Combining chocolate and strawberries is a sure win, a classic that never fails, especially on Valentine's Day if you want to present a romantic breakfast or desserts, or any spring day when you want to treat yourself. The contrast between the freshness and juiciness of the strawberries and the character and creaminess of chocolate in any of its varieties makes the chocolate-decorated strawberries something addictive.
There are many ways to prepare strawberries with chocolate: you can play with the type of chocolate as well as the decorations and toppings you use to decorate them.
From dipping them in melted chocolate in a fondue to enjoying them hidden under a good dark coating, there are as many ways to prepare them as your imagination allows. And to spark your inspiration, today I bring you some ideas and decorations to celebrate this day in the sexiest and most delicious way.
Here we go!
Ingredients
- Strawberries (quantity to taste)
- 250 g of couverture chocolate of your favorite variety (dark, milk, white or ruby chocolate, according to your preferences... or a bit of each to make strawberries dipped in different colored chocolates)
- Chopped nuts: almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios, walnuts, macadamia nuts...(quantity to taste)
- Grated coconut (quantities to taste)
- Flaky salt
- Pearl sugar
How to make strawberries with chocolate and toppings
Preparing the strawberries
- Wash the strawberries under tap water and let them drain well in a colander.
- Once the water has drained, carefully dry them with a bit of kitchen paper or a cloth to remove all the water.
Ideas to decorate strawberries with chocolate:
1) Strawberries with dark or white chocolate, with grated coconut
- Melt the dark chocolate (or white chocolate) in a saucepan over a bain-marie, stirring until it has completely melted.
- Dip the strawberries one by one, submerging them in the chocolate using a fork or pierced with a thin skewer.
- Shake off the excess chocolate from each strawberry and, as you dip them, place them on a smooth silicone mat.
- Without letting the chocolate cool, sprinkle the grated coconut like rain over them. This way, with the chocolate still hot, the coconut will stick to the chocolate.
- When the chocolate has hardened, remove the strawberries from the mat and arrange them on a plate or a ceramic tray. Ready to serve!
2) Strawberries with dark, milk or white chocolate, with nuts
- All types of chocolate go well with nuts. So decide which chocolate you want to dip your strawberries in and melt it over a bain-marie or in the microwave, then dip the strawberries in it. Shake off the excess and leave them on a silicone mat.
- Before the chocolate cools, sprinkle the chopped nuts on top. They are fabulous nuts like chopped almond, hazelnut, pistachios, walnuts (ideal with dark chocolate) or macadamia nuts (delicious with white chocolate).
- When serving, sprinkle a little flaky salt on top; it will be the final contrasting touch to some delicious strawberries.
3) Dark chocolate strawberries with salt
- Dip the strawberries in melted dark chocolate and leave them on a mat to cool.
- Sprinkle flaky salt on top of the chocolate so it sticks. Don't overdo it, but the salt should be noticeable.
4) White and pink chocolate strawberries
- Melt the white chocolate in a bain-marie, stirring occasionally with a spatula until it has completely melted.
- Dip the strawberries one by one, submerging them in the chocolate using a fork or pierced with a thin skewer and gently shake off the excess chocolate from each. Place them on a silicone mat and allow the chocolate to harden and cool.
- Meanwhile, melt a few drops or pieces of ruby chocolate (pink chocolate) in a bain-marie. When ready, let it cool slightly, so it is lukewarm (it should not be hot).
- Put the pink chocolate into a piping bag. Cut the tip off the bag so the chocolate comes out in a thin stream.
- When the white chocolate has hardened, make thin threads of pink chocolate with the piping bag over the strawberries and leave them until set. You can also do this with a spoon, letting the pink chocolate fall in thin threads over the strawberries.
If you want to alternate colors do it the other way around, dipping the strawberries in ruby chocolate and drawing threads of white chocolate. Strawberries dipped in any chocolate with thick threads of the same chocolate also look very pretty.
5) Almond-coated strawberries
- Melt the chocolate of your choice in a bain-marie, stirring occasionally with a spatula until it has completely melted.
- Incorporate the chopped or ground almonds into the melted chocolate and stir well with a spatula to distribute the pieces.
- Dip the strawberries one by one, submerging them in the chocolate using a fork or pierced with a thin skewer, carefully wiping off the excess.
- Place them on a smooth silicone mat and let the chocolate cool until fully hardened.
- Present them in a charming mini casserole, they will look as delicious as they are beautiful!
6) Double-temptation or two-tone strawberries
- Melt milk or dark chocolate in a bain-marie, stirring occasionally with a spatula until it has completely melted.
- Dip the strawberries one by one, submerging them in the chocolate using a fork or pierced with a thin skewer, shaking off the excess chocolate from each.
- Place them on a smooth silicone mat and let the chocolate cool until hardened.
- Meanwhile, melt a little white or ruby chocolate, stirring with a spatula and let it cool slightly for the next step; it should not be hot.
- Carefully, holding the strawberries by the stem, dip them only halfway, so you coat only half the strawberry, the bottom part.
- Place them back on the silicone mat and let the chocolate finish cooling and harden.
7) 'You and Me' strawberries
- Melt the chocolate you prefer in a bain-marie, stirring occasionally with a spatula until it has completely melted.
- Dip the strawberries one by one, submerging them in the chocolate using a fork or pierced with a thin skewer, shaking off the excess chocolate from each.
- Place one strawberry on the smooth silicone mat and place the next one next to it so they touch. This way, when the chocolate cools, they will be joined.
- Another option would be to dip each strawberry in a different chocolate and pair them by combining the different chocolate colors.
- Present them on a heart-shaped ceramic plate, very romantic!
8) Strawberries with chocolate and granulated sugar
- Dip the strawberries in melted dark chocolate and let them cool.
- If you don't have pearl sugar, put two drops of water in a glass and add 2 tablespoons of sugar. Mix so it absorbs some moisture.
- When the chocolate is still warm but has lost some heat, sprinkle the pearl sugar or the granulated sugar you prepared on top.
Notes
- You can decorate the strawberries with your favorite ingredients and any toppings you like. Your imagination will be the limit.
- You can leave them whole or cut them vertically in half before coating them with chocolate.
- If you want to create the most surprising combinations, here are some suggestions:
- Add a little fleur de sel to strawberries dipped in dark chocolate.
- Also on dark chocolate, try sprinkling a few flakes of dried red pepper or hot chili.
- If you flavor white chocolate with a bit of vanilla paste, add a little freshly ground black pepper just before dipping the strawberries.
- The smooth silicone mat is ideal for letting the strawberries cool on. Once the chocolate has hardened you can easily remove them without anything sticking.
- For the chocolate threads, since the quantities are smaller, you can melt it in a mini casserole in the microwave, always in short intervals and stirring each time. You must watch it closely, as each variety melts at different temperatures and, at the slightest lapse, it can burn and be ruined.
- If you melt it in a bain-marie, make sure water doesn't get into the chocolate, because that can ruin it and make it unusable for coatings. That's why the cazo para el baño maría de De Buyer is perfect; being double-walled, the water is inside and allows the chocolate to melt almost unnoticed.
Comments
Claudia said:
Hola Lleyda,
¡En casa nos encantan! Especialmente las de choco negro y coco, y las de dos colores..¡Espero que las disfrutéis!
Saludos
Leyda said:
Se delicioso, voy a intentarlo
Leyda said:
Se ve delicioso, voy a intentar hacerlo
Claudia said:
Cómo me alegro, Nuria! A mi con coco y con frutos secos me encantan, y se hacen en un plis plas! A disfrutar de fresas chocolateadas!
Nuria said:
¡Me han encantado las ideas! Muchas gracias, esta semana lo pongo en práctica seguro :)