Chocolate-Covered Strawberries

Homemade chocolate-covered strawberries are the perfect thing to make for your special someone this Valentine's day! Don't let tempering chocolate intimidate you, it's an easy (and fun!) skill to learn that will elevate all of your chocolate-dipped desserts to a new level.

5 from 11 votes

Print Pin

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 5

Total Time: 35

Servings: people

Equipment

Digital instant-read thermometer

Ingredients

1 lb. very fresh strawberries, rinsed and dried completely
2 (3.5 oz.) bars dark chocolate*, coarsely chopped

Instructions

Bring 2-3″ of water to a boil in a small saucepan. Turn the heat down to low just so the water stays hot.
Chop ⅔ of the chocolate and place it in a heat-safe bowl. Place the bowl over the pot of water, the bowl should fit on top of the pot without the bottom of the bowl touching the water.
Gently heat the chocolate while stirring. Keep it over the pot of hot water and use a digital instant-read thermometer to bring it to 112-115° F.
Remove the bowl from the pot of water, chop the remaining ⅓ of the chocolate, and stir it into the melted chocolate. Continue to stir until the chocolate is melted and the temperature comes down to 80-82° F on your instant-read thermometer.
Place the bowl back over the pot and slowly bring the temperature back up to 90° F. The chocolate is now in temper and is the perfect consistency for dipping the strawberries.
Dip the strawberries into the chocolate and place them on a cooling rack or a plate. The chocolate will set in 1-2 minutes and stay solid at room temperature.

Notes

*Start with dark chocolate before you try tempering milk or white chocolate. Dark chocolate is the easiest to temper, milk chocolate is harder, and white chocolate is the hardest.

To decorate the strawberries (optional): Coarsely chop some chocolate of your choice and melt it in a bowl over hot water or in the microwave in 30-second intervals. I used an empty squeeze bottle to drizzle the melted chocolate over the strawberries. You can also use a small plastic baggie with a small slit cut out of one of the corners.

Nutrition