Fiona Poole Valentine’s Day!
Ok, so Valentine’s Day is tomorrow and I really haven’t organised anything! It is a HUGE deal over here in the States, so completely ignoring it is not recommended!
Chocolate covered strawberries are very popular here for Valentine’s Day, and who doesn’t love a big, juicy strawberry smothered in chocolate? You can purchase them at the local supermarket, most having a special stand set up as you walk in with someone dipping away. So convenient but considering how affordable strawberries are here, really overpriced!
I had a punnet of strawberries in the fridge so decided to get dipping! Most of the strawberries were simply dipped in melted dark chocolate and then drizzled with some melted white chocolate and sprinkled with red sanding sugar. Took a total of 3 minutes!
I used the remaining strawberries to make the chocolate roses.
Here is a link to a fab tutorial on how to make them, including recipes for modelling chocolate.
My modelling chocolate was a bit grainy and sticky. I rolled the petal balls and then used my fingers to shape them instead of the rolling pin. When they got too sticky I just left them for a few minutes and then they were manageable to play with again.
I didn’t use the lolly pop sticks as suggested as I wasn’t making a bouquet, although in hindsight it would have been easier to handle the strawberries using the pop stick.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Fiona Poole 