CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRIES

I've made chocolate covered strawberries before, but I was recently challenged to go out of my comfort zone and make some with a wedding theme.

I started by selecting the best berries from the bunch, washed and dried them.

The next step was to get the chocolate ready.  These two cans of chocolate are what I used.  You can also use chocolate chips or candy melt discs.

I took what I thought I would need and placed them each in a glass measuring cup so I could microwave them.

Melting chocolate can be difficult.  The two most important things to remember are to not overheat because you can burn the chocolate and you don't want to do that.  Also, be careful not to get any water in it because it will seize.

When dipping strawberries, or any fruit, don't get the chocolate too hot.  You can cook the outer layer of the fruit if the chocolate is to hot.(I've done that before!)

It's best to warm it slowly in a bowl resting on a pot of simmering water.  You don't want the bowl touching the water.

Or, you can use the microwave.  Warm it in 30 second intervals stirring in between.  I usually put the cook power at 50% to make sure I don't burn it.  This also keeps it from getting too hot.

Once I've stirred the chocolate and it seems everything is smooth and melted, I begin dipping. 

The above strawberries have been dipped for the tuxedos.

The ones below are for the wedding dress.

I ended up dipping these, cooling them and then dipping them again in the white chocolate.  The red color of the strawberries was showing through a bit after the first time.

For the tuxedo look I dipped the strawberries in the melted milk chocolate.  Dark chocolate would have worked also.

Once these were chilled for a few minutes in the fridge, it was time to decorate.

I used parchment triangles to make cones for the melted chocolate for decorating.  You can also use disposable pastry bags or sandwich bags.  The chocolate needs to be very smooth so there are no lumps to clog the hole.  The hole that you cut in the tip of the bag needs to be very small.  You can always cut it bigger if you need to.

For the tuxedos I added a few dots for the buttons and a bow tie and they were finished.

For the wedding dress I got a little creative.  On some I did beads and lines to give it some detail.

On others I put the details in the white chocolate and dipped them in Nonpareils to give them a little more glitz.

I think they make a lovely couple.

Whenever I make chocolate covered strawberries, I like to wait until the last possible moment to make them.  They do not hold up well.  These were made the day of the event.  They're best served at room temperature.