Slow-Cooker Chocolate Fondue

Why This Recipe Works

For our version of fondue, we first chopped chocolate into small pieces before combining it with heavy cream and a pinch of salt. (Our recipe uses more chocolate than cream because it results in a thick, velvety fondue.) The chocolate melted gently as the cream heated, and after about an hour all we needed to do was whisk the steaming mixture until smooth. At this point the fondue was rich and thick. Adding a tablespoon of corn syrup made all the difference; the fondue became satiny—the perfect consistency for dipping—and retained a beautiful gloss. We found that semisweet chocolate produced both the most reliable consistency and the best flavor to pair with an array of accompaniments. We tested more than eight brands of semisweet chocolate (including chips), and they all worked fine, though there were minor flavor differences between brands. (Be sure to taste the chocolate before making the fondue to make sure you like its flavor.) By comparison, white, milk, and bittersweet chocolates were neither consistent nor liked by all tasters; we don't recommend using them.