Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Make an iconic treat using our chocolate-covered strawberry recipe that's easy for anyone to try at home. These are the top echelon of romantic treats to give to loved ones for Valentine's Day or showstopping treats at a dinner party spread.

Admittedly, covering strawberries with chocolate is a notorious trick for at-home bakers looking to get an excellent set that looks store-bought. In the past, this used to be an exercise in patients for pro chefs at best, and a guessing game for novice home cooks at worst.

Now there are some general guidelines to make sure you have a snappy, shiny chocolate layer, every time. Though some things could change between white chocolate, milk chocolate, and dark chocolate, the overall process will be similar for all situations.

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There's not many ingredients involved to make simple chocolate strawberries, so the quality of each component involved is essential. That said, bring any of your favorite toppings to the table for making a variety of strawberry desserts to fill up the platter.

Chocolate Strawberries Pro Tips

Tempering chocolate isn't as intimidating once you have the right equipment, which will make the process both easier and much more straightforward — you'll see what we mean.

There are a few hiccups that people run into when making chocolate strawberries, so a few pro tips with technique, method and timing can go a long way. From the texture to the coating, there's a few aspects of this recipe that can be greatly helped with a little help.

To avoid things like a dull coat or an inconsistent chocolate set that forms distinct ribbons forming or has a bendy texture, you need complete temperature control.

The prep and process takes the longest time but once you have the method down, it's a pleasant recipe to put together:

• Double Boiler: don't be intimidated by the term, it's not that serious. Yes, you can melt chocolate in a microwave-safe cup or bowl and nuke it for 45 seconds. But using a heatproof (or tempered) glass bowl over a pot is both cheaper than buying a double boiler and ideal to obtain the perfect chocolate set (more on that later).
• Instant Thermometer: tempering chocolate the right way is an exact science that doesn't need to be so difficult— with the right equipment. A good quality instant thermometer will give you the precise temperature of your ingredients to make sure you don't miss the mark
• Read your Chocolate: Using good quality melting chocolate will usually come with melting instructions. Follow those instructions since it takes into account the temp for that particular type of chocolate's cocoa to sugar ratio, giving you a silky smooth set.
• Layout Equipment: Follow a beginning-to-end structure when laying out your equipment. Meaning, define the space where your strawberries are placed before being dipped into chocolate, and where you'll ultimately want them to rest to set.

This amount of prep may seem intense but there's a reason why chocolate covered strawberries are seen as a gourmet dessert when Valentine's Day or anniversaries crop up.

Ingredients

• 170 grams semisweet chocolate melts
• Toothpicks or skewers
• 450 grams fresh strawberries

Directions

Step 1

Bring a pot with an inch of water to steam and place the bowl over. Choose a heatproof bowl that seals the steam with a bit of overhang for lifting it off.

Step 2

Toss 2/3 of the chocolate melts into the bowl. Stir constantly.

Step 3

Melt and stir over until chocolate reaches 120 degrees Fahrenheit, or the designated temperature printed on the packaging.

Step 4

Once it reaches temp, take off the heat and quickly toss the rest of the melting chocolate. Stir until the mixture cools down to 83 degrees.

Step 5

Put the bowl back on top of the double broiler to raise the degrees slightly to have a coating consistency, around 88 degrees.

Step 6

Dip your strawberry about a 1/3 inch away from the stem for a snappy consistency throughout the treat. Working quickly, cover the rest of the strawberries with chocolate and quickly place them on a wire rack to drip and set properly.

What is the secret to chocolate covered strawberries?

The secret to good chocolate covered strawberries is being patient with the melting chocolate. For a good coating that is smooth and snappy, stirring constantly until the chocolate has time to come up to temp until it cools correctly will make the finished set perfect.

How to keep chocolate covered strawberries from sweating?

The ugly truth to keep chocolate covered strawberries from sweating is eating them within hours of assembling— preferably withing one hour.

It's the truth not many want to hear, but for homemade chocolate strawberries, it's best to eat them much sooner than later. Though they can last in the fridge for up to 24 hours or two days, don't be surprised to see some wilt, sweat, or have its chocolate dull and bend by then.

Should strawberries be cold before dipping in chocolate?

This is mainly to prevent the melting chocolate from being cooled too much as you're dipping more and more strawberries. If the strawberries are too cold, it will drastically combat the warm temperature chocolate needs to coat treats smoothly.

What type of chocolate is best for chocolate covered strawberries?

The best type of chocolate for covering strawberries has a cocoa mass of about 50-60%. Chocolate in this range will give strawberries a fine, sweet taste but it's not a rule to live by.

This matter is completely subjective; white chocolate to very dark chocolate can be used for covering strawberries. Meaning, the best chocolates to cover strawberries comes down to who you're making them for, since they'll likely have a favorite type of chocolate!

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