Is anything more romantic than a chocolate-dipped strawberry? It seems that they are one of those universal treats that almost everyone enjoys and that just exudes romance! That semi-sweet hard shell of chocolate on the outside with a sweet, soft strawberry inside is a heavenly combo. It’s just the right amount of sweetness!
Since we all know the way to a person’s heart is through their stomach (how do you think I got my husband?!) I wanted to share with you the secret to getting a perfectly-dipped strawberry for your Valentine. Dipping chocolate can get a little messy and frustrating when you don’t have the right techniques and ingredients so let me offer some of my tips:
- The Strawberries Must be Completely Dry- If after washing your strawberries, you don’t let it completely dry, the chocolate will slip right off! So be patient.
- Use Chocolate Chips for the Chocolate-Many people use baker’s chocolate or bars of chocolate instead of chocolate chips-that is a mistake. Chocolate chips are already tempered and ready for melting, making them ideal for getting that dipping consistency and they are easily microwavable.
- Never Thin Chocolate with Water-Probably the biggest mistake you could make while prepping your chocolate for dipping, is adding water to it to thin it out. Adding water to chocolate will actually create an emulsion-like consistency and make it clumpy.
- Use Vegetable Oil to Thin Chocolate-Instead of using water, try adding a few drops at a time of vegetable oil until it reaches dipping consistency.
- Lay the Dipped Strawberries Down!- Don’t worry about trying to set the strawberries on their caps. Just set them down. One side will be flat, but no one will mind! Trying to set them on their caps can end up being messy and you will only be frustrated trying to handle them. (believe me, I know from experience!)
The Perfect Chocolate-Dipped Strawberry
Ingredients:
- 24 large, ripe strawberries with leafy caps
- Semi-Sweet Gourmet Chocolate Chips (Godiva or Ghirardelli are good)
- Vegetable Oil
- Finely Chopped Nuts (hazelnuts, pecans, almonds, etc.) or flaked coconut
Directions:
1. Wash the strawberries and let them dry completely.
2. Pour the chocolate chips in a small microwave-proof bowl. Heat the chocolate chips in the microwave slowly on low power. Stir occasionally until melted about 6-10 minutes.
3. Only if necessary, stir in a little vegetable oil to bring to dipping consistency.
4. Holding one strawberry by its cap, dip three quarters of it into the melted chocolate and gently shake the excess chocolate off.
5. Now upend the strawberry and twirl it a little to capture any dripping chocolate.
6. Dip the end in finely chopped nuts (if using) and lay it on wax paper to let cool and harden.
7. Repeat with remaining strawberries, warming the chocolate as necessary.