Easy Chocolate Fondue Recipe

 Few Desserts bring people together like chocolate fondue. This is a family favorite of ours. We like getting together several times a year for some delicious chocolate fondue. Following is a review of our Valentine's Day chocolate fondue.

A Brief History of Chocolate Fondue:

Fondue, originally a Swiss dish featuring melted cheese, inspired the idea of dipping foods into a shared pot. The concept of chocolate fondue emerged in the 1960s, made popular by Swiss restaurateur Konrad Egli in New York.

Fondue is a perfect time to gather and enjoy some great conversation with the family while enjoying some delicious dessert or food.

Many times we use steak and chicken cut into small pieces. Our daughter Jamie coats the chicken with Shake N Bake. We dip into hot oil until the pieces are cooked and serve with various dipping sauces.

Ingredients for Chocolate Fondue:

1 bag of chocolate chips 11.5oz.

1 bag of dark chocolate chips 11.5 oz.

1 1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

First, you need a fondue pot. Jamie has two Cuisinart Electric Fondue Pots. For the chocolate fondue, we only use one of them.

Set the pot to medium heat and add the chocolate chips. Add the butter and keep stirring so the chocolate begins to melt.

Add the vanilla, and the heavy whipping cream a little at a time, and keep stirring until all is combined. When it's ready, the chocolate will look like the intro photo.

Here are our prepared goodies for dipping into the chocolate. We cut up strawberries, pineapple, bananas, marshmallows, and pound cake.

Dip and Enjoy: We used the skewers that came with the fondue pot to dip our favorite treat into the rich chocolate.

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You will find a large selection of fondue pots on Amazon. The one featured below is the one Jamie has, and she has had it for many years.

Cuisinart Fondue Pot, 3 Quart, For Chocolate, Cheese, Broth, Oil, Stainless Steel, CFO-3SSP1Check the Price

 

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The Best One Bowl Chocolate Cake According to My Family

Easy One-Bowl-Chocolate Cake - a Family Recipe

My grandmother used this recipe, then mom, and now me. It has been handed down from generation to generation, and I suspect that trend to continue in our family.

My family always requests this chocolate cake. In fact, for birthday celebrations, store-bought cakes are not an option; this home-made cake is always preferred.

What Makes this Cake So Good?

It's not difficult to make a cake, and I'll bet the ingredients for this recipe are standard to most cakes. However, if I had to pull out one ingredient that makes this cake taste amazing, I'd say it's the Cocoa. 

I've always used Fry's Cocoa. I use it for our home-made chocolate icing as well. See below for a link to that recipe.

I've tried other baking Cocoa, but my family always says that 'the cake doesn't taste the same.' So I stick to Fry's Cocoa. Maybe they're just used to it? However, their friends also comment on how good the chocolate cake is - so yah, maybe it's the Cocoa?

You can get Fry's Cocoa in the USA; it's imported from Canada and is available here via Amazon. Canadians can visit Amazon's Canada site to order it, or head to the grocery store; it's easy to find.

Chocolate Cake Recipe Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/2 Cups of White Sugar
• 1/2 Cup of Cocoa (Fry's Cocoa if you have it - I pack it a bit to get a little more)
• 1 and 3/4 Cups of White Flour
• 1 and 1/2 Teaspoons of Baking Soda
• 1 Teaspoon of Salt
• 1/2 Cup of Softened Butter (not melted)
• 1 and 1/2 Cups of Milk
• 2 Eggs
• 1 Teaspoon of Pure Vanilla Extract

Put everything in one bowl and lightly beat the ingredients until they're mixed together. Never over beat a cake. Once the ingredients are mixed and blended, that's good enough.

I bake this cake in a three-quart oblong glass baking dish or cake pan (9inches by 13inches).

How to Make the Best Home-Made Icing

You can use a non-stick spray if you like; however, I never use that. I'll rub the bottom and sides of the dish with butter, then lightly coat it with flour. To coat it with flour, put about a teaspoon of flour in the middle, then pick-up the cake dish and tilt it in all directions until the flour spreads very thinly over the bottom and sides. If there's too much flour, dump out the excess.

You can use different shaped cake pans as well. I've used two round ones before, then stacked them to make a round cake.

Bake the cake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 1/2 hour to 45 minutes depending upon your oven. Check it at the half-hour mark, then judge the length of time left at that point. With my oven, it's usually 40 minutes or so.

Let your cake cool, and then ice it with delicious home-made chocolate icing; here's the recipe. I've also linked the above photo to the Icing recipe. My grandmother taught me how to make it, so be sure to check it out; it also uses Fry's Cocoa. 

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The Chocolate Days of July in Review

Source: Pixabay

The month of July is a chocolate lovers paradise. There are two official chocolate-related days to celebrate.

July 7th is the official Chocolate Day. No one knows the origin of this day, but we wouldn't be surprised if it was created by chocolate confectioners! 

It's a day to enjoy your favorite chocolate all day long.

• Breakfast could be chocolate cereal or chocolate cream-filled donuts washed down with a little hot chocolate. If you would rather be a bit healthier, but still have your chocolate, check out Buckhawk's Chocolate Smoothies! 
• Enjoy a mid-morning snack of a chocolate candy bar.
• How about a glass of chocolate milk with your lunch.
• Then you could eat healthy (?) and have chocolate covered raisins for your afternoon snack. This contains both vegetable and fruit. Chocolate is a vegetable. It comes from the Cacao tree found in tropical rain forests. True fact! 

Chocolate Covered Fruit (Source: Pixabay)

 
For more fruit and chocolate recipes, check out these delicious looking chocolate covered treats by Sylvestermouse, found on her Cooking for the Holidays Site:

• Chocolate Covered Pineapples
• Chocolate Covered Cherries
• Chocolate Covered Oranges
• Chocolate Dipped Pears

• Dinner would be delicious with chocolate flavored coffee.  Dessert could be your choice of chocolate cake or pie, or chocolate ice cream if you prefer.

Brenda Little (Treasures By Brenda) brings us a special chocolate cake recipe which includes MY favorite chocolate dessert - chocolate pudding.  Check out her Chocolate Pudding Cake recipe for a mouth-watering dessert.

Chocolate No-Bake Cookies Recipe Greeting Card by susan52z

More Chocolate Days

If you missed Chocolate Day on July 7th, never fear.  Another chocolate holiday happens on July 28 - National Milk Chocolate Day. This is not an official holiday, but it is a favorite chocolate of millions of people and is enjoyed in candies and in baking.

Many more chocolate holidays occur throughout the year, including the whole month of February, which is known as National Chocolate Lovers Month.  For a list of more chocolatey holidays, check out the chocolate section on the blog article by Wednesday Elf about National Candy Month.

                                        Happy Chocolate Days!

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Food Review: The Best Simple Snacks for Santa

When Santa stops at your home, treat him nice with some special treats. Find a food that will please in this food review of the best simple snacks for Santa.

During the holidays, Santa is one busy person. Going from home to home, visiting all of the good girls and boys can sure work up an appetite. When Santa stops at your home, show him your hospitality and offer Santa a snack to warm him from his frosty nose to his icicle toes.

These snacks are made with real foods and can be served to unexpected visitors in just a few minutes. With a little advance preparation, these snacks can be heated up quickly to give you more time to spend with friends and family. And Santa, of course!

Offer Santa something hot to drink

After being out in the cold and snow, Santa will enjoy this delicious Homemade Hot Chocolate Recipe. Dash to the pantry for some milk, cocoa powder, honey, and coconut oil. Then, turn on the stove and warm up the whole mix. In five minutes, you'll have a hot chocolate that's sure to bring Santa back next year.

This simple snack for Santa is so much better than the pre-made packaged hot cocoa mixes. The best part about his recipe is that you control the amount of sugar in the hot cocoa.

Set out a plate of Christmas cookies

Santa loves cookies and he'll be looking for that plate of cookies near the fireplace. Cookies give Santa a jolly feeling. This year, give Santa a traditional Christmas cookie made from real foods and made by hand.

These White Chocolate Dipped Chewy Gingerbread Cookies (www.jamhands.net/2013/12/white-chocolate-dipped-chewy.html)from Jam Hands will have Santa coming back for more. And, he may want to take the whole cookie jar home with him. These cookies aren't the hard and stale gingerbread men that stand guard over the gingerbread house decorations. These cookies are moist and chewy. And, the cookies can be dipped in white chocolate or almond bark for added flavor.

Send Santa on his way with a handheld snack

Santa has a busy night ahead of him and he'll need something hearty to fill his belly before he heads back out into the cold. Send Santa up the chimney with a savory snack that he can hold in one hand and eat along the way. Savory meat and vegetable pies will surely keep Santa from getting hungry as he makes his rounds all around town.

This Mushroom, Gorgonzola, and Caramelized Onion Hand Pies Recipe (www.10thkitchen.com/2013/11/mushroom-gorgonzola-caramelized-onion-hand-pies-recipe) can be made in advance and frozen until you're ready to feed Santa his Christmas feast. If you're afraid of making pasty dough, this recipe has an easy crust recipe that uses sour cream as the secret ingredient.

If you don't want to fuss with a crust, try these Crustless Mini Quiches (www.wickedgoodkitchen.com/crustless-mini-quiches-gluten-free-self-crust/) from Wicked Good Kitchen. These mini quiches are so easy to put together. Just pour the ham, bacon, cheese, and whipped eggs in muffin tins and bake. These quiches can be made in advance, stored in the freezer, and warmed up when you're ready to serve this simple snack for Santa.

Simple snacks for simple holiday pleasures

Be prepared for visitors this holiday season. Keep your refrigerator and pantry stocked with ingredients that can be mixed up and heated up quickly. Fix a few hearty handheld snacks in advance to keep dish washing to a minimum. Keep your holiday foods and beverages simple. You'll have more time to enjoy the season.

Posted by Coletta Teske

About This Contributor

Coletta Teske writes reviews on books, business management, writing, crafting, cooking, and gardening. She is also an avid recycler and shares her tips on recycling. She delights in upcycling an old object, recycling or transforming discarded items into a new treasure.

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Reviewing Chocolate Smoothies

Enjoying your chocolate is easy when you make it into a smoothie. Yes, I have gotten into smoothies lately. And since I can't not have chocolate as part of my day, a chocolate smoothie sounded great. So I went searching for the best recipes.

We'll start with the basic, high calorie, indulgent kind. Then move through some of the great options to make your chocolate smoothie healthy and nutritional beneficial.

Basic Chocolate Smoothie, or Dessert Time

It's Food.com that has the easiest and best basic recipe for a chocolate smoothie. Ice, yogurt and chocolate syrup all blended together.

Go even a step further to make the basic recipe into a full chocolate dessert. Instead of yogurt, add in ice cream. This chocoholic made a "Death by Chocolate" smoothie with chocolate ice cream, instant chocolate pudding mix and chocolate syrup. Delicious and high calorie.

Healthy Chocolate Smoothie

Get Lecithin here

The good thing about smoothies is that you can easily convert them from dessert style to nutritious style with just a few ingredients. SmoothieWeb has a yummy recipe for an Almond Joy chocolate smoothie. Not made with those candy bars, but with plenty of coconut and chocolate. The way this recipe is made, you end up with a healthy protein smoothie.

They also feature a great recipe called Help Me Study Smoothie. Besides chocolate, it includes strawberries, peanut butter and lecithin. Lecithin is a brain boosting nutrient that every cell in our body needs.

Power Chocolate Smoothies

So far, we have been talking about simple smoothies with few ingredients. But it's time to go with the power versions of chocolate smoothies. Healthy Smoothie HQ offers up recipes for more elaborate ingredients and more nutrient-rich results. 

One of my favorites is Chocolate Blueberry Spirulina Smoothie. This one is chock full of plenty of those superfoods that we can all benefit from. Not only cacao (which is the chocolate part), blueberries and spirulina (a complete protein with plenty of other nutrients), but also avocado and tahini. 

The good part about healthy smoothies is that you can basically put in any ingredients you want to end up with a powerfully nutritious and filling drink. Even if the name ends up as not truly telling what's in it, like Sexy Chocolate Smoothie, you can still enjoy the great benefits.




Posted by: BuckHawk

About This Contributor

BuckHawk decribes herself as "Basically a lazy person who prefers the easy things in life." So that's what she writes about. Easy home decorating, easy recipes, easy entertaining. But, she is also a lover of animals, gardening and crafting. You'll find her writing all over the Web, but with Review This Reviews! she has the opportunity to write about all of her loves.

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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National Cookbook Month Continues with Chocolate

Delicious Chocolate Cookbooks

As we continue to celebrate National Cookbook Month on Review This, we go on to Chocolate Cookbooks. After all, if we're going to celebrate cookbooks, you just can't leave out the fabulous dessert ones.

It was a joy to review 4 different chocolate cookbooks for the website Completely Chocolate. (www.completely-chocolate.com/)   And of course, I just had to try out some of the marvelous recipes. Well, I had to make sure the cookbooks were as good as promised didn't I?

The featured cookbooks include the latest from the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company and a great one just for vegan chocolate desserts. Since I have a vegan daughter, I couldn't resist trying out those recipes. They did pass the decadent test.

Now, I will give you fair warning. Not all the recipes are easy to make. Some get quite complicated and require better chef skills than I have. These will take just a bit more practice on my part. But, even the failures were enjoyable to eat.

More Chocolate Cookbooks

Each of the featured chocolate cookbooks also make great gifts. They each have beautiful

photographs, most that make your mouth water just looking at them. But, each cookbook also includes lots of extras. Things like how to work with chocolate, how to make chocolate gifts and plenty more.

Allow everyone of your family, friends and neighbors to enjoy National Cookbook Month with you. Get a copy of your favorite chocolate cookbook and try out a new recipe. A decadent dessert can work wonders for everyone.

More Chocolate Cookbooks:  www.completely-chocolate.com/wp/chocolate-cookbooks

Posted by: BuckHawk

About This Contributor

BuckHawk decribes herself as "Basically a lazy person who prefers the easy things in life." So that's what she writes about. Easy home decorating, easy recipes, easy entertaining. But, she is also a lover of animals, gardening and crafting. You'll find her writing all over the Web, but with Review This Reviews! she has the opportunity to write about all of her loves.

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Making Chocolate Truffles in the Kitchens of Squidoo

Homemade chocolate desserts - delicious, homemade chocolate truffles - decadent! Of course, as your favorite chocoholic, I found those pages that are perfect for making your own truffles. These aren't difficult recipes either. That's important for our busy lifestyles. So come along with me as we tour those great pages for making chocolate truffles in your own kitchen.

How to Make Homemade Chocolate Truffles

When I first went looking for great chocolate dessert ideas, your could have knocked me down with a feather when I saw chocolate truffles. In my mind, truffles are one of the best ways to treat oneself. But, making them in my own kitchen? I'm not that good a cook, folks. That is until I saw this page from the author known as Whitemoss.

How to Make Homemade Chocolate Truffles gives you a great and simple basic recipe. It's 3 ingredients. That's it. Really! But this author didn't stop there. She tells us extra things to add in to make the basic recipe even better. The variations sound great, too. There's more, though. She tells us how to dress up our own homemade chocolate truffles to give as gifts.

Making Chocolate Truffles with Kids

Truly, I have to admit here. I was intrigued when I saw NanLT's page, Cooking With Kids: Making Chocolate Truffles. When my granddaughters come to visit, we somehow manage to end up in the kitchen making something yummy. So chocolate truffles sound great for this. She gives us a good basic recipe with good step-by-step instructions in how to make the little round confections.

I know what the next fun kitchen adventure I will have my grandgirls. Yep, making chocolate truffles in my own kitchen. All because an author shared her tips.




Posted by: BuckHawk

About This Contributor

BuckHawk decribes herself as "Basically a lazy person who prefers the easy things in life." So that's what she writes about. Easy home decorating, easy recipes, easy entertaining. But, she is also a lover of animals, gardening and crafting. You'll find her writing all over the Web, but with Review This Reviews! she has the opportunity to write about all of her loves.

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Sharing Chocolate Recipes

Favorite recipes are always fun to share with others. Anything chocolate is a favorite of mine. So share your chocolate recipes with me. Well, lots of other people, too. Simply by writing them out as Web articles.

Chocolate cake, chocolate brownies, hot chocolate, dipping chocolate. Whatever recipe you love can be shared.



Along with your actual recipe, feel free to offer tips or suggestions. Things that you've found to make it easier, tastier, or more elegant. Even offer some of the unique products needed to make your recipe. You can choose your products from the amazing number available

through Amazon.com.

• Is your brownie recipe called the best ever by your family and friends? Then share it like Pukeko did here. 
• Do you like to add interesting ingredients to your chocolate brownies? Then share it like I did with my Decadent Brownies. 
• Maybe chocolate eclairs are a specialty of yours. ItalasDesigns shares her recipe.
• If hot chocolate is your thing, share your favorite way to make it. Sylvestermouse shares hers here.

No matter what kind of chocolate recipe you have, you can share it. When you finish, be sure to share it by adding your link in the comments below. That way I can feature your chocolate recipe page. Being the chocoholic that I am, mostly likely I will be trying out your recipe, too. 

Posted by: BuckHawk

About This Contributor

BuckHawk decribes herself as "Basically a lazy person who prefers the easy things in life." So that's what she writes about. Easy home decorating, easy recipes, easy entertaining. But, she is also a lover of animals, gardening and crafting. You'll find her writing all over the Web, but with Review This Reviews! she has the opportunity to write about all of her loves.

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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