Chocolate Covered Strawberries

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Valentine’s Day really crept up on me this year. Here I was, in late December, thinking I had so much time to come up with a brilliant Valentine’s Day post that could rival last year’s post of truffles (which was pretty good, although the photos could have turned out better…). Then all of the sudden it was February. Whoopsies.

Although this recipe took me a long time to create–about four trials, and many, many photos–the recipe itself is extremely easy. So whether you’re looking for something special or forgot to get a present and need to do something last minute, look no further. Just go buy some coconut oil and bananas, and get cracking.

Dark Chocolate Coating
Nothing’s worse than going to the store, all ready to do a recipe, and then seeing that literally every single banana at the store is super green. Because this happens to me far too often, I decided to come up with a safer route- mashed banana (found in the baby food aisle). I know it sounds odd, but the pureed banana isn’t just more reliable. It also creates a smoother sauce and you don’t need a food processor.

  • 1/4 cup coconut oil, slightly melted (use a microwave or stove-top to melt the coconut oil)
  • 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 3/4 container pureed banana (babyfood)- I used this type, so it was about 55 grams worth.
  • sweetener to your liking- I used one dropper of stevia.

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until completely combined and silky smooth. Taste for sweetness, and add more sweetener as desired. Some people find cocoa powder quite bitter, so you may have to add more sweetener than expected. Set aside.

If you you really want to use bananas and not puree, just mix about 1/4 of a very ripe banana (30 grams) with the rest of the ingredients in a food processor and puree until smooth.


 

White Coconut Coating
This turned out to be a surprisingly awesome recipe. My initial goal was to make white chocolate, but the result was mediocre and finding cacao butter, the traditional base for white chocolate, was beyond frustrating. If I, a self-proclaimed amazing food shopper, had difficult finding cacao butter, I figured it’d be even worse for most readers. So I turned to coconut oil and banana.

After several trials, I found the perfect balance of flavors and sweetness. While it doesn’t taste like white chocolate, it still has a beautiful white color that compliments the chocolate-coated strawberries perfectly, and it has a unique and tasty flavor- think a strawberry-banana shake plus coconut. I’ll admit–I was licking the blade of the food processor clean (something you should do at your own risk and I don’t recommend).

  • 1/4 cup coconut oil, slightly melted (use a microwave or stove-top to melt the coconut oil)
  • 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon cashew butter (15 grams)
  • 3/4 container of pureed banana (same as the chocolate sauce-see above for details)
  • pinch sea salt
  • sweetener to your liking (I found I didn’t have to use any)

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk well with a fork, until the coconut oil and banana are emulsified. Taste to see the level of sweetness, and add more sweetener as desired. Set aside.


Set up a small dipping station by taking out a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat (this prevents the chocolate from sticking to the sheet and ruining your hard work). Dip strawberries in sauces, and place on lined baking sheet. Then place in the fridge for at least an hour, until the coating has hardened.

If the sauces harden, or if you want to make the sauces, wait, and then dip the strawberries, loosen up the sauces by putting them in the microwave. Be careful though! It’s really, really easy to burn or go overboard when heating up the sauces again. I learned the hard way. So put the microwave at 50% power and only microwave for 15 seconds. That did the trick for me.

Lastly, storage… My guess is that you can do this recipe up to 3 days in advance, although it will be best if you make the recipe within a day of eating the strawberries. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

 

Get Creative- Making Tuxedo-Dipped Strawberries

Don’t be afraid to get creative with dipping the strawberries! I tried to make a tuxedo or two, with decent results. I just don’t think I’m patient enough to really perfect it, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try it out!

To do a tuxedo, first dip the strawberry completely in the white sauce. After the white coating has hardened, you can either dip the strawberry in chocolate or paint the chocolate sauce on, leaving a small white triangle open. I found that dipping the strawberry in the chocolate was hard to control, and thus went with using a pastry brush to paint the chocolate on. Then, using a toothpick, make tiny dots for buttons.


 

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