Look and these beauties! One of my most favorite things in all the world to eat is Chocolate Dipped Strawberries (add a glass of champagne and I am in heaven!). And these are all dressed up and ready for a party too! These lovely Chocolate Dipped Strawberries are another beautiful addition to most of my Dessert Tables.
But anyone can make these beauties, I swear! You don’t need any fancy pants equipment. Just some delicious chocolate, some beautiful fresh strawberries and a few basic kitchen items.
Grab an 8oz Mason jar or even a coffee mug, some small bamboo skewers, some vegetable shortening, a tray with some waxed paper on it and either a small squeeze bottle or a sandwich bag (for the white chocolate marbling).
First you will want to clean the berries. Did you know the best way to clean berries is to soak them in a bowl of cold water with vinegar in it? The vinegar not only helps remove any residues that could be on the strawberries, especially if you are not using organic, but it also helps preserve the freshness. Berries will last and be fresher longer after they have soaked in vinegar water. This goes for all fruits and vegetables actually. You will need 1/2 cup of white vinegar per 4 cups of water. Soak your berries for a few minutes then rinse well. You will want to dry them on a clean kitchen towel or paper towels. Make sure they are well dried before dipping. Your strawberries should be room temperature when you dip them.
What Kind of Chocolate to Use?
I’m kind of a chocolate snob, so I use Valrhona semi-sweet chocolate pearls. It’s is the most perfect chocolate in my opinion. Just the right balance of dark (but not so dark that it is bitter) with just the right amount of sweetness. Creamy, dreamy and perfect! But really any type of chocolate you want to use will work. Dark, semi-sweet, milk even white chocolate. I used Ghirardelli White Chocolate Chips for the white marbling on this batch.
Now, fill the jar or mug with your semi-sweet chocolate. Start by melting them for 1 minute in the microwave. Stir and then continue heating in 10 second intervals, stirring in between each. Be careful not to over heat and burn the chocolate. Slowly heat and stir until all the chocolate chunks are melted. Now add 1 Tablespoon of vegetable shortening. This will help thin the chocolate so the excess drips off easily and it helps make the chocolate a little shiny too. You want your chocolate to be pretty liquidy. It should drip off your spoon easily and leave a nice thin coat. If it’s still a little too thick and isn’t flowing well, add a little more shortening and stir until it’s melted.
Next, put a handful of your white chocolate in a sandwich bag. Heat in the microwave for 30 seconds. Take it out and squeeze and squish the bag to mix it. Keep heating in the microwave for 10 second intervals, mixing in between each, until all the drops are melted. Add a teaspoon of shortening and mix until melted. Be careful, white chocolate especially gets overheated easily and will seize up. Make sure this is also quite liquid like the dark chocolate. You can either snip off a tiny corner and use the baggie as a piping bag like this or snip off the corner tip and pour it into your small squeeze bottle.
And this is how you dip them! It super easy to make them look oh so fancy!
You may need to re-warm both of your chocolates periodically depending on how many berries you are dipping.
Now Chill Out!
Put your tray in the fridge for at least a half an hour to harden the chocolate. These should be eaten within 24 hours as the sugar in the chocolate will start to break down the strawberries and they will start to get very juicy. So don’t make them too far in advance and keep them refrigerated until shortly before serving. They can sit out at room temperature for up to 4 hours, but try to keep them cold for as long as possible before displaying them.
Want more delicious mini dessert recipes for creating gorgeous Dessert Tables? Tell me in the comments what recipes you would like to see me do!
Have A Sweet Day!
So pretty and yummy! Thanks for sharing, Shani 🙂
My pleasure Jeanne, thank you!
they look great and i even think i can do it! thanks for sharing with us.
They are so easy and delicious Carol, enjoy!
Could you please provide the link to subscribe?? Thank you in advance!! The strawberries look amazing!!
Thank you Stephanie! There is a subscription form at the bottom of the post as well as in the right hand column on the blog itself. Hope you get to make some beautiful strawberries soon!
Wow — so beautiful and I can imagine how delicious these are! Not sure I could do this, but I can dream 🙂
Oh WOW! These look magnificent and delic. You make Godiva wanna take a hike. LOL. Definitely pinning this one. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Those are too beautiful to eat!