Intensely Dark Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries
If you’ve ever tried dipping fruit into melted chocolate without tempering the chocolate first, you know you can end up with a messy coating that takes hours to harden and may have streaks on the surface. This recipe uses a simplified tempering technique (melting, then cooling, then reheating the chocolate)…
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If you’ve ever tried dipping fruit into melted chocolate without tempering the chocolate first, you know you can end up with a messy coating that takes hours to harden and may have streaks on the surface. This recipe uses a simplified tempering technique (melting, then cooling, then reheating the chocolate) plus a little shortening as a stabilizer to help the sauce harden to a snappy coating. We’ve called for vegan chocolate chips, but the recipe will work with any chocolate chips.
Ingredients
- 1 cup plus 2 Tbs. mini vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips, such as Enjoy Life, divided
- 1 Tbs. vegetable shortening, such as Earth Balance
- 1 pinch salt
- 12 large, long-stemmed strawberries or other dippers
Preparation
1. Line baking sheet with wax paper or parchment paper. Fill medium saucepan with 1 inch of water, and bring to a boil.
2. Place 3/4 cup chocolate chips in nonreactive metal bowl that fits snugly in saucepan over water. Remove saucepan from heat, place bowl on top, and let stand 3 minutes, or until half of chocolate chips are melting and shiny, but still retain their shape. Carefully remove bowl from saucepan, and wipe bottom dry.
3. Stir in shortening and salt, and continue stirring 2 to 3 minutes, or until shortening is incorporated. Immediately stir in remaining 3/8 cup chocolate chips, and stir 3 minutes more, or until chocolate will not melt any further. (It will be almost, but not completely melted.)
4. Place bowl of chocolate over water in saucepan again, and stir 30 to 40 seconds, or until mixture is smooth. Remove bowl from saucepan, and stir chocolate 1 minute more.
5. Hold 1 strawberry by stem, and dip halfway into chocolate. Gently scrape some chocolate from 1 side of strawberry (to avoid chocolate “foot”), and place scraped side down on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining strawberries and chocolate. Let stand at room temperature up to 2 hours to set.
6. If not serving right away, chill dipped strawberries in refrigerator 20 minutes, then transfer to airtight container lined with paper towels, and keep refrigerated up to 24 hours.
Nutrition Information
- Calories 101
- Carbohydrate Content 12 g
- Cholesterol Content 0 mg
- Fat Content 7 g
- Fiber Content 2 g
- Protein Content 1 g
- Saturated Fat Content 4 g
- Sodium Content 12 mg
- Sugar Content 9 g