Homemade Chocolate Fondue or Fudge Sauce (Recipe)

This versatile mixture can double as a fondue dipping sauce for assorted fresh fruits, marshmallows, or cake pieces and as fudge sauce to top ice creams, sorbets, fresh fruits, or cake slices.

Ingredients

12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips or semisweet chocolate, broken into small pieces

1 (1 ounce) square unsweetened chocolate, cut up

2/3 cup heavy cream or half and half

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cut-up fresh fruits, large marshmallows, cubes of cake, ice cream, or sorbet

Steps

1.  In a 1 quart mini electric slow cooker, combine the chocolates and cream.

2.  Cover, plug in, and cook 1 1/4 hours, stirring twice, until the mixture is melted, smooth, and hot.  Stir in the vanilla.  Serve hot or warm with fresh fruits, marshmallows, and cake cubes for dipping or serve over ice cream, sorbet, fruits, and/or cake.  Refrigerate any leftovers sauce.

VARIATIONS:

CHOCOLATE-ORANGE FONDUE OR SAUCE:  Stir in 1 tablespoon grated orange zest along with the vanilla

ESPRESSO FONDUE OR SAUCE:  Stir in 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder with the vanilla

CHEWY FUDGE SAUCE:  For a chewier fudge sauce for ice cream, stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons light corn syrup with the vanilla.

NOTE:  The recipe above can be doubled and cooked in a 3 1/2 quart electric slow cooker.  Cover and cook on the low heat setting 2 3/4 to 3 hours, stirring once or twice, until the chocolate melts and mixture is smooth and hot.  Makes about 3 3/4 cups.  Refrigerate any leftovers in convenient-size containers, as the chocolate mixture hardens into one large mass and is difficult to break up into small amounts.