Best, quick, easy chocolate fondue recipe, homemade with 3 simple ingredients. Rich, creamy and great for dipping fresh fruits. Can be used in chocolate fountain too.
Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from CakeWhiz
The first time I had “fondue de chocolate” as they called it, was at a wedding and I fell in love at my first bite. Serving this at weddings and parties has become very popular, especially in a fountain, because it's elegant and fun. This is just as delicious as my Chocolate Fruit Dip.
Table of contents
Key ingredients
- Chocolate chips- These can be milk, semisweet or dark, based on your preference.
- Heavy cream- This cannot be replaced with milk or else the melted chocolate will seize.
- Vanilla extract- Adds flavor and aroma.
Variations
- Make on the stovetop- Heat the heavy cream in a non-stick saucepan on low heat. When, it’s warm, add chocolate chips and mix until it has melted into smooth consistency.
- Make in a crockpot/slow cooker- Add the heavy cream and chocolate chips in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 1 hour. Then, uncover and mix everything together. Cover and cook on low for another 30 minutes. Mix again until you have a smooth consistency.
- Heavy cream substitute- Instead of using heavy cream, you can use evaporated milk, condensed milk (my least recommended option for you), half and half or coffee creamers. However, you would need to adjust the ratios since each of those ingredients can lead to different results. For example, using too much condensed milk will lead to a thick consistency that’s used for truffles.
- Add alcohol- Such as rum, vodka, or amaretto for a boozy kick.
- White chocolate version- Instead of dark or milk chocolate follow the recipe with high quality white chocolate.
- Use sugar-free chocolate- This is great for those people who are unable to eat a lot of sugar but still want to enjoy this treat.
- Try other extracts- I used vanilla extract in my recipe but you can use other flavors such as peppermint, orange, almond.
- Mexican spiced version- Mix in some ground cinnamon, chili powder, and paprika for a subtle spicy kick.
How to make easy chocolate fondue recipe from scratch?
- Melt chocolate- In the microwave.
- Add heavy cream- and vanilla extract.
- Mix everything- Until smooth.
- Serve- With your choice of dippers.
What to dip in chocolate fondue (dippers)?
- Strawberries
- Raspberries
- Blackberries
- Bananas
- Apples
- Grapes
- Pineapples
- Peaches
- Oranges
- Mangoes
- Dried apricots
- Brownies- Such as Nutella Brownies or Oreo Brownies. They should be cut into small square slices.
- Pound cake- Such as Sour Cream Pound Cake Loaf or Buttermilk Pound Cake. They should be cut into small square slices.
- Cookies- Such as Shortbread Cookies or Butter Cookies or Sugar Cookies
- Graham crackers
- Ladyfingers
- Oreos
- Pretzels
- Marshmallows
- Mini pancakes
- Mini waffles
- Rice krispie treats
- Peanut brittle
Please note that only fresh fruits should be used. No frozen fruits please! They should also be washed and patted dry. For fruits that need to be sliced, make sure not to slice them too small. They should be big enough that you can easily pick them up and dunk them in the dip.
Tips and techniques
- What chocolate should be used? I suggest Ghirardelli and Lindt, but use the best chocolate you can find, because HIGHER the quality, the BETTER the flavor. You can use dark, milk or semisweet.
- How to thicken fondue? How to thin it? To thicken it, add more chocolate or let it sit for 15 minutes and it will cool down and become thicker. If it’t too thick and you want to thin it out, add more heavy cream (1 tablespoon at a time) and heat again.
- Don't substitute cream with milk- Because this can cause your melted chocolate to seize.
- If using a chocolate fountain- Use my recipe below but double or triple it, depending on the size of your fountain and the amount of people you are serving. If having a party, quadruple it.
- How much fondue per person? I think ¼ cup of fondue per person would be a good rule of thumb. After all, it’s only being used for dipping and not much is required for that.
- Heat heavy cream- Because if it’s cold and if you pour it cold over the melted chocolate, the chocolate will start to cool down quickly and mixing everything together into a smooth consistency would become very challenging.
Storage
- Fridge- This can be stored in a sealed container for up to 1 week.
- Make ahead- You can also make the recipe 3-4 days a head, and then warm before serving.
- Freeze- This is not recommended because the heavy cream can separate upon thawing.
More sweet dip recipes
Recipe
Easy Chocolate Fondue Recipe
Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from CakeWhiz
Ingredients
- 12 oz Chocolate chips Milk, Dark or Semisweet
- 1 cup Heavy cream Warm
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
Instructions
- Heat chocolate in the microwave in 30 second increments.
- Add warm heavy cream and vanilla extract.
- Mix everything together until smooth.
- Serve with your choice of dippers and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Don' over-heat the chocolate because it can burn and there is no way to fix that.
- Use warm heavy cream to allow the mixture to melt and blend quickly.
- Don't mix too rigorously because that creates lots of air bubbles.
- Dipper options include mini brownie bites, fresh fruits and berries, small cubes of pound cake, cookies and so much more.
- Read additional tips and variations above.
Nutrition
An automated tool is used to calculate the nutritional information. As such, I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information provided for any recipe on this site.
Natalie Lu
Sounds WONDERFUL....! Especially with "HEAVY CREAM" (Hands Down)
Abeer Rizvi
It's soooo good and I agree... heavy cream rocks!
Jocelyn
Love, love, love chocolate fondue!!!
Debra C.
Easy, perfect and delicious, LOVE it!!
Abeer Rizvi
Thanks... So chocolicious!
Carolyn Ingram
This sounds amazing! Also I love how simple it is to make!
Abeer Rizvi
It's crazy how easy it is to make at home! hehe
yummy mummy
This dip is so dreamy!
Jamie
Does this have to be kept warm? It sounds so good!
Abeer Rizvi
Yes, it does have to be kept warm or else the fondue gets too thick for dipping.
Angelique Moore
This recipe saved me when my chocolate for cake pops needed a little extra thickening! Thanks for the tip about the heavy cream! Managed to create a chocolate that does not need to be kept cold.