Make this chocolate fondue platter and celebrate rakhi in style

Rakhi is a time of celebration, of coming together of brothers and sisters and solidifying the loving bond they share. This festival sees siblings and cousins taking the vow to protect and love each other and express their love through tradition. The sister ties a sacred thread, or rakhi, on her brothers’ wrist and the brother reciprocates with a gift and equal love. It's a time for families to come together and celebrate unbreaking familial bonds. To mark this special time, instead of going with the chocolate barfi or mousse cake, serve up something that’s more special and memorable. Go with a delicious and delectable chocolate fondue platter.

For the chocolate fondue, the first thing you’ll need is a nice and spacious ceramic bowl. Make sure it’s not too deep but sufficiently broad for enough people to dip in their fondue forks at the same time. Consider how much you want to fill it up. There should be enough that whatever is being dipped can be dunked in all the way through, but not so much that dipping something will cause it to drip over from the sides. Also make sure the bowl is set on a stand high enough that you can have a candle burning underneath, keeping the fondue warm throughout. If there’s no heat, the fondue will start to cool and solidify. So don't skip the stand and the candle.

Making the chocolate fondue is simple. In terms of equipment, all you’ll need is:

• A fondue bowl
• A candle or tea light
• Fondue forks

Ingredients:

• 150 gm heavy cream
• 1 bar of dark or milk chocolate, depending on your preference
• A pinch of salt

Directions:

• Chop the chocolate into small, uneven pieces. Set aside.
• In a pan, add the heavy cream and place on medium heat until it's heated.
• Add the pinch of salt and let it continue heating. It should be hot and start to bubble, but not boil.
• Once it’s hot, turn off the heat and add the chocolate to the pan. Whisk it until it starts to melt and is fully incorporated.
• Transfer to the fondue bowl, add the candle underneath for constant heat, and it’s ready to serve.

Notes, tips and tricks:

You can also add customised flavours to your fondue to make it unique and give it a fun twist. Consider:

• A pinch of cinnamon
• Orange zest
• A pinch of espresso powder
• Vanilla extract
• Peppermint extract
• A spike of liquor, if there ares no kids around
• A sprinkle of edible glitter, to make the day and the meal magical and exciting

However, you obviously cannot serve the chocolate fondue as is. You need a platter of dipping options to go along with it. That’s what we’re going to discuss now.

You need a nice, spacious platter in which many dipping options can be served up together. Group them by theme or colour, as you wish. Remember, with the platter, presentation is key. So here are the things that you can add to the platter as dipping options:

Fruit:

You can add a number of fruits since most of them go well with chocolate. There’s sliced strawberries, banana slices, pineapple chunks, dried apricots, chopped pears, cherries or orange wedges.

Dried fruit:

You can add dried and dehydrated fruits like raisins, apricots, or any other dried fruit that you can find.

Sweet additions:

To the already sweet fondue, you can get indulgent and offer more sweet options for people to dip them into. Consider marshmallows, brownie bits, cookie bits (which won’t require a fork, but can be dipped by hand), graham crackers or cake cubes.

Also consider contrasting flavours like slightly salty pretzels or candied ginger.

You can also make mini foods like mini pancakes or bite sized waffles that can be dipped in the chocolate and enjoyed.

Make sure to arrange everything according to theme. Don't crowd the platter too much but make it look full and indulgent. Bring out the fondue pot, get the heat going, then bring forth the platter with the fondue forks. Remember, basic flavours like a vanilla cake that has been cubed will get more attention so serve up more of that. As you can see, although it seems elaborate, it’s a rather simple preparation to serve up. So don't forget to make this rakhi absolutely chocolatey and special.