18 Best Toppings for Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Chocolate-covered strawberries are the perfect combination of elegance, simplicity, and deliciousness. They are a universal dessert that goes after almost every meal and a great between-meal snack. The best thing about chocolate-covered strawberries is that they aren’t restrictive, so you have a wide range of ingredients to combine. So, what are the best toppings for chocolate-covered strawberries?
Chocolate-covered strawberries go best with coconut, dried fruits, chocolate, sprinkles, edible decorations, nuts, poppy seeds, cocoa powder, ganache, crushed M&Ms, crushed chocolate candies, crushed crackers, lavender, caramel sauce, sea salt, brownie crumbs, whipped cream or coffee.
Since they are already covered in chocolate, chocolate-covered strawberries don’t necessarily need to be additionally topped. However, it is always good to experiment with and enrich your recipes and seek perfection in your culinary experiences. Therefore, in the following text, I will give you some ideas about what to put on your chocolate-covered strawberries, how to make them, and which is the best timing.
What to Put on Chocolate-covered Strawberries
You can put a whole sea of things on your chocolate-covered strawberries. The following are some ideas to narrow your choice. Feel free to mix them up as you like; nothing is off-limits.
Coconut
Roll your chocolate-covered strawberries into some coconut flakes to accentuate the strawberry flavor and give an exotic whiff to your dessert. The coconut will mash perfectly with the chocolate amplifying the sour and sweet freshness of the strawberries.
Dried Fruit
This idea may seem unusual to suggest, topping one fruit with another, but you will see that it makes sense when you taste it. Choose whatever dried fruit you like, though I suggest you go with dried figs, raisins, or cranberries. Chop the fruit into tiny pieces and layer the chocolate-covered strawberries; you won’t regret it.
Sprinkles
Whether you like chocolate, rainbow, or other sprinkles, they will do a fantastic job enriching and decorating your chocolate-covered strawberries. They will impact the flavor, making it sweeter and sugary, but they will also add crunchiness to your dessert, making it playful as it is seductive.
Edible Decorations
There are countless edible decorations. From pearls to decorative leaves to flowers, you can use any of them to top your chocolate-covered strawberries. They will make them tastier and give them an irresistible appearance, especially if you have a special occasion or a celebration.
Different Kinds of Nuts
It wouldn’t be fair to leave out nuts from this list, as they go amazingly with chocolate-covered strawberries. Crush some nuts, almonds, hazelnuts, Brazilian nuts, or whatever nuts you like, give the strawberries a nice roll, and enjoy.
Poppy Seeds
Poppy seeds are underestimated in dessert-making, which is a shame, as they are an excellent addition. Roll your chocolate-covered strawberries in poppy seeds and enjoy the grainy texture of your dessert. They also pop when you chew them, making them more fun.
Poppy seeds are very nutritious, so in addition to playing with your palate, they are also very beneficial.
Cocoa Powder
The bitterness of the cocoa powder will go perfectly with the sweetness of the chocolate and the freshness of the strawberries. These three ingredients are compatible, so that the cocoa powder would be the perfect addition here.
Ganache
The smooth and refined ganache will enrich and add elegance to your chocolate-covered strawberries as you never thought possible. The outer creaminess of the ganache will be the perfect combination for the sweet sourness of the strawberries, bonded with the chocolate in the middle.
Crushed M&Ms
The colorful crunchiness of the M&Ms and the sweet sourness of the strawberry, enriched with the chocolate in the middle, is a slam dunk if you are in the mood to have fun with your food.
Different Kinds of Chocolate
There’s no such thing as “too much chocolate,” so go ahead and top your chocolate-covered strawberries with another layer of chocolate. Chocolate shavings of another kind of chocolate on top of the chocolate layer, maybe your road to heaven. It is best to combine two opposing flavors to get the best results.
Crushed Chocolate Candies
Some fruity or nutty chocolate sweets will bring out the chocolate flavor of your chocolate-covered strawberries and intensify the sourness of the strawberries. This combination is the incarnation of the “opposites attract” saying, as both entirely different flavors will result in a perfect mash. They won’t be balanced out, but just the opposite; both will be intense and clear.
Crushed Crackers
Crushed crackers will round up your fruity and chocolate dessert, milden the flavors, and balance everything. The crackers will give you the perfect rich texture mixed with crunchiness on your first bite and chewiness after.
Lavender
Adding lavender to your chocolate-covered strawberries could be the ultimate touch of nature they need. Your dessert will look fantastic and taste like a spring day. The flowery aroma of the lavender and its discrete sweetness go indescribably well with fruity desserts like this one.
Caramel Sauce
Caramel on top of chocolate is just as perfect as it could be, but caramel on chocolate on strawberries is beyond perfection. The soft sugariness of the caramel will tame the chocolate-dominated flavor and add some of its silkiness to your dessert. And all of this rolled in some nuts will give you a fantastic dessert and an amazing experience.
Sea Salt
As unusual as this may seem, sea salt already has an established role in dessert-making. Salt isn’t only reserved for savory dishes, but sweet too. Adding salt will bring flavors that your chocolate-covered strawberries already had. A thin layer with a grain of salt will do an amazing job.
Brownie Crumbs
Since brownies are soft and chewy, they will transfer that feature onto the chocolate-covered strawberries. The brownie crumbs won’t give you crunchiness but will make your strawberry dessert softer, richer, and edgier.
Whipped Cream
If there’s something better than strawberries and whipped cream, that’s chocolate-covered strawberries and whipped cream. That juicy scoop of whipped cream on top of the chocolate will give you a creamy, soft, smooth, and incredibly tasty dessert in just a matter of seconds.
Coffee
Coffee has made a name as a dessert addition. Many cakes and cookies are coffee-based, and chocolate-covered strawberries aren’t an exception. A thin but consistent layer of coffee on your chocolate-covered strawberry will make all the difference in the world.
The coffee’s bitter taste and velvety texture will enrich the chocolate-covered strawberries, giving you a well-balanced mash of sweet, sour, and bitter.
How to Make Chocolate-covered Strawberries?
One of the many great things about chocolate-covered strawberries is how easy they are to make. You will need only two ingredients- chocolate and strawberries, some basic equipment- a pot, a fire-proof bowl, a spoon, a topping of your choosing, and some very basic cooking skills.
For a pound of chocolate-covered strawberries, you will need a bar and a half of high-quality chocolate or a bag of good chocolate chips. Make sure your strawberries are large enough and smooth all over.
First and foremost, wash and dry the strawberries. The strawberries must be dry for this to work. If they are wet, the chocolate won’t stick to them.
If you are using barred chocolate, take the half bar and set it aside, and if you are using chocolate chips, take two tablespoons of chips and put them aside.
Pour a glass of water into the pot and bring it to a boil. Place the chocolate inside the fire-proof bowl and put the bowl over the pot. The chocolate will soon start melting, so take the spoon and mix it constantly.
Once the chocolate has melted, take the bowl off the pot and put the chocolate you’ve set aside. This procedure is called tempering, and it is very practical and necessary to balance out the melted chocolate so that it turns out creamy instead of liquid. Using tempering chocolate will help the chocolate to attain its shape and to last longer.
Start dipping the strawberries in the chocolate. You can hold them by the calyx or use a fork. Whatever you do, make sure your strawberry remains whole.
Once the strawberries have been dipped in chocolate, leave them to sit for ten minutes so the chocolate can have enough time to harden, and then roll them in whatever topping you choose.
Can You Make Chocolate-covered Strawberries the Day Before?
You can make chocolate-covered strawberries the day before, but they are at their best when eaten the same day you’ve made them.
If you make them the day before, store them uncovered in the fridge. Never freeze chocolate-covered strawberries because they release moisture to the chocolate and become watery.
You can keep them one to two days in the fridge before they release moisture and the chocolate starts peeling off.
What Spices Go With Chocolate-covered Strawberries?
Although strawberries are pretty strong-flavored, and there’s no need for you to spice them up, there are still spices you can use to combine with your strawberries.
Green herbs such as mint, coriander, tarragon, fennel, basil, dill, and rosemary go great with strawberries. Vanilla spice and chili also can do a great job edging up your strawberries.
How Can You Improve the Flavor of Your Strawberries?
One of the best ways to improve the taste of your strawberries is to keep the green part. Taking the green part off will make your strawberries go bad sooner than naturally. Also, the green part keeps them fresh, and they taste better when combined.
Pour sugar over the strawberries and just a pinch of salt. Let the sugar stay in the strawberry bowl for ten minutes before eating them. Your strawberries will taste like jam.
Cover the strawberries with chocolate topping. They will turn out similar to chocolate-covered but fresher and not as sweet.
If you want your strawberries to taste like candy, put some black pepper on them.
Balsamic vinegar may also be a good idea, but the result is very specific, and you will either love or hate it. However, it is worth a try. Just pour a little balsamic vinegar or cream over your strawberries and let them sit for ten minutes.
