How To Thin Chocolate For Fountain • The Right Way •

by

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, a chocolate fountain is only as good as the chocolate you put in it. So, you have to make sure that the chocolate you put in your fountain is not only of a high quality and delicious but also thinned out to the perfect consistency that will allow it to flow and cascade mesmerizingly down those tiers. That’s why you’re here! To learn how to thin your chocolate for the fountain. Maybe it’s your first time, or maybe you’ve already tried and failed. Whatever stage you’re at, today I’m going to help. So let’s learn, shall we?

So, how do you thin chocolate for fountain? You thin chocolate for a fountain by melting it to the required consistency. The microwave, stove or in the fountain itself are all potential options here; though melting in pan over gentle heat on the stove is preferable and advised to prevent the chocolate from burning or thickening.

You can’t just buy a bar of chocolate and chuck this in the fountain.

Obviously, you need runny chocolate.

So let’s delve into how you can now do that; including my recommendations for the best ways.

How Do You Thin Chocolate For A Fountain?

Thinning chocolate is a process that includes several elements and stages. These are choosing the right chocolate, melting it perfectly, adding fat if necessary, sieving it if necessary, and even adding warm milk if necessary.

Choose The Right Chocolate

As we talk through this process of chocolate thinning, we must start right at the very beginning. This is when you’re in the store, selecting the chocolate you’re going to use for your fountain.

Not all chocolate is suitable for use in a chocolate fountain. You could very easily buy chocolate that is completely unsuitable.


Not only will this lead to you wasting money and chocolate, but it could even break your chocolate fountain.

So you need to choose chocolate that is going to melt and thin easily and evenly. This is the best type of chocolate to use in a chocolate fountain.

There are a lot of chocolates out there that are specifically designed for melting and using in a chocolate fountain, so look out for these.

Belgian chocolates are normally always good for this as well. That’s because their luxury chocolates contain high cocoa content.

This is a key ingredient to look for when choosing chocolate to melt and thin for your fountain.

So too, is fat. You want chocolates with high-fat content. Fat is key for thinning and chocolate, which we’ll talk a bit more about in a few moments.

So before you even start melting and thinning, make sure you buy the right chocolate! Otherwise, thinning is going to be difficult or even, in some cases, impossible. 

Read more: Best Chocolate For Chocolate Fountain • The Top 5 To Use! •

Melt The Chocolate

Thinning the chocolate starts with melting it. Melting it correctly!

You want this to be a slow and careful process as burnt chocolate is not what you want at all!

Before we go any further, it’s important that you know that you mustn’t overheat the chocolate.

Overheating could cause the chocolate to thicken. Which obviously isn’t what we’re looking for when we’re trying to thin the chocolate.

There are several ways of melting the chocolate. 

The quickest is in a microwave, but this is also the riskiest.

Then you can do it on the stove where you can keep a closer eye on it and easily avoid it burning. 

You can even melt it in the chocolate fountain itself if it has the capacity to do this. However, this will be the most time-consuming method.

Let’s quickly summarise two of the best and safest methods for producing thin melted chocolate.

The first is heating the chocolate in a pan on low heat. Do this slowly, and not only will you avoid it thickening, but you will produce a perfectly thin consistency if done correctly.

The second is the double-boiler method. This involves placing a bowl of chocolate inside a pot that contains boiling water. It’s a nice and slow method that poses much lower risks of overheating and consequent chocolate thickening.

Once you’ve got your melted chocolate, you will probably now need to thin it! So, how do you do that?

Adding Fat

Now, you might get it all right. You might pick the right chocolate. You might melt the chocolate, so it’s perfectly thin. 

Or you may get it all wrong.

But either way, the chances are very high that you’ll need to thin it now. 

There are a few techniques you can use to help thin that chocolate out properly. 

But the primary method for thinning chocolate is to add fat.

Chocolate already contains high amounts of fat, so adding more won’t disrupt its composition enough for it to be a problem.

By stirring more fat into your melting chocolate, it will help thin it out.

You can also start by adding any fats in the first place, as it’s the most effective way of thinning chocolate.

Let’s look at the best examples of some fats and how you would add them to your chocolate to ensure it is thinned out.

Vegetable Oil

Stir this into melted chocolate.

Coconut Oil

Add coconut oil to your chocolate before it has melted. 

Canola Oil

Also, add canola oil to your chocolate before it has melted. 

Cocoa Butter

Grate and mix this into your melted chocolate.

Paramount Crystals 

Add one teaspoon of crystals for every cup of melted chocolate.

Sieving It

If your chocolate has melted to too thick a consistency or it’s got lumps of chocolate that refuse to melt, then it might be time to get the sieve out. 

Carefully sieve your chocolate over a bowl so that all the good thin stuff gets through and all the rebellious thick bits and clumps don’t. Then just work with the nice thin chocolate you’ve collected.

Add Warm Milk

The final trick you can use is that of adding warm milk.

Although it isn’t a fat, like vegetable oil, for example, it does possess a high-fat content. 

Add small amounts of warm milk whilst stirring the chocolate until you get the nice thin consistency you’re after.

Any milk will do. So long as it’s warm. But as we’re looking for lots of fat to help us out here, milks with higher fat contents will work best.

It has to be warm. Adding cold milk and other cold liquids could cause the chocolate to curdle and separate, which will spoil the chocolate.

DO NOT ADD WATER

There’s a reason I’ve written this all in capital letters. You must see it. 

You may think that water will help thin it out.

But what will actually happen is the melted chocolate will separate and consequently be spoiled.

Why You Need To Thin Chocolate For A Chocolate Fountain

You need to thin the chocolate out for a fountain so that it flows and cascades well. By using thinned chocolate, you also substantially reduce the risks of the fountain breaking.

By thinning chocolate, we thin melted chocolate even more than it already is. But why do we do this?

There are two main reasons. Let’s go into a bit more detail for each one.

The Flow

The chocolate fountain you’ve set up for your guests is supposed to be elegant and entertaining. An enjoyable experience and a unique way to eat some chocolate. 

But for it to look good and work well, it will need to flow well, so it looks like a proper fountain.

How do you achieve this perfect flow? You thin the chocolate. Thin chocolate will flow and cascade much smoother and elegantly than chocolate that isn’t thinned.

Whereas thick chocolate won’t at all!

Potential Breaks

A chocolate fountain is a delicate machine. It can break if not used properly.

If you put chocolate in it that isn’t of the right consistency or viscosity, then it could clog. And if it clogs, then it could very well break.

So it’s very important that you add thin chocolate that won’t clog the fountain.

How To Know When Your Chocolate Is Thin Enough

You will know your chocolate is thinned out enough when it is a runny liquid.

A waterfall uses water. A chocolate fountain uses chocolate. But it needs to be thinned out so that it, too, is a runny liquid.

So thin your chocolate until the entire batch is evenly thinned so that it runs like a liquid.

Mix it with a spoon and inspect to see if there are any thick bits or clumps of chocolate. Even if you find one clump of chocolate, your chocolate isn’t perfect yet.

So you want it runny like a liquid and totally without thick chocolate or clumps of chocolate.

Can all chocolate types be thinned for a fountain?

Chocolates that are specifically designed for melting will be best for thinning. Other chocolate types are not suitable, particularly those that contain toppings like nuts.

You can thin out milk, white and dark chocolate, so long as you do it properly. However, how easy it is to thin a chocolate varies depending on its type.

So dark chocolate melts much thinner than, say, milk chocolate because it contains a higher fat content. 

However, white chocolate beats all. It melts the thinnest because it is mostly made of cocoa butter.

The quality of the chocolate will also impact how thinly it can melt.

High-quality, luxury chocolates, like Belgian chocolates, will contain more fat. Which means they have the potential to be melted and thinned out perfectly. 

Then, of course, there are chocolates with added toppings. Ones with nuts, for example.

These are just a no-go. You can’t easily thin out nuts! Unless you were melting the chocolate in a furnace.

Finally

The process of thinning chocolate out for a fountain is a delicate one. 

But it’s fundamental.

If you follow my advice today, you’ll become a chocolate-thinning expert in no time at all!

Check out my other chocolate fountain guides: