Camp Chocolate Fondue
Melted chocolate in a pot, thinned with powdered milk. Dip whatever you brought.
- calories
- 520
- weight
- 3.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 149
- protein
- 6 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 3 min
- cook
- 6 min
- total time
- 9 min
- water
- 80 ml boiled
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dessert
- Canister stove
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Backpacking
- Vegetarian
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Semisweet chocolate | 8 oz | chopped small at home; chips work |
|---|---|---|
| Powdered whole milk | 1/3 cup | stands in for condensed milk and cream |
| Sugar | 3 tbsp | |
| Powdered coconut milk or coconut oil | 2 tbsp | the fat that keeps it pourable |
| Salt | a pinch | |
| Vanilla powder | 1/2 tsp | extract leaks; powder does not |
| Dippers | about 4 cups total | pretzels, graham crackers, marshmallows, dried apple or banana |
Method
- Boil 80 ml of water and pour it into a mug. Set it aside.
- Put the pot back on the lowest flame you can hold. If you are on a fire, use the edge of the coals, not the flame.
- Add the chocolate, sugar, powdered milk, coconut fat, salt, and vanilla powder to the dry pot.
- Stir constantly and add the hot water a tablespoon at a time until the chocolate goes smooth and loose. Stop adding water when it coats the spoon.
- Kill the heat. Dip straight from the pot. Reheat for ten seconds if it stiffens.
The original is a can of sweetened condensed milk, butter, and fresh milk, none of which survive a weekend without a fridge. Powdered whole milk plus sugar plus a fat rebuilds the same thing dry, and you add the water back at camp. Boiling the water separately matters: chocolate seizes if it heats faster than it melts, so you want a warm pot and a slow trickle of liquid, not a splash of cold water into hot chocolate.
Low heat is the whole game. Chocolate scorches on a canister stove in under a minute at full blast, and there is no rescuing burnt chocolate. If your stove will not simmer, pull the pot off the flame entirely and let residual heat do the work while you stir. Four people can finish 8 oz of chocolate; two people will regret trying.
Packing
Chop the chocolate at home and premix everything dry except the dippers in one bag. Dippers ride in their own bag so the crackers do not turn to dust against the chocolate.
Variations
- Half a teaspoon of instant espresso in the dry mix makes the chocolate taste more like chocolate.
- Cayenne and cinnamon turn it into a Mexican-style dip.
- Swap the powdered whole milk for more coconut milk powder to make it dairy-free.
https://homeandkind.com/blogs/food-recipes/chocolate-fondue