I am new to all this and may have a crazy questions but...

I tried to do chocolate covered strawberries and the green stems/tops turned very brittle and dried out. I put them in the refrigerator after I dipped them, could this be the problem? Also, I bought a "kit" that you put the container in the microwave and it melted the "chocolate" discs inside and then you dip, but it did not taste very good. Also some had a white film.

I have a cake that I need chocolate covered strawberries for in a couple days and would love some great advice.

Thanks!!!

how far in advance did you make them? How old were the berries?

I am not sure why your stems and leaves dried up, but I do know that choc covered strawberries are best when extremely fresh. Meaning I would not dip in chocolate until at the earliest the day before the event. The longer they sit, the juicer they become and have a tendency to seperate from the chocolate. Make sure you have a good quality chocolate to dip in and get a good thick coat on the berries. Good luck.

(This is all just what I have learned from my experience. Maybe someone else can give better direction.)

Good luck

Do not dip the berries until you need them. Make sure they are fresh. Wash and dry them well.
I make dipped strawberries all the time. I use somehting called Cookie dip. It is great. I get it from a local lady, I'm sure you can find it online. But you can also use chocolate melts like wilton. the store bought containers are not very good in taste or quality.
good luck

I don't know anything about the stems either
I second what the PP said... don't make them until right before you need them. I made this mistake with one of my very first cake orders, I made them the day before and put them on the cake, then the next day when I got the cake out of the fridge there was juice all over the cake from the berries seeping
I always use good chocolate, I like to mix milk & dark, like a hershey bar & some kind of dark chocolate... ghiradelli is good.
hth good luck!

are you dipping the whole strawberry??? make sure you are not diping the stem..

Do you want a hard shell on your strawberries or a softer one? If you want chocolate use a good brand of chocolate it tastes much better. For softer chocolate make a ganache and dip them. Don't dip them until right before you need them that way they stay fresh. Buy your strawberries the night before or the day of to make sure they are fresher.

If you are talking about something like Bakers melting kit where you just take the top off and melt than the white film would be because the chocolate was old. As far as tops the strawberries were probably not fresh also. I put mine in fridge if I make lke a party tray of them and they can keep up to 2 days if fresh berries are used. Do not place on cake until almost ready to servre.

You dip the strawberries as you need them and use a good quality chocolate. Make sure the berries are fresh. If the stems are already drying out when you buy them they may not be fresh.

But I have noticed that the strawberries this year don't look as good and are not as big as the ones last year.

I replied to you in the recipe request forum.. but I second the ganache suggestion.. this is what I do. And ditch the candy melts.. they dont' taste good and aren't "real" chcoclate anyway. I make a firm ganache and dip the berries in that. They are better IMO than hard chcocolate dipped berries and make less of a mess when you eat them because the chocolate doesn't break off in chunks. Good luck!!

I agree with the above posts about dipping right before you need them. And get the best quality of chocolate you can afford. I don't know how many berries you need, but it doesn't take all that much to dip them.

The other advice I have is to make sure your berries are dry when you dip them - other wise the chocolate will seize up when you dip them and it will be ruined.

You may also want to add a little bit of shortening to your chocolate to help keep it a little softer if you don't go with the ganache.

The berries were fresh. Do you think putting them in the fridge could make them dry out?

Thanks to everyone for all the great replies and ideas!!!

Could anyone give me a recipe for a firm ganache for dipping strawberries?

your cake looks wonderful (and delicious). Thanks for the advice.

[quote="adonisthegreek1"]

Can I just ask what kind of cake there are under the ganache?

It's a chocolate pound cake baked in the Wilton 9x3 contoured pan.

uhmmm looks great.

Hey adonisthegreek1... You're killin' me! That cake looks absolutely delicious!
AMY729 - I know it's tough, but doing the berries last minute is really your best bet for freshest tasting berries. I usually do mine early in the morning of the day I need them and place them in the fridge. Remember to wash your berries and dry them completely - it'll help the chocolate adhere to the berries.

Here is the recipe I use:

4 (1 oz) squares semisweet or sweet dark chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
2 (2 oz) squares vanilla candy coating, melted

Combine chopped semisweet or sweet dark chocolate and whipping cream in a 1-cup glass measuring cup. Microwave at MEDIUM (50%) power 1 minute or until chocolate melts, stirring after 20 seconds. Stir in almond extract.

Dip strawberrys and place on a waxed paper sheet until chocolate is firm. Drizzle with melted white chocolate. I keep them in the refrigerator until I get ready to use them. Not more than a day...

This is a tried and true recipe...it is also great for dipping spoons to stir coffee with.

Hope it works for you!

I would like to suggest Sarah Bernhardt chocolate glaze for dipping strawberries. It has a softer texture, yet sets firmly enough to not melt when you touch them with your fingers and doesn't shatter when you bite into them as with pure chocolate. They retain their shine and they taste delicious. Here is a link to the recipe and a photo of a cake I made with strawberries dipped in the glaze.
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-2315-Sarah-Bernhardt-Chocolate-Glaze.html
http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=160683