Ganache covered strawberries

I have a confession to make. I don't like chocolate covered strawberries. It's not that I don't like chocolate on strawberries. I don't like how when I bite into the strawberry the chocolate breaks up and sometimes falls off. On top of that I can't really enjoy the strawberry and chocolate at once because the chocolate is usually not melted enough in my mouth by the time I'm done chewing the strawberry.

So I had an idea. What if I made very hard ganache? Just enough cream that it basically was only chocolate but soft enough to melt in my mouth while also enjoying the strawberry.

I also wanted to experiment in decorating them as well. These are the results.

How I did it

Tools and ingredients

I don't really have much to say here. I've talked previously about ganache and strawberries. The ganache is a 4 to 1 ratio of chocolate and heavy cream. I did learn a few things and have a lot more work to do to really get these ganache covered strawberries where I want them to be. The nuts are crushed pecans.

Other notes

• I did what I usually did with ganache. I  heated up the cream, waited until right when it bubbles, then poured it over the chocolate. Unfortunately a 4 to 1 ratio means there isn't really enough heat to melt the chocolate. So I had to put the bowl the ganache was in into a warm water bath to add enough heat so I could whisk it properly.
• The ganache this time was different than before and I don't know why. Perhaps because of the high ratio? It was very thick and stuck to itself. I don't know what I did differently other than the amount of chocolate to cream. I ended up adding a bit more cream, but that didn't completely fix the problem.
• Pat dry the strawberries as much as possible, the chocolate didn't really stick to the strawberry even when it was damp.
• Strawberries go fast after washing, especially if they are organic, and even if you keep them in the fridge.
• It's better to spoon powdered sugar on top of the strawberry, letting excess fall off, than pat the strawberry onto the sugar.
• If moisture condenses on the chocolate the powdered sugar will dissolve and it no longer looks as pretty.
• The crushed pecans, while making the strawberries more decorative, might not have really added to the flavor.

Notes for future attempts

• Find out how fast the chocolate hardens. If quickly (I've noticed dark chocolate seems to set pretty fast) make these treats the same day we will eat them.
• Always use wax paper (or possibly parchment). The strawberries were very hard to get off the plate.
• Perhaps instead of a glass bowl in warm water, I'll use the metal saucepan directly? I'm not sure how comfortable I am with that idea. It might just burn everything and make the chocolate easier to seize up.
• Need more research on how chocolate works.

More pictures

A focused shot of the strawberry with white chocolate stripes.

Ganache covered strawberry with crushed pecans.

Ganache covered strawberry with powdered sugar.