Bourbon Dark Chocolate Fondue

My previous post was a recipe for a white chocolate fondue, so now it’s time for a dark chocolate fondue recipe. And what a recipe it is! With the sumptuous flavors of dark chocolate, bourbon, and vanilla, this 5-ingredient fondue will be the centerpiece of every (adult) party! But don’t despair if you avoid alcohol: there are tips for an alcohol-free version at the end of this post, too.

Tips for making the Bourbon Dark Chocolate Fondue

This fondue is quick and easy to make, so there are no special tricks needed. There is one thing I want to mention, though: When you’re preparing it, be sure to remove the saucepan from the heat once the cream starts bubbling. Be extra careful with the hot cream, too: once it starts boiling, it takes nanoseconds for it to spill over. Not that you’ll have to worry about that here: There’s no need to let the cream come to a full boil. When you see a couple of bubbles start to form, it’s ready to come off the heat. Then, when you add the chocolate to the hot cream, it’ll melt in just a couple of minutes.

So here’s how to make this festive delight:

Get all your ingredients ready.

 
Pour the cream (or coconut milk) into a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan.

 
Heat over medium heat, until the cream is so hot that a couple of bubbles form (but don’t let it reach a full boil).

 
Remove from the heat and add the chopped chocolate.

 
Mix…

 
…until smooth. The chocolate should melt in a couple of minutes.

 
Add the bourbon…

 
…the vanilla stevia…

 
…and pinch of salt…

 
…and mix again until smooth.

 
Pour the hot mixture into a fondue pot. Keep warm over a low heat.

 
Dip your favorite keto treats into the dip and enjoy!

My Bourbon Dark Chocolate Fondue experiments

While I was doing experiments for my 2-Ingredient Champagne White Chocolate Fondue, I wanted give dark chocolate fondue a try as well. Since I’d received a package of low-carb clean eating goodies from KZ Clean Eating, I wanted to use their brand-new dark chocolate with 75% cocoa content. I usually use 85% chocolate, or even 90% chocolate, so I expected the 75% chocolate to be milder.

I had never tasted the KZ Clean Eating 75% Dark Chocolate, so I was eager to try it. Their products are all high-quality, and I’m hooked on their other chocolate bars—a white chocolate bar and milk chocolate bar with salted caramel. They are reeeeeally good! And I wasn’t disappointed with the dark chocolate, either. It was smooth and not bitter (many types of dark chocolate tend to be awkwardly bitter), and it had a rich chocolate flavor. Another instant favorite! And I was planning to use it for my dark chocolate fondue. (I made the first experiments with cheaper dark chocolate, though, so as not to waste my precious samples…!)

So, for my first experiment, I took 3.5 oz (100 g) 85% dark chocolate, 1/4 cup (60 ml) heavy cream, 1 tablespoon bourbon, 10 drops vanilla stevia, and a pinch of unrefined sea salt. I added all the ingredients to a small saucepan and started heating it over a medium heat, mixing constantly, waiting for the chocolate to melt.

The chocolate melted quite soon, and the mixture looked thick and smooth — but slightly too thick for a fondue. For my next experiment, I would need to increase the amount of heavy cream.

But suddenly, the fondue started curdling while I was mixing! I was seriously desperate and disappointed. It had been a perfectly smooth mixture until—well, right now. Why on earth did it curdle like that?!

I thought the reason might have been the alcohol. Maybe adding it later on in the recipe would help? On the other hand, my 2-Ingredient Champagne White Chocolate Fondue didn’t curdle, even though it had alcohol (champagne) and chocolate. Well, champagne definitely doesn’t have as much alcohol as bourbon…so maybe it was the booze after all. Or was the heavy cream the culprit? Or a combination of the two?

I didn’t give up hope, though. For my next experiment, I decided to heat the cream first, remove it from the heat, mix in the chopped chocolate until melted, and then add the rest of the ingredients: I thought this process might prevent curdling. This time, I added 1/2 cup (120 ml) cream instead of the 1/4 cup (60 ml) I used in the first experiment to make the fondue slightly runnier. I also wanted a stronger bourbon taste, so I added 2 tablespoons bourbon to the mixture of melted chocolate and cream.

Ta-da! The result was smooth and the consistency just right. To my great relief, it didn’t curdle! And the taste was rich and flavorful. The amount of bourbon was just right, too: It wasn’t overpowering, but I could clearly taste it. I could taste a hint of vanilla, too. And finally, the pinch of salt added a decadent note to the mix. Simultaneously sinful and heavenly! I was genuinely delighted that I got the recipe perfect with just two tries.

You must be dying for the recipe, so here we go:
 

 

Tips for variation

For different flavor variations, you can replace the bourbon with any other sugar-free alcohol. Rum and cognac are both great choices.

To make this fondue alcohol-free, you can replace the bourbon with rum flavoring or your favorite natural flavoring or extract. Vanilla extract, raspberry flavoring, cherry flavoring, or a couple of drops 100% orange essential oil are all worth trying.

Warm spices go well with this wintertime treat, too. Try, for example, Ceylon cinnamon or gingerbread spice. And there’s nothing stopping you from adding instant coffee granules for a luscious mocha flavor: The instant coffee granules are best added to the heavy cream (or coconut milk) during heating so that they will dissolve beautifully.

What’s your favorite variation?
 

 

Related posts:

Chocolatey Strawberry Pops (Vegan) Sugar-Free Hot Fudge Sauce Pumpkin White Chocolate Truffles 2-Ingredient Champagne White Chocolate Fondue