This is one of those recipes that probably doesn't require much of a recipe because you can just look at it and kind of figure out what to do - but I love these so much in their simplicity, I had to include them on the blog. They feel rather festive, sort of like upside down decorated Christmas trees - a platter will make for a great addition at the table this Christmas (which is approaching fasting then the time it takes Santa to deliver all of the presents in the world in the space of a single night - how Santa, how). But once December passes but don't let that stop you from eating these all year round.
To make these you simply take fresh strawberries, dunk them in warm melted chocolate, and then roll them in the toppings of your choice - I love using chopped peanuts, crunchy seeds and shredded coconut. Then pop them in the fridge for 10 minutes for the chocolate to harden, and you're done!
They look gorgeous all piled up next to each other on a plate, and are absolutely a delight to eat - such a delicious combination of textures. I've used dark chocolate here as I love the richness against the strawberries (and the high % of cocoa solids offer a nice little antioxidant punch), but there's total flexibility with this - feel free to experiment with milk or white too.
Fancy Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries
Ingredients:
1-2 punnet of fresh strawberries
75g-150g dark 85% chocolate
A selection of toppings of choice - shredded coconut, sunflower/pumpkin/seasame seeds, chopped peanuts/pistachios (I usually use 1/4 cup of each)
Method:
1. Line a tray/large plate with baking paper. Add toppings onto their own small plates, or bowls, to make it easy to roll strawberries in. If toppings are in large pieces, like pistachio nuts, throw into the blender and blitz a few times until a chunky meal has formed.
2. Break chocolate into chunks into a bowl. Melt down until smooth.
3. Dip each strawberry about 3/4 of the way in the dark chocolate, and then hold strawberry above the bowl of melted chocolate to let any excess drip off. Dunk each strawberry into the toppings, until each side is evenly coated. Place onto the baking tray. Once you have a tray full, place tray in the fridge for strawberries to harden.