Chocolate-covered strawberries: an aesthetic pleasure for gourmets
For many people, the name strawberry in chocolate is associated with luxury, gourmet, bohemian lifestyle. Perhaps this was the case 50 years ago, when chocolate was a scarce product, and strawberries were consumed fresh, they made jam and compotes from them. At that time, it was almost impossible to get such a dessert ready-made, but now you can not only buy strawberries glazed with chocolate, but also cook it yourself. You only need the berries and chocolate themselves, which is not lacking. The cooking process itself is very simple, even a novice pastry chef can handle it.
Little tricks
Strawberry
Berries for making homemade sweets are better, of course, to take from your beds. After all, they are the most useful and delicious. But if the strawberry harvest is not rich, then when buying, you should pay attention to the appearance of the berries. They should be strong, ripe (no greenish or whitish barrels). The stalk should be free to separate from the berry (this indicates ripeness). Do not use frozen berries! Wash the strawberries just before preparing the dessert. Do this carefully, especially with overripe berries, so as not to damage them.
After the berries are washed, they are laid out on paper towels or towels to dry. This is extremely important. If you pour chocolate icing on strawberries with water droplets, then the chocolate will lie unevenly and the berries will look unattractive.
To give an additional flavoring shade, liqueur, rum, cognac can be added to each berry. This is done using a conventional syringe.
Chocolate
A regular chocolate bar is suitable for glazing strawberries. It is better, of course, if it contains at least 50% cocoa beans, and even better - 70% or 90%. But not everyone loves dark chocolate, so you can use both white and milk bars.
Melted chocolate in a water bath or using a microwave oven.
The melting process must be constantly monitored, stirring the mass, not allowing it to burn. As soon as it becomes smooth, the chocolate is ready. Even a drop of water must not be allowed to enter the melted mass, otherwise the glaze will turn into flakes and everything will go down the drain.
Classics of the genre
The traditional recipe for chocolate covered strawberries involves the use of dark chocolate and fresh ripe berries. For a pound of strawberries, you need to take 200 g of bitter or dark chocolate.
Step-by-step instructions for creating a dessert:
- Berries are prepared (washed, dried on paper towels).
- Break chocolate into slices, melt, stirring regularly. At this time, vanilla, cinnamon, nuts can be added to the mass.
- In the resulting mass (when it cools a little), all the strawberries are dipped in turn.
- Spread the berries on parchment, sprinkle with candy or waffle crumbs if desired, nuts.
- Put in the refrigerator for solidification.
If the chocolate does not freeze in the refrigerator, but at room temperature, then it will become soft, smooth, and not crunchy and brittle.
Strawberries in chocolate with liqueur
An exquisite recipe for chocolate covered strawberries - a dessert that is perfect for a romantic evening as a complement to champagne or dessert wine. For cooking, you will need several large strawberries, liqueur, a bar of dark chocolate.
The cooking process includes the following steps:
- The strawberries are washed and dried. Each berry is filled with liquor using a syringe. The amount of alcohol each varies itself depending on the density and size of the berry.
- A bar of chocolate is melted in a water bath. You can also add alcohol to it. Once the glaze is smooth, remove it from the heat.
- Now it was the turn of "bathing". The berries are dipped in chocolate, scrolled a little so that it is evenly distributed and kept on the weight, waiting for the icing to "be enough", and all excess will drain.
- Spread the berries on parchment and put them in the refrigerator to solidify.
In an hour and a half, dessert is ready!
You can diversify a wonderful dessert. Experimental home cooks dip the strawberries alternately, first in white, then in dark chocolate. This is how beautiful patterns are obtained. Add food coloring to the white glaze to make hot pink candy. This dessert looks very attractive.
Making chocolate covered strawberries is pretty simple. However, you should know that this dessert deteriorates very quickly. It is better not to put it in the refrigerator for storage, but to consume it immediately after preparation.