Step 1

Put the whipping cream and milk into a saucepan along with the orange zest, cinnamon stick, vanilla pod, chilli, cloves, allspice berries, mace, peppercorns and ginger.

Step 2

Slowly bring up to the boil, then remove from the heat and leave to infuse until the cream returns to room temperature. Strain through a sieve into a clean saucepan.

Step 3

Break up the chocolate and it add to the cream. Melt the chocolate into the cream over a gentle heat until the chocolate has melted, whisking regularly and then constantly towards to the end until you have a smooth sauce.

Step 4

Transfer to a fondue bowl and leave to stand for 10 minutes, then if necessary, start reheating very gently with a tea light or fondue burner underneath. Keep an eye on this while eating as you do not want it to start over-heating – it will split.

Step 5

Serve with cubes of madeira cake, leftover Christmas pudding or cake, or any fruit.