Chocolate Fondue

Author Notes

What’s more romantic than eating a slice of fruit dipped in chocolate, as you gaze into your lover’s eyes, while holding their hand (but just one, so the other can wield a skewer)? Nothing.

That all said, chocolate fondue need not be relegated to fancy-shmancy-romancey affairs. It’s really just ganache (or, chocolate melted down with cream). Whether you like white, milk or dark—I went 80% cocoa, because I love chocolate that’s bitter as my soul—the ratio below will assure nothing but oozy, melty choco fun (fon?). One part chopped high-quality chocolate to one and a half parts hot cream, by weight, yields a shiny, thin ganache. Emphasis on the high-quality here—use chocolate you’d be happy to snack on.

Once the chocolate fondue is ready, all that’s left is slicing and arranging your dippables—casually, effortlessly—as your heart-eye-emojied companion looks on. Slice and dice up whatever’s in your fruit bowl or crisper drawer (a banana or some strawberries), leftover sweet treats (pound cake or Oreo cheesecake); or, pop open a bag of chips. The world is your fondue pot.

While a fondue pot is a sure sign that you’ve made it, any pot capable of holding heat will do. If the chocolate starts to solidify as it cools down, just return the pot to the stove and gently reheat, stirring frequently and scraping the bottom of the pot, until silky as a kiss.Place the chocolate in a small fondue pot or saucepan. Heat the cream and salt in another small saucepan set over medium heat, until very steamy, with tiny bubbles forming around the perimeter, about 3 minutes. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate, let sit for 30 seconds, then whisk until smooth. Keep fondue warm, while you serve with skewered dippables. —Coral Lee

Test Kitchen Notes

This recipe is a part of Chocolate Week—seven days of recipes and stories, all chocolate—presented by our friends at Guittard. A fifth-generation family business, Guittard has been crafting an array of chocolate offerings (like top-quality baking chips, cocoa powder, and baking bars) in San Francisco since 1868. —The Editors