How Sweet It Is… To Fondue With You

How sweet it is… to fondue with you.

Okay, James Taylor might not have sung those exact words, but I like to think you’ll stop, and thank me (baby) for this post. After all, what’s a month of fondue recipes without dessert?

There are no shortage of delicious, melty ideas out there when it comes to sweet fondue options. I was surprised at how easy cheese fondue is to whip up, but truly shocked to discover how simple most dessert fondue recipes are. So why focus on just one? Particularly with the holidays approaching, we could all use a show-stopping addition to the party table that doesn’t require being in the kitchen all day.

Before we get down to the yummy, there are a few things you’ll need to decide. First… are you the kind of person who doesn’t mind serving this straight from your double boiler, or do you want to make a show of things? Frankly, I don’t even have a double boiler, as evidenced by my makeshift bowl-in-bowl answer to Adam’s fondue serving woes last week. So what’s a fon-dude (or dudette) to do?

Fondue pots are not that pricey–I even found a few on Craigslist. But this little personal serving set would make a nice gift for you or someone you mug. I mean love. If you think you’ll become a regular, or want to occasionally be able to take the side everyone will be talking about to your next holiday shindig, consider investing in something a bit more substantial. There’s even a top-of-the-line model for those of you who already think they might need a 12-step program for fondue addiction.

Then, what are you planning to dip? There really is no wrong answer here. From fresh to dried fruit, salty pretzels, marshmallows, bites of brownie or cake… anything is game. and it doesn’t have to be a dip. It could be a drizzle. I had pie-in-the-sky fantasies of making a caramel fondue sauce to drizzle over our pumpkin cheesecake with gingersnap crust at Thanksgiving… until I realized that I am suddenly mom-ing it and it was hard enough not to scorch the turkey.

So… time to pick your passion! Here’s a line-up of some of the recipes that really stood out, plus a difficulty rating to help you decided your level of commitment to the chocolate (or caramel) cause.

Amy’s Roundup of Dessert Fondues

RECIPE:  Chocolate Fondue (And
don’t forget the white and dark chocolate varieties!)
DIFFICULTY:  Easy

Chocolate fondue is something you
can easily whip up with what most of us have on hand in the house. It’s super forgiving, which makes it simple to take to a holiday party, and you can dip nearly anything in it. You can even make — and serve — it in your slow cooker! Plus, there are dozens of variations, including Chocolate Orange Fondue, Peanut Butter Chocolate Fondue, or even Mexican Hot Chocolate Fondue. Or you could make S’mores Fondue. Yes, I think you should do that right now.

RECIPE: Caramel Fondue
DIFFICULTY: Medium to Difficult

Sadly, this is the kind of fondue I most want. I have never made caramel, though, and though it probably isn’t as difficult as I am making it out to be in my head… it just looks like more than I can deal with right now. Somebody make this and prove me wrong. Particularly this Salted Caramel Fondue number.

RECIPE: Nut-Based Fondue
DIFFICULTY: Medium

These recipes are only difficult in that they might take a little more time. Same with the fruit fondues listed below. Pouring a bag of chocolate chips into a pot is just plain easier than cutting up mango. Or getting down the food processor to pulverize nuts. That said, if you have a little more time, do try Almond Custard Fondue or Maple Walnut Fondue and let me know what you think! And all that said, this Peanut Butter Fondue recipe looks even easier than chocolate.

RECIPE: Fruit Fondue
DIFFICULTY: Medium

Refer to the above for an explanation on the diffulty rating here. I had no idea that fruit fondue even existed, but yum. And there are a number of different fruit fondue options, from Mango to Lemon Fondue.