of sunflower oil. Personally, I find this less tasty.

The best treats to dip in chocolate fondue

The fun of chocolate fondue is that you can serve many different treats and use whatever you like.

Fruit

Let’s start ‘healthy’ with fruit. What fruit to use for chocolate fondue? Many fresh fruits are not only delicious with chocolate but also very easy to prepare. Go for strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, cherries, oranges, or mandarins. Tip: mix pieces of banana and apple with a bit of lemon juice before serving to prevent them from browning quickly.

It’s also fun to place some small summer fruits on a cookie spoon and hold it under the melted chocolate. For the fruit pieces, you can use a skewer, fondue fork, or cake fork when dipping into the chocolate.

Baked goods & sweet treats

You can also serve baked goods with chocolate fondue. Think of cookies like ladyfingers, waffles, speculoos, or shortbread cookies. Small pieces of cake, larger waffles, or biscuits are also delicious to dip into the chocolate.

And what shouldn’t be missing for true sweet tooths: marshmallows. They are almost a must-have! Baktotaal offers various kinds: from large to small and from soft marshmallows to hard foam blocks.

Toppings for a delicious chocolate fondue

Dipping fruit and other goodies into chocolate fondue is already a party. But you can make a chocolate fondue even more complete by sprinkling something on the dipped chocolate. Use, for example, caramelised nut pieces, mini smarties, caramel pieces or hundreds and thousands.

With all these tips, I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful chocolate fondue! What is your favourite treat to dip in the chocolate?

Photos: Erik Spronk

This article was created in collaboration with Baktotaal.