Tuxedo Strawberries

[CooksBook]

Dress up your chocolate covered strawberries in something a little more formal. Perfect for weddings, anniversary parties, pre-prom celebrations, and generally any event that requires spiffy attire; tuxedo-clad strawberries add black-tie style to dessert buffets and party tables. They are fun and easy to prepare, and add a special touch to a classic confectionary favorite that will bring a smile to all of your guests. All you need is a bunch of strawberries, a few pounds of melting-chocolate wafers in dark and white chocolate, and a still hand.

1. Melt both dark and white chocolate wafers over a double boiler until completely smooth. Make sure that you do not get any water in your chocolate, as it will seize. Once chocolate is melted, turn off the burner to prevent overheating. White chocolate is prone to being a little thicker. If you find that it is too thick, add a bit of neutral oil such as canola or vegetable to loosen it up.

2. Holding the strawberry by its stem, dip only one side into the white chocolate. Lay on a prepared tray lined with parchment paper and allow chocolate to set.

3. Once white chocolate is completely set, dip each side of the strawberry into the dark chocolate to create a “jacket.”

4. Use a toothpick to steadily draw on the tie and buttons with dark chocolate.

[morwen]

I think your strawberries look great! And I'd eat them no matter what quality chocolate they were dipped in because you took the time and effort, and cared enough to do something special to delight someone else. Good job and thanks for sharing the technique!

[millygirl]

Totally agree! Well done cooksbook, and thanks for sharing. They look awesome. I could never pull that off. I'm just too clumsy and don't have the patience. For those reasons alone I have deep respect, and jealousy :)

[Chemicalkinetics]

No. I go the other way. I have problem eating anything looks pretty.

[CooksBook]

Thank so much! I appreciate it!

[WhatThePho]

Well :) I think they're cute. I pulled this image up from the time I felt ambitious (it was only for 5 minutes, don't worry). Thought I was going to do these for a friend's wedding but backed out in the end.

They're so pretty, I don't know if I'd want to eat them anyway!!

[CooksBook]

Thanks! You should make them next time you have the chance. They are very easy but can get tedious after a while! They look great all together in the end though and everyone seems to appreciate it. I like the white/wedding dress one too...I was actually trying to think of a way to make a "girl." :-)

[Ideefixed]

I guess. I try to avoid food that looks like it's been touched a lot.

[Chemicalkinetics]

Can you make a girl if you flip the strawberry the other way, so now the bottom is larger and it may resume a dress?

[CooksBook]

That's a smart idea :) the only thing is that it would look upside down when picked up by the stem.

[Chemicalkinetics]

True, true, but I am sure there are other ways around it. Like putting toothpick on the bottom end.

I just realize there are some poetry themes to it. By flipping a strawberry to make a girl. It suggests that men and women are essentially the same in DNA, yet they can act opposite. So similar and yet so opposite. Ha.

[CooksBook]

Very true. I like that!

[rockycat]

Beautiful decorating job, but why would anyone take lovely, fresh, ripe strawberries bursting with natural sweetness and dip them in flavored wafers? That stuff is nothing but sugar, saturated fats stable at room temperature, and artificial flavoring. It isn't real chocolate and doesn't taste even close. I realize that most home cooks can't/won't go to the bother of tempering, but truly great berries don't deserve anything less. Better to do the berries fondue-style so you get the best of the berries and great chocolate at the same time.

[CooksBook]

Thanks for the response! I agree about the wafers. They are not the tastiest but they are the simplest when it comes to doing this at home.

[bushwickgirl]

What, you're not into chopping chocolate?? I believe you can purchase real quality chocolate wafer shapes, from reputable chocolate manufacturers; Guittard or Ghirardelli carries them. I use them for cookies instead of chips.

http://www.chocosphere.com/Html/Produ...

[operagirl]

Yes, the Guittard couverture discs are fabulous. I once worked at a cafe where we used them to make dipped strawberries, chocolate fondue, hot chocolate, and mochas.

[CooksBook]

I'll keep those brands in mind for next time. Thanks!

[chowser]

You can also just smack the chocolate against the counter a few times to break it up. It just needs to be in pieces. Trader Joe's has good chocolate for that. I agree w/ Rocky Cat--even if you can't be bothered to temper chocolate, I'd take strawberries dipped in untempered chocolate over strawberries in flavored wafers. But, if I were to spend the time, I'd probably use it to temper the chocolate than to make tuxedo designs.

[CooksBook]

I get your point. I guess the post was really more about the technique than the chocolate. You can use whatever chocolate and do whatever you want.

[bushwickgirl]

Chocolate melts much better when it's chopped than just using larger broken chunks, whether you plan on tempering or not; it melts more evenly and reduces the possiblility of overheating, which in turn can cause thickness, lumpiness, a muddy appearance or a grainy texture in the chocolate; definitely not good for dipping. Grating frozen chocolate is the optimum method of chopping, for the best melting texture.

I was teasing the OP with the chopping chocolate remark; it's not that much fun. I wanted to give the OP a better quality chocolate option with ease of handling for the strawberry dipping. The wafers are couverture, high quality and very easy to use. The strawberries are very professional looking, btw.

[chowser]

Yeah, but bashing chocolate is much better if you're having a bad day and much better than trying to chop chocolate in that case.

I agree the strawberries are very pretty. I'm just too lazy which is why I sometimes bash my chocolate instead of chopping it. Large blocks of chocolate are cheaper than the wafers. So, I'm cheap and lazy.;-)

[WhatThePho]

HA chowser, I wish I could "Like" your post. Cooking is therapy for so many reasons. :)