by 8chocolate on March 12, 2009
A cup of hot chocolate in my favourite mug brings me comfort and seems to make everything better. Tired of hearing about the economic downturn? Take a breather, stop time for a moment and make yourself a cup of hot chocolate.
And I don’t mean you should combine hot water with some powdered brown mix. Try the old fashion way on the stove. It doesn’t take much longer and the difference is phenomenal. Try this recipe. It’s a warm, lucious, smooth tasting cup of chocolaty goodness made with REAL chocolate. It will make one VERY large mug or two cups to share. Warning: this is not for the lactose intolerant.
Combine milk and cream in a small saucepan and warm on the stove until just beginning to simmer. I use half and half cream and skim milk as that was what I had in the fridge. It’s important to use the cream for that smooth creaminess consistency but if you want an even richer taste, you can use whole milk instead of skim milk.
In the meantime, take your chocolate and chop into small pieces. Because of my love for dark chocolate, I used Callebaut dark chocolate. You can use milk chocolate if you like but the darker the chocolate, the richer the taste. Chop the chocolate into small pieces with a sharp knife. Don’t try to cut large pieces off but work around the edges of the chocolate shaving off smaller sections continually turning it.
Once the milk and cream is just beginning to simmer, remove the pan from the stove and add the chopped chocolate reserving a tablespoon of the smaller shavings. Stir the chocolate in until it’s melted.
Add the sugar and vanilla and stir.
Pour into your favourite mug. For those who want even more decadence, top with whipped cream and the reserved chocolate shavings. Sit in your most comfortable chair, sip a taste of this rich, warm, creamy chocolate bliss and allow yourself to forget any stresses you have. It works for me!
Here’s the full recipe:
1 and 1/4 cup of milk (skim or whole)
1 cup of half and half cream
4 ounces chocolate, chopped (dark bittersweet or milk or combination)
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional garnish if desired - whipped cream and 1 tablespoon chocolate shavings
Heat milk and cream over low heat on stove until just beginning to simmer. Remove from stove and add in chopped chocolate reserving one tablespoon of smaller shavings for garnish. Stir until melted.
Add in sugar and vanilla and stir to mix. Pour into serving mug and top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings if desired. Bliss!
by 8chocolate on March 9, 2009
I’ve been wanting to start a blogroll for a while now. A blogroll is a list of links to other people’s blogs or websites that you like. I was going to post only chocolate blogs but there are many general food blogs that also have great chocolate recipes.
My Yummy Blogs blogroll is a list of the foodie blogs that I find myself continually returning to and seeing what delicious meals and desserts they are cooking or baking. Here’s a few that you may also find yummy. Check out the list in the right hand column periodically as it will grow.
Chocolate & Zucchini is one of the most poplular foodie blogs out there. Clotilde Dusoulier writes it while living in France and not only does she have great recipes but she provides a glimpse of life in France. Having visited the country and spending time with a friend whom now lives there permanently, it sometimes provides escape from your everyday life and romanticize about Paris and French living. Clotilde has also written a cookbook and a book on Paris restaurants and food shops.
Baking Bites as you can guess, is all about baking. Because the site contains mainly recipes, she has categorized the recipes so you can go directly to the chocolate category to check out the chocolate recipes.
Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice has recipes that are both savoury and sweet. I posted a recipe recently for Italian Espresso Chocolate Brownies that came from her blog. It’s not a blog to go to if you are lactose intolerant, on a diet or searching for gluten free recipes. If you’ve passed these three challenges then welcome to food bliss and maybe a few extra pounds. Comfort food galore!
Garrett’s Table is a foodie blog by Garrett Kern who is currently studying culinary arts in Chicago. I enjoy his photography and he combines very different food flavours and textures like the Buttered Popcorn Ice Cream or the Chocolate Pasta with Raspberry Coulis and Grated White Chocolate. It makes you want to experiment with them just to try the unusual tastes for yourself.
The last one I’ll introduce you to is the Whole Foods Market blog. If you want to counter balance your eating with healthy recipes, organic goodness or you have food restrictions, then check out this blog. For sure, check out their recipe section on the website. They have great recipes and a great search function so if you are like me and have friends that have food restrictions, such as no dairy or no wheat, this is a great resource. The recipes I’ve tried have had great reviews and even my partner has eaten tofu with good results. That means it gets extra rating points if he actually likes it especially it being a No Tofu zone for him!
The internet is full of great blogs on chocolate, food and just about anything you can think of. I hope I’ve pointed you to some new blogs or ones that you may have forgotten about and now rediscovered. Happy eating!
by 8chocolate on March 5, 2009
I’ve been thinking of making these brownies ever since I saw them on a fellow foodie’s blog, Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice.
The recipe was originally created by Tyler Florence (isn’t he handsome?) for Amaretto chocolate brownies but with no Amaretto around, she used strong espresso coffee. I liked that idea too and introduce you to her adaptation of the original recipe with the new one.
Here’s a great recipe for Italian espresso chocolate brownies.
Melt the chocolate and butter using a double boiler. I have a makeshift one with a pan over pan method. I recently discovered that my mini crockpot works well for melting chocolate but with the two sticks of butter and the chocolate, it would have been too small to use.
In a separate large bowl, combine the sugar, eggs and espresso coffee. Because we have an espresso machine, I used 2 tablespoons of an espresso shot that you see in the smaller bowl. You could probably use your regular coffee if you don’t use instant but make the strongest and bold coffee that you can for this. Whisk them all together.
In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Now you should have three bowls plus your walnuts. You are going to mix everything in steps into your bowl that started with eggs so make sure this is your largest bowl to handle all the ingredients. Add chocolate mixture to your large bowl of egg mixture and whisk to combine. Then gradually add in the flour mixture adding it in stages. Lastly, add in the walnuts and combine using a wooden spoon.
Once it is well mixed, it’s ready for your pan. My pans are larger and I didn’t have a 9″x9″ pan. I had a corning dish that eyeing it thought it was the same size. NOT! I highly recommend sticking to a 9×9 square pan and here’s why.
After the 45 minutes, I checked the brownies and they were still uncooked in the middle. Later when I DID measure the pan, it was 8″x8″ and with rounded corners was much smaller than it should have been for this recipe. I had to keep the brownies in longer and they turned out much higher. It would have been better to keep them denser with a larger pan. Lesson learned!
Given how fast these chocolate brownies disappeared, there didn’t appear to be a problem with their taste. They were very chocolaty but you really didn’t taste the espresso. I imagine they have a richer chocolate taste with the addition of the coffee. The walnuts were great with their added crunch combined with the moist rich chocolate. It’s hard to eat just one square!
I love brownies with walnuts but do prefer them denser and more chewy like Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice’s turned out. She also added cocoa whipped cream to add to their decadence which is a nice touch. I’m going out to buy a 9×9 pan so look out for more decadent brownie recipes in future. Anyone have a special brownie recipe that they recommend?
Here’s the full recipe:
Italian Espresso Chocolate Brownies
2 sticks unsalted butter, plus more for pan
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips
1 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch salt
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon Instant Italian Espresso dissolved in 2 tablespoons boiling water or 2 tablespoons Amaretto (or 2 tablespoons of a strong espresso shot)
1 and 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line a 9 by 9 square baking pan with parchment paper, making sure paper hangs over the edges. Grease paper with butter so the brownies don’t stick. Melt butter and chocolate over a double-boiler and stir gently until smooth and shiny. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into a mixing bowl and set aside. Whisk together eggs, sugar and Espresso in a mixing bowl until combined. Pour in chocolate mixture and continue to whisk until combined. Gradually add flour mixture, then add walnuts and incorporate with a wooden spoon.
Transfer batter to baking pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the pan. When done, invert onto a cutting board, remove paper and cut into squares.
by 8chocolate on March 2, 2009
Chocolatier Mark LaPolla is the owner of Life by Chocolate in Greenville, NY. Located in the Greenville Arms 1889 Inn that he also operates with his wife, he creates unique chocolates and confections.
The 8Q interview: 8 questions answered by successful chocolatiers
1. Were you formally trained to work in the art of chocolate making?
Yes. I went to the CIA (Culinary Institute of America) to study pastry and chocolate making.
2. What was the moment that you knew you wanted to be a chocolatier or work mainly with chocolate?
The reason I became a chocolatier was that I wanted a dessert that I could just pull off the shelf and serve. Something easy to serve with dinner. Then people started buying the chocolates and I had to print up a menu. I find making chocolate fun and interesting. I am a culinary chef as well as a chocolatier and I also make all of our pastries. I don’t like to limit myself.
3. How would you describe the product line your company offers?
Extensive and ambitious. We offer not only over 200 different chocolates and confections but also done in multiple types of chocolate, white, milk, dark and vegan. All of our dark chocolate is fair trade and this year we are converting to organic, fair trade and vegan. Though, even after the conversion, not all of our confections will be strictly vegan, just our vegan line. Our vegan line is already organic and fair trade as well as vegan. Our dark chocolate all comes from the Americas or islands associated with the Americas.
4. What is your best selling product and what is your personal favourite?
Our best selling product is probably our Bee’s Knees bar. Then our Goddess bar would be next and then our O Sunny Day, Smoke on the Chocolate and our Vegan Red Dog bars. Overall our bars are our biggest sellers. Our Cherry cordials would be next. We sell an amazing number of Cherry cordials.
5. Up to now, what has been the greatest highlight of your chocolate career?
Getting a Cherry Cordial order by Harry Winston, which they wanted sent to Hong Kong. I thought that that was interesting. I think the rate at which we’ve been expanding is unbelievable.
We also do demos for charity functions and that is always fun. The NRDC (National Resource Defense Council) asked us to send them Bee’s Knees for their Tiny Worker program. It was a charity event for raising awareness of the plight of honey bees. We were more than happy to help. One highlight, especially for a chocolatier is hard to pin down.
6. What has been most difficult challenge you have faced in your chocolate career?
Every day making chocolates is the greatest challenge. Not just making any old bar or machine manufactured cordial but making tiny works of art by hand every day. This is the greatest challenge.
We were at a charity event for a public library in Connecticut. We donated some chocolate prizes and we also agreed to demo making chocolates there at the library. People came up to me to ask questions. One fellow in particular had a ton of questions and he also wanted me to look at the chocolates he’d made for the event. I quote, “It is not as easy as it looks (making chocolates).”
People in general do not realize how difficult it is to make chocolates and confections. When the chocolate agrees to work with you, it can be a breeze, but when the chocolate decides not to work with you, it can be hell. Many chocolatiers, some of them my friends, have given up because of the difficulty of working in this medium.
7. If you weren’t working with chocolate, what would you be doing?
I’d be retired and helping my lovely wife run our inn.
8. What is next for you and for your company?
We only ship right now to 15 states. The next step is to expand our distribution. Also, I want to expand our vegan and organic chocolates. Presently, we are converting all of our fair trade, dark chocolate to fair trade, organic chocolate. Currently, we have different chocolates for different lines of products.
All of our dark chocolate is fair trade but soon it will be fair trade, organic and vegan. That’s our next manufacturing step. We also want to get a new factory space for our chocolate lines. But I think that’s in the future. Probably next year. We’ve been looking and have not found a suitable space yet.
Mark LaPolla
Life by Chocolate
www.lifebychocolates.com
twitter: LifeByChocolate
Read more 8Q Interviews from other successful chocolatiers.
by 8chocolate on February 27, 2009
How would you like to be surrounded by chocolate for a day? Tasting, smelling and setting your eyes on copious amounts of chocolate in different forms, shapes and sizes. I’m suggesting you attend a chocolate show and indulge!
Every year there are numerous chocolate shows and there may be one right in your area. Wouldn’t it be great to include one in your holidays this year? Or it could be an inexpensive weekend getaway in a city or state a few hours away.
Each show offers something different but some of the things you can do are watch and learn from chocolatiers, attend chocolate fashion shows, view chocolate art exhibits, enter contests, purchase unique chocolate gifts and most importantly, indulge in the chocolate tastings.
To find a chocolate event in your area or near your next vacation spot, try googling on the Google website, “chocolate show” or “chocolate festival” along with your city or state or another close by. It’s better if you keep quotes around those keyword phrases as I’ve done so the phrase stays together and can give you more relevant search results.
I’ve put together a list of some that I’ve discovered. Many of the shows are in November so you could be at one every weekend. Hmmm, my birthday in November is looking better already! New York in November…
I’ve only included the month of the event as some shows have not confirmed the exact dates for 2009 yet. Watch their website for updates.
March
Oregon Chocolate Festival – Ashland, OR
April
Kona Chocolate Festival – Kona, HI
May
Colorado Chocolate Festival – Denver, CO
July
Cadbury Chocolate Carnival – Dunedin, NEW ZEALAND
August
Chocolate Fest – St. Stephen, NB
September
Vancouver International Chocolate Salon – Vancouver, BC
October
Salon du chocolat – Paris, FRANCE
Chocolate Fest – Toronto, ON
November
Twin Cities Chocolate Extravaganza – Minneapolis, MN
Vermont Chocolate Show (Festival of Sweets) – Burlington, VT
Utah Chocolate Show – Sandy, UT
The Chocolate Show – New York, NY
December
Salon du chocolate – Moscow, RUSSIA
For a great list of chocolate festivals, visit Bernard Callebaut’s website and start your own plans to indulge.
by 8chocolate on February 24, 2009
Can you include banana bread as one of your daily fruit requirements? I think it’s the perfect breakfast given it includes fruit and grains. Ok, I may be stretching it a little but this chocolate chunk banana bread is so good that you’ll be considering it for breakfast. And don’t forget it’s easy to wrap up and take to work.
Banana bread is great because you can use those over ripened bananas that no one will eat and save you from throwing them out. You can put any over ripened bananas into the freezer until you have enough to bake with. The outer skins will turn black and not look appetizing but the banana inside will be fine to use in any of your baking.
When I found we had some very ripe bananas, it was time to make banana bread with the addition of chocolate, of course! The chocolate chips create bursts of chocolate throughout the bread and it tastes rich and moist. They are also easy to work with because you don’t need to melt them first, just add them in at the end. I should add that within two hours of baking this, half of it had disappeared…and it wasn’t me.
In a bowl, combine the softened unsalted butter, eggs and sugar.
Mix until smooth. Make sure your butter is truly softened. Mine wasn’t quite there but thought it would blend well when it was blended with the mixer. It didn’t blend as well as it should so think ahead and make sure your butter HAS softened.
Take the bananas and slice them into a deep bowl. Mash them up against the sides of the bowl trying to break up any large pieces. Add the vanilla extract and half of the banana mash to the batter bowl and blend using a mixer. Once mixed, add in the other half of the banana mash and blend again.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and cocoa powder.
Add the flour mixture to your bowl of batter in three or four stages using the mixer until each addition is blended.
It will get very thick in consistency.
Lastly, add the sour cream and chocolate chips to the batter bowl. Gently fold them in until they are incorporated into the mix.
Pour the batter into a lightly greased 9×5 inch loaf pan. You can use butter or Pam.
Bake for 60 minutes and check with a toothpick to see if it comes out clean. Continue baking a little while longer if it’s not completely done.
Let it cool a little before unmolding and then let it continue cooling on a rack.
Once completely cooled, it will be easier to slice. It made about 16 yummy slices.
Here’s the full recipe:
½ cup (1 stick) of unsalted butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
3 cups of ripe bananas, diced and mashed (about 4 bananas)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup sour cream
6 ounces or about ¾ cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
Combine the softened butter, sugar and eggs and blend with mixer. Add in vanilla and half of banana mash and mix again. After blended, add in the other half of banana mash and blend again with mixer.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and cocoa powder. Add this flour mixture to the batter in 3 or 4 stages blending with the mixer after each addition. Once completely blended, fold in the sour cream and chocolate chips until well mixed.
Pour the batter into a lightly greased 9×5 inch loaf pan and bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for 60 minutes. After 60 minutes, check with a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf to see if it comes out clean. Continue baking if not ready. Cool in the pan slightly before unmolding. Continue cooling on rack and slice when completely cooled. Makes approximately 16 slices.
by 8chocolate on February 19, 2009
For over 100 years, Purdy’s has been in the business of chocolate. Even with 55 stores across Canada, they are a chocolate company that continues to grow. They are not the Thomas Haas of chocolate but they do have good quality confections. Perfect for when you have those chocolate cravings and need a quick fix.
Those who know Purdy’s have their favourite chocolate treat. My favourite are Sweet Georgia Browns. If you have never tried one of these, it may sound a lot like Turtle’s, a chocolate from Nestle’s but Sweet Georgia Browns are much larger and very decadent which makes them oh so lovely and different.
Imagine jumbo Georgia pecans (hence the name) roasted with a touch of salt combined with sweet creamy caramel and topped off with a dollop of smooth milk chocolate. This ooey gooey concoction is the perfect balance of sweet and savoury and one that would satisfy any sweet tooth. Why have a standard chocolate candy bar when you could have one of these?
If you don’t have a Purdy’s chocolate shop near you yet, you can order them online and get them sent anywhere in North America.
Sweet Georgia Browns are not fancy and they don’t have attitude. These chocolates make no excuses for their less than neat appearance. They don’t have to. They are that good.
by 8chocolate on February 16, 2009
What gift do you give a girl that writes a chocolate blog? What gift do you give a girl on Valentine’s Day? CHOCOLATE no less! My partner is very thoughtful and this year he gave me chocolates including a chocolate bowl. I wanted to share them with you, well just my photos, so you could see how exquisite they are.
The gift was from Chocolate Arts, a local chocolate shop that is only a block away. They make lovely chocolate and like to form it into different shaped containers like high heeled shoes or decorated boxes to then hold other chocolate pieces. It really makes a special gift. Their logo is very West Coast with a Haida medallion designed by Robert Davidson.
The bowl of chocolate I received was made from milk and dark chocolate and held seven premium chocolates.
Here are the chocolates from left to right and continuing along the front row that were included in the selection:
Strawberry Truffle
A creamy milk chocolate ganache paired with fresh local strawberry puree & coated in a mixture of strawberry sugar & cocoa
Cocoa Bean Wafer
For true lovers of cacao. Rich dark chocolate with chopped cocoa bean (cocoa nib) & rich cocoa powder
Palate
An elegant disc of dark, milk or white chocolate topped with whole roasted nuts & dried fruit
Matcha Leaf
White chocolate distinctively flavoured with Matcha green tea, with an elegant highlight of dark chocolate
Rustica Truffle
A dark chocolate ganache scented with cinnamon, honey, vanilla bean & topped with chopped Venezuelan cocoa beans
Madagascar Truffle
A dark chocolate ganache flavoured with Madagascar vanilla bean – satiny and rich
Rectangle
I wasn’t able to find this one on their site but it had a hazelnut ganache centre with three little krispies on top encased with dark chocolate
Add Chocolate Arts chocolate shop to the list of chocolatiers to visit if you are in the Vancouver area. Its right by the beach so on a warm day – soon I hope – you can buy a few chocolates and go indulge by a log on the sand. I’m going to indulge right where I am and savour each delectable piece.
by 8chocolate on February 14, 2009
Chocolate and Valentine’s Day are the perfect partners. Chocolate is a natural aphrodisiac possessing a lustful, seductive quality that marries well with a day dedicated to expressions of love. It’s adored and craved by many but especially by women.
In the 1980s, Dr Michael Liebowitz introduced his “chocolate theory of love” that attributed chocolate’s aphrodisiac effects to phenethylamine. Phenethylamine is found in chocolate and it’s believed by some to raise the dopamine levels in the brain. High dopamine levels drive our intense cravings and in this case the attraction of passionate love. Hence, chocolate is a perfect intoxicating love drug to give your loved one.
Valentine’s Day is the number one holiday for chocolate sales. Over one billion dollars worth of chocolate is purchased during the time leading up to Valentine’s Day and men make 75% of those purchases. More heart-shaped red velvet chocolate boxes are sold at this time than at any other time of the year.
But you don’t need to buy your way to love. You can show your heartfelt love by making your gift. From creating chocolate-covered strawberries to preparing homemade truffles to baking chocolate desserts, there are thousands of recipes online that won’t break the bank.
You can also find a multitude of books on cooking and baking with chocolate. The photographs in some of these chocolate dessert books are visually stunning and you’ll find your mouth watering just looking at them. Thank goodness they don’t have a scratch and sniff feature. Two books highly recommended are Essence of Chocolate: Recipes for Baking and Cooking with Fine Chocolate
by Steinberg and Scharffenberger and Chocolate Epiphany: Exceptional Cookies, Cakes, and Confections for Everyone
by Payard and McBride.
To make your chocolate baking extra special, there are heart-shaped cookie cutters and heart-shaped soufflé dishes
. Why not use these all year round and not just on February 14th?
Whatever you do on Valentine’s Day, you can’t go wrong with the gift of chocolate. Luscious, smooth, decadent chocolate will sweeten up any love that’s in the air.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
by 8chocolate on February 13, 2009
This Valentines Day I’ve made my sweetie a gift that is not only luscious and healthy but inexpensive as well. Chocolate-covered strawberries decorated with white chocolate. If it’s a Valentines Day on a budget, then this is especially for you.
I started with firm fresh red strawberries. It seemed like every supermarket had strawberrries on sale this week. I’m sure it had something to do with Valentines Day being this Saturday, February 14th. It was only $3 for a pound of fresh strawberries.
I washed the strawberries well and made sure they were completely dried. You want to make sure to keep the green tops attached.
When I cleaned out my cupboards this week, I found a small crock pot used usually for dips and thought this would be great to melt the chocolate instead of the double boiler method I used previously with my chocolate Sparkle cookies recipe. It worked really well and may have taken a little longer than melting over water but I didn’t have to worry about water boiling too much or boiling away.
Line a pan with wax paper. Once the chocolate is melted, dip the strawberries in the chocolate coating the strawberry all over leaving about a quarter inch of the red strawberry showing.
You can use a small fork to skewer the top and then dunk into the chocolate. I started off with this method but then found it easier to manipulate the strawberry into the chocolate with my fingers holding onto the green stem. Be sure not to lose the strawberry in the melted chocolate.
Carefully place the chocolate-covered strawberries one by one onto the wax paper leaving about two inches around them. This will make it easier to add other decoration later. Once you have filled up the pan, put them into the fridge to harden the chocolate.
In the meantime, you can melt the white chocolate that you will use to embellish the strawberries. I bought a 50 gram bar of white chocolate at my local Purdys chocolate shop and it was more than enough. I had leftovers. I broke it into pieces and melted it for one minute in the microwave.
Take the chocolate-covered strawberries out of the fridge after about 10 minutes . The chocolate on the strawberries should be hardened.
With a small fork or a utensil with small tines, dip it into the white chocolate and then quickly toss the white chocolate back and forth over the darker chocolate. It takes a little while to get the hang of it. I found if you were not quick enough, it resulted in thicker strands of white chocolate. The thinner the ribbons of white chocolate, the nicer it looks I think. Put them in the fridge for another 10 minutes to harden the white chocolate and you’re done.
It’s a healthy gift as there really is only a thin coating of chocolate covering a juicy plump strawberry. Perfect to give those who are also watching their weight but love chocolate. Make them with dark chocolate for even more health benefits.
Including the strawberries, white chocolate and Callebaut dark chocolate, it cost me under $10 to create these. It made about 18 chocolate-covered strawberry treats.
Update: I’m delighted to tell you that my chocolate covered strawberry recipe is one of the more than 50 strawberry recipes that have been included on the California Strawberry Commission’s new free iPhone app. Check out my post on the great news.
Here’s the full recipe:
1 pound or about 18 fresh strawberries
200 grams of milk or dark premium chocolate
(dark chocolate provides more contrast with the white chocolate)
40 grams of white chocolate
Wash the fresh strawberries thoroughly leaving the green tops on. Dry the strawberries so no water is left on them.
Melt the milk or dark chocolate. You can use a double boiler or mini crock pot. Skewer the strawberry tops with a small fork and dip into the melted chocolate. Cover the whole strawberry except for a 1/4″ of red around the top. Place on a waxed paper lined pan and repeat with the other strawberries. Put the pan of chocolate covered strawberries for 10 minutes to harden the chocolate.
In the meantime, break up the white chocolate into pieces and melt them in the microwave for about one minute. Remove the hardened strawberries from the fridge.
Using a utensil with small tines, dip it into the white chocolate. Quickly spread the chocolate back and forth creating ribbons of white chocolate and covering only the darker chocolate on the strawberries. Place in fridge again for 10 minutes to harden the white chocolate and they are ready to enjoy.
