Whether or not you keep in or spend an evening in town, chocolate-covered strawberries have turn into a ubiquitous a part of virtually any Valentine’s Day menu. Even supposing strawberries are out of season, the dessert makes loads of sense: A vibrant splash of crimson and a hearty dose of America’s favourite aphrodisiac, served in a manner that sounds downright pornographic, what with all of the operating juices and finger-licking.

However what’s nice in concept would not all the time pan out. The chilly strawberries chill the chocolate, making a waxy, tongue-coating mouthfeel. The chilliness additionally mutes the flavour of the chocolate, since you may’t let it soften in your tongue and swallow a chewed-up strawberry on the identical time.

At house, this may be solved by bringing the berries to room temperature, however provided that the chocolate’s been tempered proper to start with. In the event you’re tremendous snug with chocolate and/or sous vide, tempering’s not a giant deal, and these issues will be overcome (here is our information to tempering chocolate). However for many who are new to the method or simply making an attempt to drag off a fast ‘n simple however romantic dessert, tempering most likely is not within the playing cards.

So in case you have your coronary heart set on chocolate-covered strawberries however aren’t inclined to mood, there is a easy various: ganache. It provides you all of the romance of fondue, minus the particular gear, so you may take pleasure in one thing gooey and heat. And a bowlful of ganache could be a factor of magnificence if you happen to swirl two kinds of chocolate collectively.

It would not should be a mixture of darkish and white chocolate, though that’ll present some nice distinction; darkish and milk chocolate work properly collectively, too. The method is straightforward: Pour some scorching cream over two bowls of chocolate, one gentle and one darkish, then whisk every till easy, and stroll away. By the point you have washed up some strawberries, the ganaches might be thick sufficient to swirl collectively in a bowl.

There are only a few issues to keep in mind when making ganache. First, use high-quality chocolate somewhat than chips—the palm oil used to interchange cocoa butter in chips and cheaper sweets can provide the ganache an oily sheen. Second, do not truly carry the cream to a boil; it solely must be about 190°F (88°C) to soften the chocolate, and dealing at decrease temperatures will let the chocolate keep its pure mood, giving the ganache a easy, even sheen. Lastly, all the time pour the cream over a bowl of chocolate somewhat than including the chocolate to the pan of cream, an association that additionally helps hold the chocolate from getting too scorching (which might make the ganache look greasy and damaged).

With these ideas in thoughts, marbled dipping ganache is a quick and foolproof dessert good for a chilly winter’s night time.

February 2017