Combining chocolate and strawberries is a sure winner, a classic that never fails, especially on Valentine’s Day if you want to serve a breakfast or desserts that are truly romantic, or on any spring day when you feel like treating yourself. The contrast between the freshness and juiciness of strawberries, and the character and smoothness of chocolate in any of its varieties, makes the chocolate-decorated strawberries something addictive.
There are many ways to make chocolate strawberries: 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 pot to enjoying them when they’re hidden under a good dark coating, there are as many ways to make them as your imagination allows. And to spark your inspiration, today I’m bringing you some ideas and decorations to celebrate this day in the sexiest and most delicious way.
Let’s get to them!
Ingredients
- Strawberries or large strawberries (quantity to taste)
- 250 g of couverture chocolate of your favorite variety (dark, milk, white, or ruby chocolate, depending on your preferences... or a little of each to make chocolate-covered strawberries in different colors)
- Chopped nuts: almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios, walnuts, Macadamia nuts... (quantity to taste)
- Shredded coconut (quantity to taste)
- Flaky salt
- Pearl sugar
How to make chocolate strawberries with toppings
Preparing the strawberries
- Wash the strawberries under tap water and let them drain well in a colander.
- Once the water has drained off, pat them dry carefully with a little kitchen paper or a cloth to remove all the moisture.
Ideas for decorating chocolate strawberries:
1) Dark or white chocolate strawberries with shredded coconut
- Melt the dark chocolate (or white chocolate) in a saucepan over a bain-marie, stirring until it has completely melted.
- Coat the strawberries one by one, dipping them into the chocolate with the help of a fork or skewered on a thin toothpick.
- Shake off the excess chocolate from each strawberry and, as you coat them, place them on a smooth silicone mat.
- Without letting the chocolate cool, sprinkle the shredded coconut over them like rain. This way, with the chocolate still warm, the coconut will stick to the chocolate.
- When the chocolate has set, remove the strawberries from the mat and place them on a plate or a ceramic tray. Ready to serve!
2) Dark, milk, or white chocolate strawberries with nuts
- All types of chocolate go well with nuts. So decide which chocolate you want to coat your strawberries with and melt it over a bain-marie or in the microwave, then dip the strawberries into 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 with nuts such as chopped almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios, and walnuts (ideal with dark chocolate) or Macadamia nuts (delicious in white chocolate).
- When serving, sprinkle a little flaky salt on top; it will be the finishing contrast to some delicious strawberries.
3) Dark chocolate and salt strawberries
- Dip the strawberries in melted dark chocolate and leave them on a mat to cool.
- Sprinkle flaky salt over 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 over a bain-marie, stirring from time to time with a spatula until it has completely melted.
- Coat the strawberries one by one, dipping them into the chocolate with the help of a fork or skewered on a thin toothpick, and carefully shake off any excess chocolate from each one. Place them on a silicone mat and let the chocolate set and cool.
- Meanwhile, melt a few drops or pieces of ruby chocolate (pink chocolate) over a bain-marie. Once melted, let it lose some temperature and warm up a little (it should not be hot).
- Put the pink chocolate in a piping bag. Cut the tip of the bag so the chocolate comes out in a thin stream.
- When the white chocolate has set, pipe pink chocolate strands over the strawberries and leave them until set. You can also do it with a spoon, letting the pink chocolate fall in a thin stream over the strawberries.
If you want to alternate colors, do it the other way around, coating the strawberries in ruby chocolate and drawing strands of white chocolate. Strawberries coated in chocolate (whichever you want) also look lovely with thick strands of the same chocolate.
5) Almond strawberries
- Melt the chocolate you choose over a bain-marie, stirring from time to time with a spatula until it has completely melted.
- Add the chopped or ground almonds to the melted chocolate and mix well with a spatula to distribute the pieces.
- Coat the strawberries one by one, dipping them into the chocolate with the help of a fork or skewered on a thin toothpick, carefully removing the excess.
- Place them on a smooth silicone mat and let the chocolate cool until completely set.
- Serve them on a charming mini casserole, they’ll look as delicious as they are beautiful!
6) Double-sin strawberries or two-tone strawberries
- Melt the milk chocolate or dark chocolate over a bain-marie, stirring from time to time with a spatula until it has completely melted.
- Coat the strawberries one by one, dipping them into the chocolate with the help of a fork or skewered on a thin toothpick, shaking off the excess chocolate from each one.
- Place them on a smooth silicone mat and let the chocolate cool until set.
- Meanwhile, melt a little white chocolate or ruby chocolate, stirring with a spatula, and let it warm up for the next step; it should not be hot.
- Carefully, holding the strawberries by the stem, dip them only halfway, so that you coat only half of the strawberry, the bottom part.
- Put them back on the silicone mat and let the chocolate finish cooling and setting.
7) You and me strawberries
- Melt the chocolate you prefer over a bain-marie, stirring from time to time with a spatula until it has completely melted.
- Coat the strawberries one by one, dipping them into the chocolate with the help of a fork or skewered on a thin toothpick, shaking off the excess chocolate from each one.
- Place one strawberry on the smooth silicone mat and put the next one beside it so they touch. This way, as the chocolate cools, they will stick together.
- Another option would be to coat each strawberry in a different chocolate and form the pairs by combining the different colors of each chocolate.
- Serve them on a heart-shaped ceramic plate, so romantic!
8) Chocolate and granulated sugar strawberries
- 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 fill it with 2 tablespoons of sugar. Mix to moisten it.
- 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 all the toppings you want. Your imagination is the limit.
- You can leave them whole or cut them vertically in half before covering them with chocolate.
- If you want to make the most surprising combinations, here are some suggestions:
- Add a little fleur de sel to the strawberries you coat with dark chocolate.
- Also on dark chocolate, try sprinkling some flakes of dried red pepper or hot chili.
- If you flavor the white chocolate with a little 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 it. When the chocolate has set, you’ll be able to remove them easily and nothing will stick.
- For chocolate strands, since the quantity is smaller, you can melt it inside a mini casserole in the microwave, always in intervals of a few seconds and stirring each time. You must watch it closely, since each variety melts at different temperatures and, with the slightest distraction, it can burn and be ruined.
- If you melt it over a bain-marie, you must make sure that no water gets into the chocolate, because that can also ruin it and make it unusable for coatings. That’s why the De Buyer bain-marie saucepan is perfect; being double-walled, the water is on the inside and allows the chocolate to melt almost without us noticing.
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 :)