Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Mini Chocolate Fondue Fountain

By Richard Tripper

The easiest way to have a successful party is arm your guests with sharp pointy forks and have them coat all kinds of foods with chocolate. Everyone loves chocolate so why not give them what they want? And a chocolate fondue fountain is a great additional to any party.

Serving chocolate fondue is a regular fondue pot is great for a cozy treat for a few close friends but it doesn't cut it at larger events. That's why the chocolate fondue fountains have become popular. The chocolate keeps flowing and people keep dunking their favorite snacks into it. Fruits like bananas, apples and strawberries usually go first. Then before you know it, everything is being coated with chocolate. Cakes, potato chips, pretzels, you name it and people will let the chocolate cover it.

Chocolate fountains are making their way into more and more homes. It has become a popular kitchen appliance to give at weddings and showers. And it's jazzing up more and more house parties than ever before.

The melting of the chocolate is usually done in a double boiler or the microwave oven. The heater in most of the chocolate fountains made for home use do not get hot enough to melt chocolate. The do get hot enough to keep melted chocolate from getting hard again and that's enough to get the job done. You'll need to add vegetable oil to the chocolate to keep it flowing through the fountain.

Chocolate chips are the easiest form of chocolate to melt and use in your fondue fountain. But using a premium chocolate will make it taste even better. And for adult parties, add a splash of Grand Marnier or a fruit flavored brandy such as blackberry brandy.

If you don't have a lot of time before your party to cut up fruits and cakes for dunking, why not buy a fruit platter. Salty foods will also be a hit in the chocolate fountain. Be sure to put out pretzels and potato chips. People may be hesitant to try them at first but once they do, they'll be hooked. Marshmallows and angel food cake are also popular. You really have a lot of options when it comes to foods to dunk in your chocolate fondue fountain. Just about anything tastes great when dunked in chocolate.

Cleanup is a breeze if your fountain is dishwasher safe but be sure to keep it running until you're ready to clean it. Letting the chocolate cool and get hard will turn cleaning your fountain into a major chore.

Adding a chocolate fountain to any catered event has always been a great way make your chocolate loving guests happy. Now with the home versions, you won't need a caterer anymore. Why not add a chocolate fondue fountain to your next party?

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