Easily whip up the perfect Chocolate Fondue in under 30 minutes! You’ll be dipping your favorites in no time.
Chocolate Fondue may look fancy, but it comes together quite easily. Chocolate Lava Cake, Chocolate Mousse, and Panna Cotta are all perfect desserts for special occasions!
A fancy dessert
It’s no secret that I love chocolate! It’s perfect for every occasion and is a highlight in so many desserts.
What could be better than eating it straight from a bowl?
Okay, really you’re using it to cover fruits, cookies, or cakes…but who’s to say you couldn’t sneak a bite or two? 😉
Chocolate Fondue just feels fancy. It’s a fun, interactive dessert that is the BEST for special occasions! While we generally serve it for Valentine’s Day, it really would be fun for any day you’d like to make special.
How to make chocolate fondue
HEAT. In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt chocolate chips and butter with sweetened condensed milk and water. Cook and stir constantly until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add vanilla.
ENJOY! Serve warm as a dipping sauce for fruit, cookies/crackers, and treats, or drizzle over ice cream or cake. You could even try mixing in a spoonful of peanut butter for a flavor variation!
Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator.
Quick tips
- Don’t cover the warm chocolate with a lid. The condensation from the steam will cause the chocolate to seize.
- You can replace the chocolate chips with an equal amount of chocolate wafers.
- The better quality the chocolate is, the better it will be for fondue. My favorite high-quality chocolate brand is Ghirardelli.
Fondue Troubleshooting
Seized chocolate is caused by water getting into the pot, causing it to separate and become grainy and pasty chocolate.
Ironically, water can also fix seized chocolate. Boil water and add it 1 tablespoon at a time to the chocolate. Stir quickly until the chocolate is smooth once again.
Overheated chocolate. Milk and white chocolate can reach 110°F, and dark chocolate can reach 120°F. When they’re cooked too high, they become thick and dull. Thankfully, as long as it has not burned, you can fix it.
- Pour the chocolate into a bowl and stir in more chocolate to help bring down the temperature.
- The hotter chocolate will also melt the new chocolate helping to smooth out the mixture.
- A few other tricks include: strain lumps through a sieve, stir in a spoonful of vegetable oil, or use an immersion blender to help smooth it out.
How to serve fondue
Fondue Pot. Keep the chocolate warm and dippable using a fondue pot. They come in both electric varieties as well as ceramic dishes heated with a candle. You can also keep it warm in a small crock pot.
If you don’t have a fondue pot with special fondue forks, you can use metal or wooden BBQ skewers.
Chocolate Fountain. Any chocolate can be used in a chocolate fountain, as long as it is the right consistency. Thicker chocolate sauce will clog the fountain, so be sure that it is thin enough to smoothly run through the fountain. Use cocoa butter or coconut oil to help thin out the chocolate.
What to dip in chocolate fondue
You can pretty much dip anything that pairs well with chocolate! Some of our favorites include:
- Fruit: cherries with stems, orange sections, melon balls, pineapple chunks, strawberries, banana slices, apple wedges, grapes, dried apricots, peach chunks, plum slices, pear slices, kiwi fruit slices, raspberries, blackberries, pears, papaya, and mango cubes
- Treats: Angel Food Cake cubes, cut Rice Krispie Treats, Brownie bites, marshmallows, Pound Cake cubes, and Cheesecake Bites
- Crackers/Cookies: vanilla wafers, biscotti, Oreos, graham crackers, Shortbread Cookies, pretzels, and potato chips
Storing Info
STORE. As long as there were no double dippers, and the fondue is clean, you can store leftover fondue in a container in the fridge for 7-10 days.
Reheat slowly on the stovetop or the microwave at half power. Store leftover dipping treats in separate containers.
More special occasion desserts:
for More Chocolate:
Chocolate Fondue Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 2 tablespooons water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a heavy saucepan, over medium heat, melt chocolate chips and butter with sweetened condensed milk and water. Cook and stir constantly until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add vanilla.
- Serve warm as a dipping sauce for fruit, cookies/crackers, and treats or drizzle over ice cream or cake.
- Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator.
Dippers
- We dipped pound cake, bananas, marshmallows, strawberries, clementine oranges, cinnamon graham crackers and pineapples in the fondue.
- Other items to dip: cherries with stems, melon balls, apple wedges, grapes, dried apricots, peach, plum, and pear slices, angel food cake cubes, kiwi fruit slices.
Tips
- Serve warm or cold over ice cream. Can be made several days ahead of time.
- Reheat in the microwave at 30 second intervals at 40% power or less.
Thank you for all the ideas on chocolate fondue. Not real good at making it but I’m so excited to try this recipe!
I have a fondue pot but dont use it often because I haven’t come across a good recipe until now. This chocolate is pretty good!
This is my kind of fondue!! We love dipping fruit in this!! It will be the perfect thing to have out for our New Year’s party!!