Chocolate-Covered Strawberries
When you bite into one of these chocolate-covered strawberries, the shell will snap audibly and crack with a crisp, satisfying sharpness before pooling on your tongue as it melts. By tempering the chocolate, essentially melting and cooling it to the right temperature, it forms a delicate shell that yields to juicy berries. This type of stabilized chocolate is glossy and doesn’t melt at room temperature. The easiest way to temper chocolate at home for candy making, as this recipe does, is to melt a portion of store-bought bar chocolate in the microwave or in a bowl set over recently simmered water, and to then cool it down by stirring in more unmelted chocolate (called seed chocolate). There’s no need for a candy thermometer because you can rely on your senses: The chocolate is ready for dipping when it’s just a touch warmer than your bottom lip.
- Preparation:
- Cooking:
- Total:
- Serves: 8 persons
Ingredients
- 1pound large strawberries
- 2(3 ½-ounce) bars dark (bittersweet) chocolate (60 to 70 percent cacao) or high-quality white chocolate (see Tip), broken into small pieces
- 1teaspoon olive oil (optional)
Instructions
Step 1
Prepare the strawberries: Rinse and drain the berries well, then dry them off with paper towels. (If you have time, let them further air-dry in the refrigerator, about 1 hour.)Step 2
Melt the chocolate: Fill a small pot with 1/2 inch of water, bring it to a simmer, then turn off the heat. Place a medium heatproof bowl over the pot. The bowl should not touch the water. Add two-thirds of the chocolate to the bowl and melt completely, stirring occasionally with a flexible spatula. Stir in the olive oil, if using, for a shinier end result. (This oil method is called faux tempering and is great insurance; just note that your final chocolate shell will be less snappy.)Step 3
Cool the chocolate: Remove the bowl from the pot and add the remaining chocolate, stirring constantly until melted. Then, keep stirring until cool and starting to thicken (if too thick, return to the hot water to melt again). The mixture should feel slightly warmer than your bottom lip.Step 4
Dip the strawberries: Holding each strawberry by its stem, dip it into the chocolate, twisting it to cover completely, then let any excess chocolate run off before placing on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Successfully tempered chocolate should set in 10 to 15 minutes at room temperature. If the chocolate doesn’t set at room temperature, refrigerate until it does. Stored and refrigerated in an airtight container lined with a paper towel, the chocolate-covered berries can keep for up to 2 days.