Bubble, bubble without the toil and trouble in this recipe for dueling White and Dark Chocolate Fondue.
One of these cute little fondue pots appeared on my desk recently (“We figured if anyone wanted it, it would be you…”) and the other was a yard sale find. If you’re not blessed with two dessert fondue pots, well I feel sorry for you, I really do. It’s fine to make one or the other, but a fondue duet is really so much more fun. Like so many other of life’s pleasures, it ain’t done ’til it’s overdone!
Incidentally, did you know that chocolate fondue was invented in the USA? As if we needed further proof that America is the greatest nation on Earth.
We have the geniuses of Madison Avenue to thank for these cauldrons of decadence. Looking to boost the sales of Toblerone Chocolate, the Switzerland Association test kitchens partnered with the old Chalet Suisse restaurant in the 1960s to popularize this dessert. My guess that this was a Peggy Olsen-type idea, not a Don Draper, although he did have that Heineken breakthrough…
But you needn’t take my word for it — you remember Anita Pritchard, the glamorous international stewardess-turned-fonduess-extraordinaire who penned Fondue Magic: Fun Flame and Saucery Around the World (Hearthside Press 1969)? She bore witness to the birth of this modern miracle of marketing.
Fresh fruit (strawberries in this case), some soft sweet cake (e.g. chocolate marble pound cake) and salty pretzel sticks are perfect conduits for the hot, fragrant chocolates.
The white chocolate fondue is flavored with my favorite exotic spice, grated tonka bean, but you can use vanilla bean seeds or even a dash of vanilla extract. (Click here to buy tonka beans on Amazon.)
Note of caution: the little tea lights can overcook the fondues, so keep an eye on them. The melted chocolates are brought to the table already melted and the candles keep them nicely warm for a bit. After a few minutes the candles heat the fondue pots too much and the chocolates can scorch or separate. Blow the candles out; the thick glass or ceramic bowls will retain enough heat to keep the chocolate melted long enough to scrape each bowl clean.
Click here for the recipe for the recipe for White and Dark Chocolate Fondue.
