According to my kids, everything tastes better dipped in chocolat. Since our local edible arrangements shop closed down, I’ve been making my own creations for my family. I’ve made this recipe with various fruits, but for the purpose of this recipe, I’ll be concentrating on strawberries. Chocolate matches so well to fruit that is extra sweet. That punch of sweetness will balance the bitterness of the chocolate and leave you with a such a delicious, harmonious bite!
Despite being one of the easiest desserts to make, chocolate covered strawberries can be elevated to one of those fancy, bite-size desserts that everyone loves on special occasions. My recipe is delicious, and only takes about a few minutes to make!
Since this is such a simple recipe with just two basic ingredients, the quality of chocolate is really important. A bag of chocolate chips alone will not taste as good on its own. That’s why it’s very important to add this little step: once you remove the bowl of melted chocolate from the heat, add a handful of a higher quality chocolate to the bowl to temper the chocolate. Stir until the additional chocolate has melted. This makes a world of difference, it tastes less processed and really helps give the strawberries a nice beautiful coat after dipping. I like to add a dark Godiva or Ghirardelli chocolate.
Another very important step is to make your own double boiler instead of using the microwave to melt the chocolate.
*Here are some simple steps for making your own double boiler:
Fill a small saucepan at about 1/4 full with water and bring the water to a boil.
Reduce the heat to a low setting and set a medium sized heat-proof glass bowl on top, make sure the bowl tightly covers the pot and there are a few inches of space between the bottom of the bowl and the water..
INGREDIENTS:
10 ounce package Chocolate Chips (Bittersweet, semi-sweet, or milk chocolate)
2 pounds of fresh strawberries, stems attached
A few pieces of Godiva or Ghirardelli chocolate (a handful)
STEPS:
Wash and dry the strawberries. Dry them very well. It's so important to dry the strawberries properly, because chocolate and water do not work well together! If the strawberries are the least bit wet the chocolate will not stick!
Prepare your workspace with either a silicon baking sheet (this is my go to), or a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. *Add the chocolate to the bowl and stir constantly, until it’s melted and smooth.
Remove the bowl from heat and add a handful of reserved chocolate to the bowl to temper the chocolate. Stir until the additional chocolate has melted. The chocolate added at the end will help temper the warm chocolate to make it the right consistency and temperature for dipping.
Dip the strawberries in the melted chocolate. Hold each strawberry by the stem, dip into melted chocolate, lift and twist slightly, letting the excess chocolate fall back into the bowl.
Lay the strawberries on a prepared baking sheet and allow them to rest until the chocolate has set.
Chill the strawberries for about 20 minutes, until the chocolate sets,
Bon appétit!
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