Summertime Chocolate Fondue

It's summertime and the fruit is amazing.  Recently, when we were invited to a party and I asked if I could bring something, this idea came to mind.  Actually, it was inspired by my husband who suggested we buy a wonderful chocolate fondue that we found in Switzerland (that is actually from France) to bring back as gifts for friends and family in Montreal.

The fondue preparation itself is presented in clay jars that stay very warm once heated and work extremely well to keep the chocolate melted and at the right temperature.  We bought two flavours:  Dark Chocolate 70% cocoa with red pepper aroma (actually quite spicy and really good) and Dark Chocolate 70% cocoa with sea salt.  Both were amazing and added a little twist to the traditional basic chocolate fondue.  The jar needs to be heated on medium power in the microwave for two minutes at a time until the chocolate is the right temperature and consistency.  Very easy.


When I ran out of the fondue jars, I made this desert again but created my own chocolate fondue.  I went to a chocolate shop at the Atwater Market and the young woman helping me suggested I use 55% chocolate which has the right proportion of cocoa butter that will allow the chocolate to stay at the right temperature and consistency once melted without adding any additional ingredients.  The chocolate should be chopped into small pieces and the same melting procedure applies (50% power in the microwave for 2 minutes at a time - you can also melt the chocolate slowly over a warm water bath).  The flavour addition after is actually quite simple  - a pinch of cayenne pepper or espelette pepper or a pinch of coarse sea salt (all according to your tastes).  

Finally for the platter itself, I wanted to create a selection of items that work well with dipping the chocolate and present a variety of textures and flavours.  In my opinion, the platter above lacks a little colour but these were the fruits I had on hand:  pineapple, cherries (two types), grapefruit supremes (in the wine glass), kiwi, grapes (should have used green grapes for colour),  melon, raspberries and strawberries (that were inserted with toothpicks into the core of the pineapple so they would not get crushed and to create height), fresh figs and watermelon.  I also added the gavottes (buttery, crisp, thin rolled crepes from Bretagne), crushed praline (caramelized hazelnuts), marshmallows covered with roasted coconut and chocolate covered cereal puffs.  If you cannot find these ingredients, just use your imagination.  The idea is to dip the fruit in the chocolate and then in a crunchy or crispy mixture to add texture (it could be crushed corn flakes, coconut flakes, chopped nuts, etc.).

Note:  I was able to find most of these wonderful ingredients at different shops in the Atwater Market in Montreal - one of my favourite places to spend time!