In just 10 minutes you can have this rich, creamy dark chocolate fondue! Serve on a board with all your favorite dippers for a romantic Valentine's day spread!
This chocolate fondue is also perfect for birthdays, New Year's Eve, or just a casual date night!
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What is Fondue
Cheese fondue is a melted cheese dish that originated in Switzerland. It involves using sticks to dip pieces of food into a communal pot of hot, melty cheese. But the term "fondue" has now been generalized to other dishes in which food is dipped into a communal pot of liquid. Ergo, chocolate fondue!!
Chocolate fondue is essentially chocolate ganache that is kept warm and melty in a fondue pot and then things like fruit or cookies are dipped into the chocolate! It's a fun dessert for the holidays or date night!
You might also like this creamy beer cheese fondue!
Special Tools for Fondue
Fondue is extra fun if you use a special fondue pot and sticks, however you don't actually need any special tools!
But if you want to get a fondue pot, there are tons of fun options! Some are electric and you can fully cook the fondue from start to finish in the pot (not necessary for chocolate fondue but a good choice if you also want to make cheese fondue). Others are heated with a small candle and just keep the fondue warm, so it still has to be cooked on the stove first.
If you don't want to buy special tools, you can easily make this dark chocolate fondue as normal and then just reheat occasionally over a double boiler or in the microwave.
Ingredient Notes
You just need a couple simple ingredients to make this dark chocolate fondue!
- Vanilla extract - I like adding a bit of vanilla for flavor, but you could also add in other extracts for a different flavor profile! Peppermint extract is a great choice for a holiday fondue board!
- Flaky sea salt - This is optional, but I love adding a bit of salt to balance the flavor of the dark chocolate. I always use Maldon Flaky Sea Salt because it has the best flavor and texture. But it's important to note that different types of salt taste differently, so I only recommend using flaky sea salt or kosher salt for this recipe.
What kind of chocolate to use in fondue?
I always use either semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate baking bars when making chocolate fondue because they are designed to melt smoothly! Chocolate chips contain added emulsifiers that cause them to not melt as smoothly, so they aren't the best choice for fondue.
Some of my favorite baking chocolate bars are:
- Guittard - This is my number one choice! It's super high quality, affordable, and pretty easy to find. You can usually get it at Whole Foods or Target.
- Vahlrona - This is the chocolate that a lot of pastry chefs swear by! It's usually hard to find in stores, but comes in a ton of different forms.
- Callebaut - This is amazing chocolate that comes in block form, but is usually much harder to find but Whole Foods and Costco usually have it as do specialty stores.
- Scharffen Berger - I've never actually tried this brand but I've heard a lot of great things about it.
- Ghirardelli - The most affordable and widely available baking bars that are still high quality! I always have either their semi-sweet or bittersweet baking bars on hand even though it's not my number one choice.
How to Make Dark Chocolate Fondue
Finely chop the dark chocolate and place into a large bowl.
Place the heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1-2 minutes or until hot to the touch but not boiling.
Pour over the chopped chocolate and let sit for about two minutes.
Using a spatula, gently mix until the chocolate is fully melted and the fondue is fully combined and smooth.
Add in the vanilla extract and flaky sea salt and mix until combined.
Transfer to a fondue pot and place on a board with all your desired dippers!
What to Dip in Chocolate Fondue
There are so many things you can choose to dip in this dark chocolate fondue!!
- Graham crackers, cookies, Oreos, or pretzels
- Marshmallows
- Nuts
- Fruit (strawberries, apples, bananas, blueberries, cherries, etc!)
- Even potato chips!
Literally anything you could possibly want!!
And don't forget to serve with wine 🙂
Recipe FAQ's
You can gently reheat the chocolate fondue using a fondue pot or over a double boiler. You can also microwave the fondue for intervals of 15 seconds or until it's smooth and creamy again.
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Recipe Card
Dark Chocolate Fondue Board
Special Equipment
Ingredients
Chocolate Fondue
- 10 ounces dark chocolate
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, substitute ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
- ¼ teaspoon flaky sea salt
Serve with
- graham crackers, cookies, pretzels
- fresh fruit
- marshmallows
- nuts
Instructions
- Finely chop the dark chocolate and place into a large bowl.
- Place the heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1-2 minutes or until hot to the touch but not boiling.
- Pour over the chopped chocolate and let sit for about two minutes.
- Using a spatula, gently mix until the chocolate is fully melted and the fondue is fully combined and smooth.
- Add in the vanilla extract and flaky sea salt and mix until combined.
- Transfer to a fondue pot and place on a board with all your desired dippers!
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Marissa says
This was surprisingly easy! It was a fun dessert for our valentine's day