Maple-Coco Chocolate Fondue. Scott Suchman for The Washington Post; food styling by Lisa Cherkasky for The Washington Post
If I’m home for New Year’s Eve - where I prefer to be - chances are I’m making fondue. Sometimes I make two: a cheese one for dinner and a chocolate one for dessert. The fun, informal nature of the dish sets just the right tone. There’s an ease about fondue, from the stress-free way it’s served to the freedom each person has to choose what they want to dip in it.
A joyful intimacy is built-in, too, with everyone gathering around the pot as if it were a campfire, and the inevitable, playful elbow-bumping that ensues. It’s almost impossible to eat fondue without smiling.
This dark chocolate version is so enticing, looking at it will inspire oohs and aahs as it is presented, before those satisfied grins emerge upon eating it. Melted chocolate has a way of doing that.
To make this fondue, you start the way you might make hot cocoa, by whisking cocoa powder with a little milk to form a paste. (You can use any type of cocoa powder you have, but I generally go for the "natural” (not Dutch-processed) type, because it has a brighter taste and more antioxidants. You could technically use any type of milk, too, but the coconut milk called for here serves not only to add creaminess, but to imbue the dessert with a sweet, tropical essence. If you use vegan chocolate, it makes the dessert vegan-friendly as well.)
Into that cocoa paste, you whisk more coconut milk and a little maple syrup, then stir in chopped dark chocolate until it melts and the mixture is luxuriously thick. A splash of vanilla extract adds a warm fragrance and amplifies the sweet flavors.
If you have a fondue pot, now is the time to break it out, but you don’t need one: Simply serve the chocolate mixture in the pot you used to prepare it. I like to accompany the fondue with an array of fresh and dried fruit - such as fresh apple, pear and banana slices, and dried figs and dates - and it’s incredible with crunchy, salted pretzels. Graham crackers, ginger snaps or vanilla wafers would be nice, too.
Dipping any of those into the dark chocolate wafting with maple, coconut and vanilla, while surrounded by loved ones, is the kind of pleasure that I hope we all experience bountifully in the year to come.
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Maple-Coco Chocolate Fondue
4 servings (makes about 3/4 cup)
Total time: 20 mins
This dark chocolate fondue is luxuriously creamy, lightly sweetened with maple syrup, fragrant with vanilla and has a sweet, tropical essence from coconut milk. If you have a fondue pot, this recipe is an excuse to break it out, but you don’t need one as you can simply use the pot in which it was cooked. Serve with an array of fresh and dried fruit - such as fresh apple, pear and banana slices, dried figs and dates - and crunchy, salted pretzels. Graham crackers, ginger snaps or vanilla wafers would be nice, too. Use vegan chocolate to make it vegan, and while you can use any type of cocoa powder, the "natural” (not Dutch-processed) type will deliver a brighter flavor and more antioxidants.
Storage: Refrigerate for up to 4 days; gently reheat on the stove or in the microwave.
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup light coconut milk, divided
2 tablespoons unsweetened natural or Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/4 cup pure maple syrup, plus more to taste
3 ounces dark chocolate (50 to 60 percent cocoa solids), chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
An assortment of sliced fresh apples, pears, strawberries and bananas; dried figs, pears and apples; and pretzels
STEPS
In a 1- to 2-quart saucepan, whisk together 1/4 cup of the coconut milk with the cocoa powder to form a paste. Whisk in the remaining 1/4 cup of the coconut milk and the maple syrup until combined. Set the saucepan over low heat and cook, whisking frequently, until simmering. Add the chocolate and cook, stirring, just until melted. Remove from the heat, and stir in the vanilla until smooth.
Taste, and add more maple syrup, as desired, 1 teaspoon at a time. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve warm, with the accompaniments for dipping.
Substitutions: Don’t like dark chocolate? >> Use high-quality semisweet chocolate chips. Light coconut milk >> Regular full-fat coconut milk or another kind of milk.
Nutrition per serving (3 tablespoons fondue): 201 calories, 27g carbohydrates, 1mg cholesterol, 10g fat, 3g fiber, 2g protein, 6g saturated fat, 10mg sodium, 20g sugar
This analysis is an estimate based on available ingredients and this preparation. It should not substitute for a dietitian’s or nutritionist’s advice.
From cookbook author and registered dietitian nutritionist Ellie Krieger.
