My Chocolate Fountain Adventure
June 12, 2017
My son graduated from college a couple weeks ago. Earlier, during the party planning stage, he informed me that he’s not really into cake for dessert (what!?). Sweets, he said, are more my style.
So, when it came to figuring out what to serve, I was looking for easy, delicious, fun, and well, not the typical decorated sheet cake.
While different ideas kept floating around the edges of my thoughts (but not really impressing me), my mom suggested a chocolate fountain. Hmm. That had appeal. What could be easier than self-service dessert? And what could be more fun and delicious than a cascading wall of chocolate with endless dipping treats?
Besides, my mom knew a gal and could set me up with a cute little machine.
My son was on board, so it was only myself I had to convince. A chocolate fountain –what could go wrong?
Well, having never owned or operated a chocolate fountain, I imagined all sorts of things going wrong. I didn’t have time to practice. I had no prior experience. Sure, I used to work at a chocolate company formulating chocolate from bean to bar, but that only intensified my fear.
After all, it was because I had a career as a professional in the chocolate biz (never-mind that it was in a lab, NOT a shop) that expectations were high and the pressure was on!
Plus, I Had Questions...
...What should be the optimal viscosity of the chocolate?
...Could I get my hands on cocoa butter so I wouldn’t have to thin the coating with cooking oil (blech)?
...Would the fountain have adequate, and evenly dispersed, heat so the chocolate would keep flowing (and I wouldn’t need to stand there with my hair dryer)!?
...Could I keep a constant source of melted chocolate as refill, and what on earth do I have among my kitchen contraptions that will keep chocolate melted all night long without burning it?
All these unanswered questions kept me awake at night!
I looked for tips on the internet and found many. I read the user’s manual – yes, I did! – and learned a lot. Still, I had that nagging feeling that it’s never a good idea to try something new on the day you want things to be flawless. There was no getting around it, I HAD to try it out ahead of time. My sanity and reputation were at stake.
Yep, trying it in advance, might have been the best decision I’ve ever made!
Getting Started – Raw Materials
I decided to go with melting and thinning chocolate chips. Thank goodness there are many brands of chocolate chips, both milk and semi-sweet, that don’t have those warnings on the package. And, I discovered that I could order food grade cocoa butter (not just cosmetic grade) online. Crisis averted. Whew!
Chocolate Fountain Practice Run
Following the fountain maker’s instructions, I cleaned, assembled, and leveled the fountain while making sure no windows were open nor wind gusts or drafty air in the vicinity.
Plastic table cloth on the table, spatula in hand, apron on. And yes, I admit, a hair dryer just in case.
I turned on the fountain's heat and let it warm up for 5 minutes. In the meantime, I melted the chips and cocoa butter chunks, then slowly mixed them together. I started with the formula of 3 cups of chips to ¾ cup of cocoa butter. Thankfully, the fountain was a petite-sized cutie that only held 4 to 5 cups of oozing chocolate at a time.
I flipped the switch to fire up the the auger, poured in the thinned-down chocolate, and held my breath.
Chocolate started to slowly pour out the top and down the first of three tiers. Viola! We had a chocolate fountain! Mostly. The curtain coming off the lowest level was sputtering and had gaps. Too thick? Too cold? Uneven? Bad luck? Instinct that I was hoping came from expert knowledge, led me to believe viscosity was just a little too high (i.e. still too thick).
I felt pretty confident that if I poured out the chocolate and thinned it all to a final 3 cups chips to 1 cup cocoa butter ratio, I’d be okay.
Moment of Truth
Graduation party is in full swing, and I finally get a chance to sit down to eat. One bite in, and I’m told people are waiting for the chocolate fountain to make its debut.
The crowd shows no signs of patience. Okay, big sip of wine, and here goes. I’m a bit nervous as I re-melt the chocolate, pour it into the fountain, turn the knobs and...
Flawless! All night long. And never once did I have to use the hair dryer!
Here's a chocolate fountain on Amazon that is comparable to the one I used.
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