How To Make Chocolate Strawberries: A Surprisingly Easy Dessert

By Melanie Steele

Chocolate strawberries are the perfect dessert to end a romantic meal for two, or an elegant dinner party. But buying chocolate dipped strawberries can be pretty expensive. So making chocolate covered strawberries at home is the perfect solution!

The fact is, making chocolate strawberries is incredibly easy to do. You can get amazing results at a fraction of the cost. All you need is some strawberries, and a bit of good chocolate to melt.
So how do you do it? It’s easy.

Step 1: Pick The Strawberries

Picking the right strawberries is important. Your chocolate dipped strawberries will only be as good as the strawberries you start with. Of course, smothering anything in chocolate tends to make it way better, but still, you’ll get better results with better strawberries.

Here’s what you should look for when you’re picking the berries:

• Try to find ripe strawberries. Ripe strawberries are a nice, bright red. They’re also firm, but should give a little when you press them. And they also smell great!
• Bigger isn’t always better, but when you’re making chocolate covered strawberries, bigger berries are a lot easier to work with. But ripeness comes before size!

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Chocolate Making At Home For Fun and Satisfaction

By Janine Rose Lumanag

Everyone loves chocolates. Who can say no to them? They’re different from other candies because they’re brown, black or white! They’re sweet, they’re bitter or they’re both! They’re smooth or textured, and they can even can say your name, or show someone a special message! You can even personalize them, so why not try chocolate making at home!

Homemade chocolates are excellent for parties and they can help make your ordinary days quite special. It’s easy and really fun to do! With just a few ingredients and five simple and exciting steps, you can make homemade chocolates to be proud of.

We need bulk chocolate that you can buy in any grocery store. You don’t need a particular brand. Just choose any chocolate bars you or your kids love. We also need small cake cases, some candy and nuts, fruits, chocolate wafers or anything you want to mix or add to your chocolates, inside or out.

So now, let’s get on our aprons and begin this enjoyable experience.

CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH RUM-SPIKED FIGS

CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH RUM-SPIKED FIGS Yield: 12 Servings 1 1/2 c Dried Mission Figs 1/3 c Dark Rum 1/3 c Water 8 oz Semisweet Chocolate 8 oz Unsalted butter 6 Eggs 1 c Unsweetened Cocoa Powder 1 1/2 c Sugar 1 c Whipping cream, soft wipped With a small knife remove the hard bit of stem at the tip of each fig. Place the figs in a small saucepan with the rum and water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover pan, reduce heat to simmer and continue cooking until figs are tender, about 20 minutes. Set aside. Grease botton and sides of a round baking pan – 9 inches in diameter and 2 inches high – with shortening or vegetable oil. Line the bottom with a circle of parchment or aluminum foil. Set aside. Cut the chocolate into small pieces and melt it with the butter in the top of a double boiler. (I use a&127 microwave). Remove from heat and stir until smooth. Crack the eggs into a large bowl. Add cocoa and sugar to the eggs and beat with an electric mixer until blended evenly. Drain the figs, discarding the liquid. Stir figs and chocolate into the egg mixture and mix well. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven until the cake rises to the top of the pan and feels set in the center, about 40 minutes. Let it cool in the pan on a wire rack. When cool, turn it out onto a rack. Remove the parchment or foil, invert the cake into a large serving plate. Cover it and refrigerate until ready to serve. Accompany with whipped cream.