Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Does anything spell love more than a chocolate dipped strawberry?

“Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love is a battle, love is a war; love is a growing up.” ― James Baldwin

There is something alluring and sensational about a chocolate dipped strawberry. Although there isn’t a lot of evidence to suggest that chocolate is an aphrodisiac, one thing is for certain: it’s pleasurable to bite into the sweet shell of hardened chocolate to get into the fleshy belly of a ripened strawberry. Ideally, use long stem strawberries for dipping if you have the opportunity to find them. They are significantly sweeter and plumper. But, absolutely use whichever strawberries you like and can find. I recommend using medium sized strawberries since they’re easier to dip and taste much better than the ones that are as big as a tennis ball!

WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE

• Easy to make
• Requires only 2 ingredients (3 if using dark and white chocolate)
• Double dipped and delicious
• Perfect candy treat for special occasions
• Enjoy on Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, weddings, or just because!

INSPIRATION

Honestly, sometimes I don’t want to see a single strawberry because my baking job often requires me to dip hundreds of them at a time during certain holidays. That said, friends and family love this special treat and they’re rather fun and easy to make at home. I love to share these treats especially with the hubby. We both like that they’re a healthy-ish dessert alternative. It’s now our tradition to make and enjoy them dressed up in tuxedos.

HISTORY

Finding exact details and viable sources on the origins of chocolate covered strawberries has been a bit tricky. However, there is consistent agreement that we have Lorraine Lorusso (1) to thank for the invention of chocolate covered strawberries and the commercial sensation that followed.

In the 1960s, Lorraine Lorusso worked as a candy buyer at a grocery shop called Stop N’ Shop or Stop & Shop depending on the source. It was a specialty gourmet shop located on Washington Street in Chicago, Illinois. Lorusso would conduct new product demonstrations in front of the store and one day thought to dip fresh strawberries in a tempered chocolate that was on sale (2). Her invention was instantly successful and it paved the way for every fruit (and jalapeño) dipped in chocolate.

RECIPE QUALITIES

Even though you only have to dip strawberries once, these are dipped twice for a beautiful, thick coat of chocolate. Long stem or medium strawberries are best suited for dipping since they taste the best and are easier to handle. When dipped to look like mini tuxedos, they are twice as delicious as they are cool to look at!

To make things easy and still beautiful, chocolate melting wafers were used to create these strawberries. Ghirardelli makes excellent melting wafers, but you can also purchase Wilton brand wafers. Melting wafers are ideal because they were designed for dipping without it being necessary to temper the chocolate. Chocolate that hasn’t been tempered tends to melt easily, has white streaks, and a dull surface. With quality melting wafers, you get smooth, consistent coverage with no white streaks, lumps, and bumps. If you can’t find melting wafers, you can still use chocolate chips, chocolate bars, or candy melts, but keep in mind that the chocolate chips and bars may still require tempering and candy melts are not as delicious and better suited for chocolate decorating. Tessa Arias’s blog Handle the Heat has an excellent tutorial on tempering chocolate.

MORE RECIPES LIKE THIS

• Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Cut-Out Sugar Cookies
• Royal Icing
• Swiss Meringue Buttercream

TAG US! Let us know if you try it! Comment and rate! We love seeing your dishes, so tag your photo with #homestylealchemy on Instagram!

TOOLS

Double Boiler or a large skillet with two small mixing bowls – These tools will prevent the chocolate from burning over direct heat. Once chocolate burns, it’s unusable.

Cutting Board – used support the strawberries on an even surface as they harden.

Rubber Spatula – used to stir the chocolate while it heats in the double boiler.

Print

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Prep Time 1 hour

Servings 16 Strawberries

Ingredients

• 5 oz (150g) dark chocolate melting wafers
• 5 oz (150g) white chocolate melting wafers
• 16 oz strawberries preferable long stem strawberries

Instructions

1. Rinse and dry the strawberries on a napkin or paper towel. Make sure they are completely dry before dipping.
2. Fill a double boiler or a large skillet with enough water run halfway up two small mixing bowls. This this case, I used a large skillet with the two bowls. Fill each bowl with either dark chocolate melting wafers or white chocolate wafers.
3. Turn the stove up to medium heat. Using a spatula, stir the chocolate until completely melted. Turn the stove down to the lowest heat setting.
   
4. Pull the strawberry leaves up and hold the strawberry by the leaves.
   
5. Completely dip the strawberry in the chocolate. Take care to create an even line along the tops of the strawberries.
   
6. Lift the strawberry up and scrape the excess chocolate off the bottom of the strawberry on the edge of the dipping bowl.
   
7. Set the strawberry on a parchment lined cutting board. Repeat this for all of the strawberries until they are all dipped.
   
8. Place the cutting board in the freezer and allow the chocolate to harden for 5 minutes.
9. When the chocolate has hardened, dip the strawberries again and freeze for another 5 minutes.
10. Makes 16 to 20 strawberries. Serve immediately. Chocolate covered strawberries keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
11. For tuxedo design.
12. To make tuxedo strawberries, first dip each strawberry in white chocolate. Place the strawberries in the freezer for 5 minutes.
    
13. On an angle, dip each strawberry in dark chocolate on one side. Place the strawberries in the freezer for another 5 minutes.
    
14. On an angle on the oppose side, dip each strawberry in dark chocolate.
    
15. Dip the end of a toothpick in dark chocolate and make a line of chocolate dots down the center of the white chocolate. Repeat this with each strawberry.
    
16. Allow the strawberries to harden in the freezer for 5 more minutes.
17. Serve immediately.
    

NOTES

• If you don’t care for dark or white chocolate, of course opt for milk chocolate. It’s all about your personal taste and how you prefer your chocolate covered strawberries!
• Chocolate melting wafers or tempered chocolate make the ideal dipping chocolate for strawberries and other treats.

REFERENCES

Arias, Tessa, (2020). How to Temper Chocolate. Handle the Heat. Retrieved from https://handletheheat.com/temper-chocolate/

Singh, Devjeet (2018). History Behind Chocolate Covered Strawberries. Chocolate. Retrieved from https://www.chocolate.org/blogs/chocolate-blog/history-behind-chocolate-covered-strawberries

Stein, Sadie (2014). Strawberry Fields. The Paris Review. Retrieved from  https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2014/02/11/strawberry-fields/

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