Saturday, December 28, 2013

Recipes & Nutrition: Dark Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries

I purchased a bar of organic dark chocolate (73% cacao) the other day an found it too intense in flavor to eat on it's own.  I got the idea to melt, add a little Truvia and make some Dark Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries! They tasted fantastic and I got to have my dark chocolate and eat it, too!
Here is the recipe I followed:
8 ounces dark chocolate, chopped into ¼-inch pieces

1½ dozen large fresh strawberries


1. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Place 6 ounces of the chocolate in a dry heatproof bowl. Heat a saucepan with several inches of water to 140 degrees. Set the bowl on the saucepan; it should fit snugly and the water should not touch the bottom of the bowl. Set the remaining chocolate aside.

3. Watching the temperature closely, heat the chocolate, stirring with a rubber spatula, to 89 degrees. It will be just melted with a chunk or two left intact. Immediately remove the bowl from the saucepan and wipe the bottom dry. Watch the temperature of the melted chocolate (it will continue to rise off the heat). Add about one-third of the remaining chocolate pieces, stirring constantly so they melt in the heat of the bowl. Add the remainder in small portions, continuing to stir. Let each portion melt before adding the next. Continue until the temperature reaches 88 to 90 degrees. It is important to keep the heat below 94 degrees. If it gets above 94 degrees, add more chocolate pieces to cool it off.

4. To test the chocolate, drizzle a small amount on parchment paper. It should harden to an even gloss in about 3 minutes. If it does not harden and you’re in the right temperature range, stir for a few minutes longer and try again.

5. Holding the strawberries by their stems, dip them into the chocolate so they are about three-quarters covered. Set them on the baking sheets and set aside for 1 hour to harden.

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