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Chocolate Fondue


tharrison

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Ok, so this local fondue restaurant place has this chocolate fondue. Thing is you have to order it 2 days in advance because they say it takes 8 hours to make:

A minimum of two days advance notice is required. Sorry we can only do one each night.

A feast in itself - more than just a dessert! Personally served to you by Dante (or one of his managers).

The fruit is hand-picked at the market and the Swiss honey-base chocolate is hand folded by our chefs and brews for 8 hours. It is served with only fresh strawberries, cantaloupe, pineapple, bananas, honeydew, other fresh fruit in season, and marshmallows.....a real delicacy. Dante suggests that you finish your meal 2-3 hours before coming here for the chocolate fondue; then plan on gorging for a minimum of two hours.

Prepared for a minimum of 6 to a maximum of 12 persons.

Due to the complexity of preparation, we do only 1 per night. :hmmm:

I call *cough* bullshit (a way to sell something for way too much money by making it mysterious) :rolleyes:

What say you? Am I wrong? I want to know what this amazingly sophisticated hand folding thing is about (besides profit).

Please explain to me why you'd cook chocolate for 8 hours (if in fact they are telling the truth). This is a place for the unsophisticated palate (albeit with deep pockets) so I know they can't be using amazing chocolate.

I'm really curious and thinking about calling them. Something tells me they probably won't elaborate on the specifics.

Thanks :laugh:

"I like butter and the people who like butter." -TA

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Ha, thats interesting and hard to believe. Maybe instead of using a quick and tastie ganche they are tempering chocolate in a small machine-hense the amount of time to prepare............that would account for the amount of time it takes them to prep. And maybe they only have one little table top machine and thats why they can only do 1 at a time.

It's pretty silly, but thats the only real excuse I can think of.

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:laugh: Ok, so I'm not crazy for thinking it sounds suspicious?

I'm thinking they say they can only do one a night so people get intrigued and swear to order it next time. With a minimum of 6 people they rake in the dough on that one.

I've never been to this place and probably never will, but I'm discussing this with other people and they seem impressed by the hubbabaloo surrounding it. I'm trying to explain to them not to be so gullible and wanted to make sure I was correct before continuing.

I love how they add "The fruit is hand-picked at the market..." As opposed to what? Sysco's best? :rolleyes:

Edited by tharrison (log)

"I like butter and the people who like butter." -TA

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I love how they add "The fruit is hand-picked at the market..." As opposed to what? Sysco's best? :rolleyes:

Well, not understanding the hand-folding thing either, that one sentence is the part that DOES seem reasonable.

Yes, hand-picked, organic fresh market fruits vs. Sysco's best (cold-packed a month ago and shipped from counties on a slow boat) could make a remarkable difference.

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You misunderstood me :smile:

This place isn't really a high food quality establishment -- it's more about the place itself than the food (you get charged an "entertainment fee" before you even get seated). So the "hand-picked from the market" most likely means from the kroger down the street not a local farmer's market. The stuff from the supermarkets isn't much better than Sysco (they probably have the same suppliers). I was just being sarcastic that they mention that as a selling point.

Edited by tharrison (log)

"I like butter and the people who like butter." -TA

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I say there are lies, damn lies, and marketing. I mean, the only thing easier than chocolate fondue to make for dessert is to dish a scoop of ice cream. Melt some chocolate, Maybe add some liquid to thin and flavor it a bit, chop fruit, serve. Sheesh.

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The only reason I could possibly think that it would take someone 8 hours to make a ganache is if the chef is infusing the cream or milk in the morning and coming back to it in the evening to finish it off.

Otherwise, it's puffery for sure, unless, of course, the chef is has his own cacao trees out back. :smile:

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The "Swiss, honey-base chocolate" sounds suspiciously like Toblerone to me...

Exactly. So Toblerone with what, hand-milked cream, fresh from the cow? Sounds like a load of hooey to me. And the fact that they can only make one a night? Do they only have one fondue pot for service? How much DO they charge for this? And if the chef is infusing the cream in the morning, how much "work" is that?

"I just hate health food"--Julia Child

Jennifer Garner

buttercream pastries

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i love that it's served by Dante himself.  (or one of his managers)

Is Dante one of the crocodiles? Hehe.

I have no clue how much this place is, but I'll go ahead and assume that the chocolate fondue is probably at least $10/person (minimum of 6 people) since their other desserts are $6.50+

Edited by tharrison (log)

"I like butter and the people who like butter." -TA

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:wink:

Well, all that peeling and chopping takes time - and if you prep a bunch and don't get enough takers - you loose

Sounds partly like they only have one chocolate fondue pot are set up for meats (oil and broth fondue) that is more profitable and faster turn over. I think they want to discourage the chocolate fondue - in the most positive way possible. :rolleyes:

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  • 3 months later...

I've been asked to provide my girls with chocolate fondue for 50 in a week and a half. I've never made chocolate fondue before. I checked Joy of Cooking which basically tells you to warm up chocolate sauce (a thin ganache type sauce). That seems like it'd be too thin to me. There's a chocolate cookbook at work that my predecessor left me which had a recipe calling for chocolate chips and a ton of corn syrup--I swear I felt a glucose spike from reading it. :blink: Are there better alternatives? I do have plenty of 63% Cacao Noel pistoles and tons of chocolate chips around and would prefer to use one or the other.

Also I don't really know how much to make--there will be five or six fondue pots made available to me, and the idea is I'll fill them with the goop and then set out trays of dippers. There will be one pot and one tray on each of five or six tables, and girls will sit at each table to snack away.

Are there some interesting dipper ideas? I planned to do marshmallows (hopefully homemade), pound cake, strawberries, bananas (can I do frozen ones, or will that muck with the fondue?), pineapple, pretzels, and maybe grapes. Other ideas welcome.

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Is this for a private party?.........Where are you located? If it's something that you just need to kind of throw together, I would suggest the hottest craze right now.

The Chocolate Fountain........easy, you can rent it, and supply the guests with platters of Fruit, pound cake etc. They simply stick the item in the fountain and dip. E-Z

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Sorry, I should clarify. I am a chef for a sorority. They are planning their fall recruitment and this is one of the events. There will be about 50 college aged girls in the sorority house, eating this fondue. I am in the DC metro area. The chocolate fountain looks cool--I've read some press on it--but it is definitely not financially feasible for them to rent one.

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Hi Malachite Awry! This is Psychocandy from ISCA.

Do you need to just do chocolate? If not, you could do some different kinds of fondue flavors, like caramel or marshmallow cream or white chocolate.

Other ideas for dipping - orange sections, lady fingers, cookies, pecan/caramel clusters....

When I've made fondue, I do just make a ganache, but I sort of do it by site - just adding enough hot cream to a good chocolate make it dipable.

You could also do little dishes for them to roll the chocolate coasted goodies in, like toasted coconut or nuts.

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Psychocandy! Now there's a name from the past...glad you found your way to eG. :biggrin:

I planned to do just chocolate, and a big batch of it to divide between the pots. I'm having to get this together in addition to my regular lunch and dinner service, so I'm trying to make it relatively easy on myself.

The rollable goodies are a great idea. I already have sprinkles and nuts around, and could easily toast some coconut. I love candied coconut and was considering doing some as a dippable if I have time to make it next week.

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I think you're going to right route by just doing chocolate!

I think candied coconut would be great. Would candied ginger be too unusual for the girls? Another idea would be kiwi, or maybe pear slices, or dried apricots...

You could also add a liquor to the chocolate to make it a little more special. :)

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OK...but I'd still like a little more guidance on ganache proportions, if a thin ganache is indeed the best possibility. Also quantities--I really have no idea how much of this stuff to make.

Liquor is really a no-go, due to dry campus laws. I'm not supposed to cook with wine or anything.

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My favorite fondue recipe is:

10 ounces Toblerone chocolate (broken into separate triangles)

1/2 cup heavy cream

Optional: 2 Tablespoons liqueur (usually kirsch, cointreau or rum)

Heat in a saucepan till chocolate melts and it's good to go in the fondue pot.

For dippers:

Angelfood Cake chunks

Mini Profiteroles (cream puffs with ice cream)

Madeleines or small butter cookies

Ladyfingers

And yes to the homemade marshmallows. They are especially good with fondue. (Had them at Artisanal in NYC, yum.)

Frozen bananas would be great but will they stay frozen while serving?

Edited to add: Just saw the dry campus rule...so add 2 more Tablespoons heavy cream. Sometimes I make this same recipe with bittersweet chocolate, and because it's served warm and not cold, the same proprtion of cream to chocolate as with the Toblerone works for me.

Edited by TrishCT (log)
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Here's a working chef's version of choc. fondue. It doesn't break or look strange over time.

Hot cream - pretty much the amount that you will need at the end.

Cocoa powder - to taste, but will need at least a pound.

coffee extract

vanilla

rum or brandy, kirsch.

sugar to taste

Bring cream to a slow boil, add cocoa powder. The mix will start to thicken,add the other ingredients to taste while you play with the consistency of the cream. You will have a deep flavored fondue that will continue to thicken if left to simmer. Add more or less cocoa powder as needed to achieve color and flavor you like.

The noel pistoles could be swirled-in at the last minute. But not too many - a dozen or so for each pot.

You can make a really-good choc. mousse the same way, just add ingredients to softly-whipped cream. Again, it is a very forgiving mix.

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Although I love the idea I wouldn't bother with the homemade marshmellows. Are your girls likely to notice the difference?

But if you do go with the homemade marshmellows, and need a guinea pig, you know where to find me. :wink:

What about pretzels? I love the chocolate/salt combo.

Also, ladyfingers are perfect for dipping.

True Heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic.

It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost,

but the urge to serve others at whatever cost. -Arthur Ashe

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The bananas wouldn't have to be frozen, as they work just fine at room temp. Or, were you hoping to use frozen ones? I don't think they would be a problem, either..

So, what is the plan? Many individual pots, going at once? Or will you have just a couple, and refill? Good chocolate fondue does have the annoying habit of burning to the bottom of the pot once it gets low. :hmmm:

BTW, the above recipe sounds great. And not that you asked or anything, but a big spoonful of chunky peanut butter in the pot is just drool-worthy. :wub:

Edited by cakewench (log)
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