Whether the familiar strawberry or the exotic gooseberry, a bit of chocolate makes any fruit look glamorous. Photo by Ian Garlic.
June 2007
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Recipe: Chocolate-Dipped Fruit
Chocolate-Covered Fruit Is An Easy-To-Make, Impressive Treat
Who can resist a piece (or several) of chocolate-dipped fruit? Serve them with, or instead of, classic petit fours at the end of dinner, present them as a dazzling finish to brunch, or use them to garnish dessert plates or the desserts themselves—a chocolate-covered berry turns a plain cupcake into a posh dessert. A tray of chocolate-dipped fruit served with Champagne is cause for excitement.
And all you need to do is melt chocolate! Just as you need tasty fruit, quality counts with the chocolate. This chocolate-covered fruit recipe is provided by Divine Chocolate, courtesy of Sue Ashworth. Divine Chocolate is a brand that has recently arrived in the U.S. from the U.K. It’s delicious, Fair Trade Certified and an excellent value.
The amount of chocolate stated below will coat the amount of fruit in the recipe. If you want to serve additional types of fruit, just buy more chocolate! Note that even if you like milk chocolate, dark chocolate provides a better flavor contrast with the fruit. Dark chocolate lovers: For similar reasons, no matter how bittersweet you like your chocolate, keep the cacao content in the 50% to 70% cacao range.
Ingredients
- 2-2 1/2 cups (8-10 ounces) strawberries*, with stalks
- About 20 gooseberries*
- 1 3.5-ounce bar dark chocolate, broken into pieces
- 1 3.5-once bar white chocolate, broken into pieces
*While these two berries with their stems are particularly pretty, you can substitute any other fruits, including dried fruits. Seedless orange slices and dried apricots are particularly effective. Unless you can serve them immediately, don’t dip cut fruits that turn brown when exposed to air.
Directions
- Purchase strawberries with attractive green leaves and stems. Carefully wash the strawberries and pat them dry with a paper towel, leaving the stems intact. Peel back the papery leaves of the gooseberries, leaving the stems intact.
- Melt the dark and white chocolates in separate small bowls placed over saucepans of gently simmering water. Take care that the chocolate does not get too hot. Remove from the heat.
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Dip half the fruits into the dark chocolate and half into the white chocolate. Place onto sheets of baking parchment or waxed paper to cool and set.
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Keep the chocolates in a cool place until ready to serve. It is best to make these on the same day as they will be consumed.
Recipe © Copyright Divine Chocolate. Other material
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