Strawberries are a rare find here in Grenada (they are imported), and they don't last very long due to the high humidity of the island air. I found a nice box the last time I went to the supermarket, so I decided to buy them and make my favorite guilty pleasure: chocolate covered strawberries! Granted, this isn't much of a recipe...it's a technique, and I've also included tips that I learned after a few not-so-great attempts.
Ingredients:
1 box fresh strawberries
8 oz (1 cup) of milk or semi-sweet chocolate (bars or chips)
Double-boiler method: Place a small saucepan half-full of water on the stove and heat until it begins to simmer. Keep the water simmering and place a heat-resistant bowl (metal or pyrex) on top of it. Try to find a bowl that is stable on the rim of the saucepan without touching the water inside. Chop the chocolate into rough pieces (if using a bar) and then place all of the chocolate into the bowl. Once it begins to melt on the sides, start stirring, and keep stirring until all of the chocolate has melted. Turn off the heat and continue to stir until the melted chocolate has a glossy shine. Now you can either dip the strawberries from there, or pour the chocolate into a narrower container. Hold each strawberry by the stem and dip them into the melted chocolate. Swirl, lift, shake off excess, and hold upside down to let the chocolate drip down towards the stem end of the strawberry. Place the dipped strawberries on a wax paper-lined plate, and let them set for about 10 minutes at room temperature. You can then place them in the refrigerator if you would like to let them harden further.
TIPS:
- Before melting and dipping, make sure that the strawberries and chocolate are at room temperature. (If you had them in the refrigerator, take them out a couple of minutes beforehand.) The chocolate melts better if it was first at room temperature, and cool strawberries tend to create condensation inside the chocolate shell if they were cooler to being with.
- Always make sure that the strawberries have been washed and DRIED before dipping them. Water will prevent the chocolate from coating the strawberries, and will also cause the rest of the melted chocolate to form lumps.
- There is another method that involves sticking a toothpick into each strawberry, dipping them, and then sticking them with the toothpick upside down on a piece of foam to set. This allows you to get chocolate strawberries without the one flat side. The downside to this method is that they should ideally be consumed that day, as the juices will begin to leak out of the hole the toothpick made after a while.
- Some techniques call for the addition of butter into the chocolate to make it slightly thinner and more "dip-able." I have never had any trouble with dipping the strawberries once the chocolate has been melted properly, so I do not do that. If you would like to, you may add a tablespoon of shortening or butter to the chocolate when you are melting it.
- Dip strawberries the day before or preferably the day that they will be consumed. They do not last very long, as the strawberries begin to release their juices after a day or so.
- You can also add toppings to the chocolate covered strawberries by sprinkling them with things like coconut flakes, chopped nuts, sprinkles, or mini chocolate chips. You would want to do this before the chocolate begins to set. Alternatively, you can decorate them by drizzling a different kind of chocolate: white chocolate, milk chocolate (if dipping in dark), or dark chocolate (if dipping in white or milk).
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| My dipping station (I sprinkled some with shredded coconut) |
