The Trick To Making Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Happy Valentine’s Day!

 

There is only one trick I know of for making pretty perfect Chocolate Covered Strawberries, but it’s not one that I like to admit to. Don’t tell anyone that I told you that adding CRISCO to your chocolate is just the thing to make the finished product perfectly glossy and nicely hardened.

I have written it about it before, but I’ve changed the recipe a tiny bit, so I wanted to mention it again. Now I use less Crisco and the result is still stellar.

I don’t generally weigh ingredients, but for this I do. For every 8 ounces of chocolate, use 1 tablespoon of Crisco. (I used to use 1 tablespoon for every FOUR ounces of chocolate.) Melt the two together however you wish – on the stove over a double boiler or in the microwave. In the microwave, melt the chocolate and Crisco in a deep (not wide) bowl or measuring pitcher. Heat on 100% power in 30 second intervals, stirring after each one until chocolate is melted. Note: Make sure that all your utensils, bowls, pots etc. are completely dry. A few drops of water will make the chocolate seize and you’ll have a total mess.

This time I used milk chocolate, which I usually don’t like, but it was really good with the strawberries! Also I coated them a lot higher up than I usually do. (More chocolate!)

Let the coated strawberries sit on waxed paper until hardened. An hour is a safe amount of time. Don’t refrigerate them before serving or their glossy finish may turn dull.
 

Use white, dark or milk chocolate or two different chocolates, dipping first in one, letting it harden and then dipping in the second variety. Or use a different chocolate for drizzling over to make a nice contrast. Melt each chocolate the same way (with the Crisco). 

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Use the leftover chocolate to coat graham cracker squares for a nice treat. Sprinkle with some pretty colored sugar. (These would make a good base for S'Mores too...) 

Happy July 4th!!!

Dessert Number One (Number Two to come later):

This couldn’t be easier. Take your favorite brownie recipe and bake it thin. You can find mine here. Usually I bake the brownies for 40 minutes in an 8 square pan. This time, I baked them in a jelly roll pan for only 11 minutes.

I pre-scooped and pre-froze small scoops of vanilla ice cream.

I made a chocolate sauce in about 25 seconds by boiling 1 cup of cream, taking it off the heat and throwing in 1½ cups of chocolate chips and stirring like crazy. When it was nice and smooth, I added 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Brandy would have been good, too.

I cut the brownies into circles and placed the frozen scoops of ice cream just so and spooned over some chocolate sauce. Garnish with a strawberry and voila, an (almost) instant dessert.

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This is the beginning of a wonderful potato salad. Go here for the complete recipe.

Classic Valentine's Day Treat - Chocolate Covered Strawberries

These are so easy to make. The hardest part is picking the strawberries. You can have these made in the time it takes for your Valentine to pick up some flowers. (Champagne wouldn't hurt either.)

For a contrasting look to your chocolate covered strawberries, use white AND dark chocolates. It's probably better to start with the white unlike what I did here...

Melt 4 oz. white chocolate with 1 tablespoon of Crisco. (Using JUST chocolate gets too gloppy.) The Crisco gives you a nice smooth dippable texture and it will harden nicely. Stir well and just before you're ready to dip, put the bowl back in the microwave for 10 seconds. Lean the bowl on the edge of a coaster to make a deeper pool of chocolate in which to dip. Dip half the strawberry at a sharp angle, then lay gently on wax paper. Let sit for at least 15 minutes.

For a contrasting look, melt 4 oz. dark chocolate in the same way with 1 tablespoon of Crisco. Dip the opposite side of the strawberry at the same sharp angle. Let sit to harden for 15 or 20 minutes.

Reheat chocolates and drizzle over the dipped strawberries. Let sit on wax paper until ready to serve.

Do NOT refrigerate for best results. Make them and serve the same day. Refrigerate leftovers, but strawberries will get a bit mushy and chocolate will get hard.

Variations: Dip strawberries in just one chocolate and use the other to drizzle over. Or dip and drizzle in same chocolate.

As The Stock Market Goes Down...

Hemlines Get Longer

Or so the saying goes. I prefer to adopt a new adage: As the stock market goes lower, cakes get higher. At least, we can console ourselves with an awful lot of cake, as we watch our fortunes melt away.

Actually, I was making a New Year's Cake as I watched the ticker. One of the great things about having a Jewish husband is that my sister-in-law does all the cooking on the Jewish holidays. The least I can do is to bring a dessert. This is an easy way to basically fancy up a chocolate cake:

Make your favorite chocolate cake (Ina's Beatty's Chocolate Cake, perhaps) in two 9 inch cake pans, lined with waxed paper.

Make a 4 egg white meringue - 4 whites, 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar, 1 cup (superfine if you have it) sugar and 2 tablespoons cocoa, if you wish. Pipe it into 2 or 3 nine inch circles on foil and bake for one hour at 200° F. (I ended up using only two of the meringue circles.)

I assembled the cake with chocolate whipped cream - 3 cups heavy cream, 6 tablespoons sugar, 3 tablespoons cocoa powder and 2 teaspoons of vanilla. Voila, Chocolate Meringue Cake.

Oh, I threw some strawberries in between the layers. I'll let you know if it arrived in one piece and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Xmas List: I'll Take My Chocolate Anyway I Can Get It

I want this or this. Oh wait, I have to figure out if they're made from Blood Diamonds, or if they're ok.

On second thought, I'll settle for these. But then I need to know if they're made from Fair Trade chocolate.

You know what? Anyone that's shopping for me, just give me peace on earth and a couple of new pot holders.

And The Winner Is...

NOT ME, or NOT I, if you prefer. Any which way, I came up short, but that's ok, because a truly amazing recipe won the Stop the Traffik chocolate competition at R Khooks blog.

Thank you to all my supporters and I'll be working diligently until the next competition to come up with a winning recipe.

And the good news is that I've discovered a really fabulous brand of fair trade chocolate, so I can feel just as good when I buy it, as when I eat it.

Chocolate, Chocolate Everywhere

Well, at least at R Khooks blog. Go on over to her stop the traffik competition round-up and drool over some pretty gorgeous desserts, all made with free trade chocolate, of course. Vote for your favorite, hint hint.

Chocolate Can Be Good For The World Too

The deadline has been extended for the Fair Trade Chocolate Recipe Contest over at R Khooks blog until Monday, October 8th. Don't worry, I'll let you know when and where to vote...







for me.

A Dessert You Can Be Proud Of

As I mentioned last week, Rachel is holding a contest for the best fair trade chocolate recipe. Ok, here it is, my tribute to fair trade chocolate. It did take DAYS to make, but the good news is that it can be made in stages. Also, each cake can be made separately and would be fabulous on its own. This is basically a dacquoise and a chocolate soufflé cake layered together to make one big really pretty cake. Head over to rkhooks.net and see how to vote for your favorite.*

I used a wonderful fair trade dark chocolate, Rapunzel, which was rich, very flavorful and in the style of the best chocolates these days, not too sweet, and Rapunzel cocoa powder, which I was also very happy with. I found them in my local health food store, but any organic-y type store will have fair trade chocolate.

Mile High Chocolate Dacquoise Torte

Daniela’s Chocolate Cake

6 oz. fair trade dark chocolate
3 tbls. water
5 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar

Line 11” by 13” baking sheet with foil. Butter it well.

Melt chocolate with water over low heat. Cool.

Beat egg yolks with sugar until pale yellow. Stir in melted chocolate.

Beat egg whites until stiff. Stir one quarter of egg whites into yolk and chocolate mixture to lighten it. Fold in remaining egg whites carefully. Spread on prepared baking sheet. Bake at 350 deg. Fahrenheit for 20 minutes.

Sprinkle cocoa powder onto long sheet of waxed paper and invert cake onto it. Remove pan and then carefully peel off foil. Cut cake, widthwise, into thirds. Trim edges. If making in advance, carefully place back on baking sheet, using wax paper to help you move the cake (wax paper side down). Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to assemble.

Dacquoise

¾ cup sugar
¾ cup toasted nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts or pecans)
1 tbl. + 1 tsp. cornstarch
2 tbls. fair trade cocoa
6 egg whites
½ tsp. cream of tartar

For dacquoise, line 2 large baking sheets with foil. Trace 3 rectangles onto foil, 2 on one baking sheet, 1 on the other. They should be the same size as your chocolate cake rectangles above.

Place ¾ cup sugar in food processor. Pulse 3 times for 10 seconds to make the sugar finer. Take out approximately ½ cup and set aside. Add nuts, cornstarch and cocoa to remaining sugar in processor. Pulse until nuts are finely ground. Set aside.

Beat egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar and continue beating until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in ½ cup of sugar that was set aside. Beat until meringue is stiff and shiny. Fold in nut mixture, using a metal slotted spoon or large spatula. Pipe 3 rectangles onto foil. Bake at 200 deg. Fahrenheit for 1½ hours.

Buttercream

4 egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
1 1/3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
flavoring:
1 tsp. vanilla OR 1 tbl. coffee OR 1 tbl. brandy

Beat yolks until light yellow.

Stir together sugar and water in small heavy bottomed saucepan. Bring to the boil. Boil, not stirring, to 238 deg. Fahrenheit (soft ball stage). With mixer running, pour sugar syrup into yolks, beating all the time. Beat until mixture is completely cool, at least 5 minutes.

Gradually beat in butter and flavoring. Refrigerate until spreadable. Mixture can be refrigerated for a few days. Before using, leave at room temperature until spreadable.

To assemble:
2 cups heavy cream
4 tbls. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla OR 1 tbl. coffee OR 1 tbl. Brandy

small amount of cocoa

dark chocolate for grating

Beat together until cream is stiffly beaten.

To assemble, lay one meringue rectangle on serving dish.** Spread one third of buttercream over. Spread 3 tablespoons of whipped cream over buttercream.

Carefully lay one chocolate rectangle over. Spread with 4 spoonfuls of cream.

Continue alternating meringue rectangles with chocolate ones, spreading butter cream and whipped cream on meringues, and just whipped cream on chocolate cake layer, finishing with chocolate cake.

Pipe remaining cream on top of cake. Sprinkle over cocoa and grate over dark chocolate. Freeze for 4 to 5 hours or overnight until hard. If not ready to serve, wrap in foil and return to freezer.

This can stay frozen until 15 to 20 minutes before serving. (It’s much easier to slice from frozen.) To serve, remove all wrapping, and place on serving dish. Do not remove wrapping AFTER thawing, or you’ll mess up your piping.

* Guess who I want you to vote for...Helllooo! Whose blog are you reading, after all?

**To make it easier to move the cake around, I cut a cardboard rectangle from a cereal box the same size as the cake. I cover it in foil and place THAT on the serving dish. I put my first meringue rectangle on top of that and build the cake up from there.