Chocolat Spiced Hot Chocolate Fondue

Movie Inspired Meals

Chocolat and Spiced Hot Chocolate Fondue

By Chef Diane Brown, Author of The Seduction Cookbook
Chocolat
When single mother Vianne (Juliette Binoche) and her daughter Anouk (Victoire Thivisol) drift into a provincial French village to set up a chocolate shop (during Lent no less). The neighbors are consumed with fear and passion as their repressive traditions are threatened. Through Vianne’s magical ministries of chocolate, the town’s wounded relationships start to bloom and heal, not unlike the mysterious power of eating a luscious chocolate treat. However, the pious mayor (Alfred Molina) marks Vianne as an immoral hedonist and declares war on her chocolaterie. His wrath is worsened by the arrival of gypsies led by Roux (Johnny Depp), whose attraction to Vianne is instant and reciprocal.

Vianne’s tale is full of whimsy, but her battle to protect her free spirit and live life without restraint plainly parallels the medium of her craft. It reminds us that chocolate is one of life’s ultimate and undeniable pleasures.
If you’re a chocoholic, you won’t want to miss the Spanish-language classic, Like Water for Chocolate. In a story by Laura Esquivel brought to film, forbidden lovers communicate through sumptuously prepared dishes made by the heroine, Tita (Lumi Cavazos). The film’s title refers to the boiling point that water must reach to melt chocolate, but is a metaphor for the undercurrent of passion between Tita and Pedro (Marco Leonardi). In one particularly heady scene, she creates a quail and rose petal dish that makes the entire dinner table swoon with arousal. In another, she grinds mole in a pestle, exposing a hint of a breast, and igniting the love of her paramour. The sultry combination of chile and chocolate in the mole proves to have aphrodisiac powers.
It’s also an aphrodisiac in Chocolat too, as Vianne seduces Roux (Johnny Depp) with an intoxicating cup of the spiced hot drink. It’s a mysterious brew of chiles and cocoa akin to the concoction the Aztec emperor Montezuma drank to perform for his harem of women. Enjoy this bewitching flavor combination as a fondue, with golden pears to dip.  

Spicy Hot Chocolate Fondue with Pears (Serves 8)

Chocolate Fondue

Ingredients:

  • 1 twelve-ounce bar of good quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa or more)
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • ½ vanilla bean, split
  • 1 small red chile, whole*
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 4 pears, cored and cut into 2-inch chunks8 metal or wooden skewers

Heat the chocolate in a double boiler over a medium high heat or in a fondue pot. Melt chocolate completely and turn heat off.

Bring cream to a boil in a small saucepan, and then reduce heat to a low simmer. Place vanilla bean, chile and cinnamon stick in chocolate mixture and steep for 10 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean, chile and cinnamon stick from the cream. Stir the cream into the melted chocolate until thoroughly combined.

Hold fondue mixture warm in a fondue pot or double boiler over a low heat. Serve with pear chunks on skewers dipped into the fondue mixture.

*If a spicier fondue is desired, cut chile in half and cut out the membrane and seeds. Use rubber gloves or caution when handling chile peppers.

**Turn this fondue into a hot chocolate beverage by whisking in 4 cups of warm milk and serving in coffee mugs with a bit of whipped crème on top.


Diane Brown is the author of The Seduction Cookbook (Innova 2005) and the upcoming Sexy Reel Seductive Meals, a cookbook devoted to meals inspired by the movies. Her work has been featured in Wine Enthusiast and Chile Pepper magazines. She teaches hands-on cooking classes at Chefs Inc. in Los Angeles and is the culinary spokesperson for Agavero tequila.

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