Who doesn’t like desserts? And who doesn’t like chocolate desserts? And is there really anyone who would refuse not just a dessert but a dessert whose main ingredient is warm, velvety chocolate?
Yes, you’ve guessed it! We will introduce you to the amazingly delicious Fondue with chocolate which is one of the most remarkable and exquisite desserts of Alpine cuisine.
We mentioned Alpine cuisine, however, this chocolate temptations’popularity is not Switzerland’s (the motherland of fondue) but the United States’ doing.
How did it happen? Here is a small part of the chocolate fondue story.
The year was 1966, and the occasion – a treat of 100 journalists after a press conference organized on some occasion. After the press conference, the organizers invited the journalists to a simple buffet dinner, on which were served cheese and beef fondue and for dessert… the unseen until then chocolate temptation – “Fondue Toblerone”.
The dessert was served in the traditional for the Alpine cuisine fondue vessel and beside it there were plates with strawberries and biscuits. The journalists did not wait for a long time and immediately tried the warm chocolate in which they dipped the fruits and biscuits.
Soon after that many magazines and newspapers published flattering reviews of the delicious chocolate temptation and it became popular all over America.
Well, there were some small obstacles at the beginning… The chef of one of the most renowned Swiss restaurants in New York originally rejected the chocolate fondue calling it “a complete stupidity”.
But soon after his rude statement he tried it and included it in the menu of the restaurant. The dessert was received so well by visitors of the elite restaurant that very soon all trendy restaurants in the US began to offer a chocolate fondue.
One year after “conquering” America, the chocolate dessert conquered Europe. In 1967, the chocolate fondue became popular in Switzerland and was originally available in the winter resorts of Gstaad, Grindelwald and Verbier as part of the Alpine cuisine menu and then popular in Germany where it is no longer called “Fondue Toblerone” but simply “Schokoladenfondue” (chocolate fondue) without mentioning the brand of chocolate.
As a matter of fact, we have to mention that the most delicious fondue is actually made with “Toblerone” chocolate because it contains honey and almonds, which give the fondue a refined and pleasant taste.
In Bulgaria, Fondue with chocolate became popular only ten years ago when it began to be served at major world events. Today the dessert is present in the menu of many of the fashionable and renowned restaurants in Bansko, Sofia, Plovdiv and Burgas.
How is chocolate fondue prepared?
Fondue with chocolate is a dessert that is quickly prepared, it is spectacular and has a low degree of difficulty. To prepare a fondue, you need to get a set of fondue vessels- “caquelons”, long forks or skewers, a burner or a candle.
Chocolate fondue has many variations but the main ingredient is chocolate, to which condensed milk, cream, coffee, even a little liqueur or rum can be added.
It is served accopanied by sweet bread, fruit, cake or biscuits. Some restaurants in Bansko can offer you a glass of liqueur, brandy, rum, a cup of tea, coffee or a ball of ice cream.
Popular chocolate fondue recipes
Classic fondue
Ingredients
Dark chocolate – 200 g
Whipped cream – 150 mL.
Brandy/Cognac – 2 tablespoons
Strawberries – 14 pieces
Preparation:
The dark chocolate is broken into pieces and melted in a bain-marie. After the chocolate melts, remove it from the heat and add the cream and brandy to it. The mixture is stirred until homogeneous. The chocolate cream is transferred into the fondue vessel to keep it warm and it is served with a plate of strawberries. The strawberries are dipped in the warm chocolate.
Note: The dessert can be prepared directly into a caquelon but you have to keep track of the strength of the heat in order not to burn the chocolate.
Pear chocolate fondue
Ingredients
Dark chocolate – 200 g
Coffee – 75 mL
Whipped cream – 120 mL.
6 small pears
Syrup for the pears: the juice from half a lemon, 150 mL of water, 50 g of sugar, 10 g of vanilla sugar
Preparation:
Water and sugar are put in a saucepan to boil. Once the sugar is fully melted, the sweet syrup is removed from the heat and the vanilla sugar and the lemon juice are added to it. The pears are cut in half and cleared of the seeds.
The syrup is returned to the heat and when it starts to boil the clean and cut pears are added to it. The purpose of this whole procedure is for the pears soak in the sugar syrup. “The boiling” of the fruit in the syrup is about 5-10 minutes after which the pears are removed.
The chocolate is broken into pieces, put into a bowl and melted in a bain-marie. Coffee and cream are added and the mixture is stirred until it becomes a velvety chocolate cream.
The hot fondue is poured into a caquelon to stay warm and it is served with a plate with the syrupped pears. For even more pleasure on the palate, small chocolate balls can also be served in addition to all this chocolate temptation.
Milk chocolate and coffee fondue
Ingredients:
Milk chocolate – 200 g
Cream – 3 tablespoons
Cherry brandy – 2 tablespoons
1 tablespoon of strong coffee
1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon
Preparation:
Place the chocolate, cream, liqueur, coffee and cinnamon in a caquelon and stir the mixture until the chocolate melts and the mixture becomes smooth and velvety.
The fondue is served with pieces of fresh fruit – strawberries, bananas, apples, oranges, pineapple or biscuits.
Orange chocolate fondue
Ingredients:
Dark chocolate – 200 g
Grated zest of one orange
Orange juice – 2 tablespoons
Cream – 150 mL
Liquor of choice – 1 tablespoon
Preparation:
Put the chocolate chunks in a fondue vessel and stirred until they are completely melted… Add the cream, the liqueur and the orange zest. The dessert is served with bananas, pineapple and kiwi. It can also be served with candied fruits, Brazil nuts or dried fruits
Kirsch chocolate fondue
Ingredients:
White chocolate – 350 g
Kirsch – 50 g
Cream – 250 g
Preparation:
Heat up the cream in a fondue vessel, add the Kirsch and finally the white chocolate is cut into large pieces. The mixture is stirred until it becomes a completely homogeneous creamy mass (cream). The fondue is served with fruit by choice, cake or lady fingers.
Rhum fondue
Ingredients:
Dark chocolate – 200 g
1.5 tablespoons of rum
50 g of butter
2 tablespoon of yogurt
125 g of liquid whipped cream
Preparation:
The chocolate, rum and butter are melted in a bain-marie. Add yogurt and cream and mix well. Transfer the mixture to a fondue vessel and serve with fruit or a piece of cake.
The last recipe comes directly from the Alpine cuisine.
Ingredients:
350 g of dark chocolate
Condensed milk – 5 tablespoons
2 tablespoons of brandy or cherry liquor
Grated orange zest
One tablespoon of sliced almonds
Preparation:
The chocolate is broken and is placed in a fondue vessel and heated on a slow fire. After the chocolate is somewhat melted, add the milk, the liqueur, the almonds and finally the orange zest.
It is served with pieces of fruit, pastries, lady finders or cake. This fondue fits perfectly with sparkling Italian wines or a glass of cognac.
As you can see, the choices to make chocolate fondue are many, and the dessert itself is made extremely easy and fast.
For a bigger effect in serving (just as it is served in some restaurants in Bansko), you can serve the dessert in a chocolate fountain.
Chocolate fountains are special vessels on several “floors” arranged in a cone shape. The warm fondue flows just like a cascading waterfall from the top cone of the fountain, passes through the next levels, and the effect it creates is unique.