Delicious and simple-to-make chocolate fondue with lots of fun dipping ideas!
The Best Chocolate Fondue
One of my mom’s go-to desserts growing up was chocolate fondue. With a family as large as ours (9 total!), fondue was an easy treat that brought the whole family together. That, and my mom, was a self proclaimed chocolate addict. 🙂
Although my mom has always been a bit of a minimalist in the kitchen (very few gadgets/cookware), the one exception to that rule is her big fondue fountain. So when my boys had a night over with their grandparents and the fountain came out, they immediately fell in love with it. Once they came home they both kept asking incessantly that we get a chocolate fountain like their Grandma has.
While we don’t have fancy dipping tools or a cool 3-tiered fondue fountain, I have been able to please the boys with a simpler chocolate fondue and it’s now becoming a fun tradition in our home. It’s fun to take a longer time to eat a dessert and talk/laugh through the process of dipping and sampling. It’s also a little very messy in my home, but you win some and you lose some I suppose.
Speaking from experience, the recipe for this fondue is definitely kid-approved. Most fondue recipes use a lot of bittersweet and dark chocolate which I do love, but the kids? Not so much. This recipe is a mixture of semi-sweet and milk chocolate. It IS sweet, but not sickly so.
And the great news is, if you aren’t serving this to kids and like a darker chocolate fondue mixture, the quantities in this recipe will work with whatever chocolate you decide to use! I like using two varieties of chocolate as it yields a richer and deeper final flavor.
Quick Tips
- Use REAL, high quality chocolate bars. Simply put, the better the chocolate you use, the better your fondue will end up. Unfortunately chocolate chips do not work great in fondue — the flavor isn’t quite right and they harden a lot quicker. Chocolate chips aren’t pure chocolate either, and that’s essential for a good fondue.
- Make sure the fondue fountain, and any other dishes the chocolate comes in contact with are completely dry and free of any water. Water will cause the chocolate to seize and ruin the fondue.
- Experiment! You can add a lot of fun variety to a fondue by experimenting with new chocolate flavors and types.
Favorite Things To Dip In Fondue
A better question, what can you NOT dip in chocolate fondue? 🙂 I’m of the opinion that everything tastes better with chocolate on it, so get creative here! Here are some of our favorites:
- Fresh fruit: strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, bananas
- Store–bought cookies: Oreos, nutter butters, pirouettes (my favorite!), Milanos, girl scout cookies
- Homemade cookies: these toffee pecan cookies are our favorite!
- Other treats: poundcake (store-bought or homemade), Rice Krispies treats (our favorite recipe here; just leave off the white chocolate and sprinkles), brownie bites, large marshmallows
More Dessert Recipes:
Easy Chocolate Fondue
Ingredients
- 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
- 4 ounces milk chocolate, chopped into small pieces
- 1/2- 3/4 cup whole milk (depending on thickness preference, I use 1/2 cup)
- 1 and 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, optional (see note)
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Flaky sea salt, for topping, optional
Dipping Ideas
- Fresh fruit: such as bananas, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, clementines, etc.
- Cookies: oreos, piroette cookies, milanos,
Instructions
- Start by preparing all of the ingredients/treats you will be dipping in the fondue. The preparation of the fondue goes quickly so you want to have all the treats and skewers (if using) ready!
- To make the fondue, in a small bowl, combine the chocolate, 1/2 cup milk or cream, and butter* and melt gently in a barely simmering water bath or microwave on Medium (50 percent) power for about 2 minutes.
- Stir until completely smooth.
- Add more milk if desired. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and salt.
- Serve this warm fondue immediately with whatever you've chosen to serve it with 🙂
- If the fondue gets too thick (or starts to harden), reheat in the microwave in bursts of 15 seconds stirring in between each burst for 10 seconds until melted and smooth again.
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Amazing!!!
Thanks so much! 🙂
I don’t happen to have semi sweet chocolate in the house but I have milk and dark. Can I do this without the semisweet or will it just end up too sweet?
I’m sorry Marti I haven’t tried it that way so I can’t say for sure, but maybe you could try half milk and half dark?
I want to try to make it now
Great Fondue made it and it tasted really good
Thank you! 🙂
I’ve seen those candy melts and chocomaker wafers and they sound not right if you’re making a chocolate fondue. I don’t even think it’s real chocolate. My question is what brand of chocolate bars do you use? Do you use milk or cream? Can you use cream would it come out even better? I have a humongous bag of Hershey kisses. Can I use this?
Can this recipe be used in a chocolate fountain?
I haven’t personally tried, but I don’t see why not! 🙂
yummy recipe.
Thank you! 🙂
Recipe was so good and easy! I split it in half for the 3 of us and had it with bananas, strawberries,marshmallows and Oreos. My daughter is bouncing off the wall right now but it was worth it!
So thrilled this fondue was a hit! Thanks for the comment 🙂
What a great recipe. Maybe a daft question, any left over would it keep in the fridge or freeze do you think?
Not daft at all! I don’t think the freezer is a great option, but I do think it would store well in the fridge for a few days; you’ll just need to warm it through gently and stir frequently! 🙂
will try is soon, thanks for sharing this delicious looking recipe.
Awesome! I hope you enjoy! 🙂