Easter Strawberry Carrots

Another totally cute idea I found on Pinterest were these chocolate dipped strawberries made to look like Easter carrots. I LOVE strawberries! They are so easy to make at home that there is really no need in paying the insane prices they get for these. You just have to know how to properly use chocolate melts and you'll be making all the candy you can think of. 

Basically, you mix the chocolate molds with some shortening or oil and let it heat up in a double boiler. Don't try to do this in a regular pan! Stir frequently until you have a smooth consistency that just barely starts to slide easily off a spoon. If you haven't worked with melts before, don't start with white chocolate (although for these, I did.) If you cook white chocolate too much, it will gum up really fast so I would start with a milk chocolate if you haven't done this before. You can color them whichever color you like. Most directions say to avoid water based coloring but I have honestly never had a problem with them because of the small amount used. If you are a newbie, the gel colors should be easier for you. All you do is put a small amount into your food with a tooth pick and stir. Dip the berries, holding the stems and let the excess chocolate slide off. You can wipe the berry on the side of the pot and use that as the side you lie flat, if you don't want the chocolate to create a pool around the base. Lay out onto wax paper.

Once all your berries are dried, spoon the leftover chocolate into a squeeze bottle and pour horizontal lines of chocolate over the berries to create your texture. 

These should be stored in the fridge uncovered to prevent any cracking or sweating. You can do a large amount ahead of time and freeze them. Ripe, solid berries will preserve well in the freezer, just take care to freeze and unfreeze them slowly or they will surely crack. Store them in the refrigerator for several hours before transferring to the freezer. Then do the opposite when defrosting them. First place them in the refrigerator before exposing them to room temperature conditions. Make sure to serve them all within 24-48 hours as the frozen berries will get mushy faster than freshly dipped berries. 

Greek Filled Chocolates

I developed this urge to make homemade candies a few years back and I can't even surely say where it came from. These types of cups are the most time consuming to make because they are done in layers and cooled in the freezer in between. I wanted to make some different candies for Greek Easter. I used white chocolate dyed a deep red, just like my eggs to mark them apart from other ones I have made. 

Basically, you mix the chocolate molds with some shortening or oil and let it heat up in a double boiler. Don't try to do this in a regular pan! Stir frequently until you have a smooth consistency that just barely starts to slide easily off a spoon. If you haven't worked with melts before, don't start with white chocolate. If you cook white chocolate too much, it will gum up really fast so I would start with a milk chocolate. You can color them whichever color you like. Most directions say to avoid water based coloring but I have honestly never had a problem with them because of the small amount used. If you are a newbie, the gel colors should be easier for you. All you do is put a small amount into your food with a tooth pick.

Once your chocolate is melted, you can either paint it onto the mold bottom and up the sides with a plastic bristled brush (thin coat) or pipe it in using a squeeze bottle and just touch up with the brush (thick coats). Then pop into the freezer for 5-10 minutes until hardened. The more oil or shortening you used, the longer it will take to harden.

Then take them out of the freezer and fill with your filling, leaving space at the top to seal. Put the molds back in the freezer to dry out. This timing will depend on whichever filling you picked. It doesn't have to be hardened, just not tacky before you seal them up. Then fill the rest up with the chocolate. Make sure the sides and top are touching chocolate on chocolate or your candies will leak. Then, lay flat in the freezer for about 15-20 minutes until they are completely hardened. They should easily just pop right out of the mold. You can store them in the freezer for years even or serve them a few hours after making. 

When defrosting them for serving, this is best done in the fridge for a few hours before they can be subjected to room temperatures. This will prevent any cracking when the filling is melting and expanding or water droplets building up on the candy, which can make the colors run. 

Like I said, I wanted my chocolates to be a homage to Greek desserts, most of which are made with honey and walnuts. I'm very opinionated about my Greek desserts. They should use walnuts, not peanuts or any other nut, EVER! The nuts should not be chopped! They should be fine like a dust. We use a hand cranked, cheese-like metal grader called a mouli. My husband swears its just a cheese grater, but whatever. It's a long and blistering process grating nuts this way but the effort pays off for the taste. No, you can't do it in a food processor! I mixed these nuts with the honey, slightly thinned in the microwave, until I had a paste and that was my filling. If you wanted the chocolates to be more like baklava, then you could add some baked phyllo crumbles. See my tutorial on working with phyllo dough here to do that. 

Honestly, this is a long process and making a dozen of these took me several hours. I'm sure most people have no urge to do this. I thought about selling these on Etsy since I've never seen any chocolates like this before. If only I could figure out how to ship them safely in the summer for a decent price. Thoughts? Suggestions? I just might sell them and save you the effort of making some...for less than $48 per six! Whoa! 

 

Recipe Inspired by Dean & Deluca