Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Berry (Chocolate covered strawberry treats!)

(Okay, first of all, my last name is not Berry and no, I did not recently get married - if thats what the title made you think :D, just read ahead you will know... ) 

It has been raining very heavily recently. Last week I had a day off from work and I was hoping to spend it doing some outdoorish stuff that was pending for a while but instead the day turned out to be a rainy and windy day. So rather than being outdoors I was stuck on my bed reading a book (Drunkard's walk of randomness -- highly recommended read by the way). After a while I got tired of listening to the sound of rain splashing on my windows and the sight of a perpetual gray sky. My mind was not focused either (have you noticed how rain wanders your mind off sometimes?) so I decided to take a break from reading and got into the kitchen looking to spend a few hours making something delicious. I saw some really fresh strawberries and two chocolate bars (a white and a dark) in my refrigerator and an idea sprang to my mind to create some artsy things with chocolate dipped strawberry and I was suddenly all excited! After a bit of googling I knew what I wanted to make... this is the 'fruit' of my labor of a rainy afternoon! Hope you enjoy it too...

So for the very first time, here are Mr. and Mrs. Berry! Don't they just look like a very cute couple who has just taken their vows :D
(Follow the read more link below for the rest of the post...)
And some more ones.. these are dark chocolate covered berries with whites drizzled on top...

I followed instructions from here for Mr. and Mrs. Berry and then made the next ones out of whatever struck my fancy but really there is no strict set of rules here. Let your creativity run wild and see what designs amaze you for the day :)

Source: here
Here are some general rules that I followed.
  1. Pick good strawberries. Mine were not very sweet but they were perfect for this project. The berries should be fresh and modestly well-shaped. I guess shape is more of a personal preference but definitely look for ones with green leaves and stems still attached, if possible.
  2. Clean the berries and dry them really well before using. Trust me chocolate covering wet berries is not fun!
  3. Insert toothpicks into the stem end of the berries and keep them ready.
  4. Melt/temper the white chocolate first. I used the microwave method. There is a good article here describing various tempering methods.
  5. Hold the green leaves of a strawberry in your hand and carefully dip the berry in melted white chocolate letting it coat thoroughly.
  6. Remove from chocolate and twist a bit making sure excess chocolate drains off well.
  7. Allow the strawberries to dry on a parchment paper lined plate. Parchment paper will make your life much easier as the berries will not stick so removing them when dried will be super easy.
  8. When all the berries have been dipped; keep the plate in refrigerator for an hour or so until the chocolate has thickened and set.
  9. Now melt the dark chocolate. Remove the berries from fridge.
  10. If you want to make the Mr. and Mrs. Berry, follow the step by step instructions here. I made small cornets for delicate bride dress decoration using steps here.
  11. Otherwise using a toothpick just drizzle some dark chocolate over white chocolate dipped berries or some white chocolate over some dark chocolate drizzled berries for some artsy designs.
Relax now, grab a cup of coffee, take some pictures and then sit with your sweetie enjoying these chocolaty treats! 

Afterall, love is in the air they say... :)


Comments

They are infact a beautiful couple lol...
looks gr8 together
Priya Suresh said…
Wow such a cute and delicious couples...great job Dear..
Rujuta said…
PJ...Awwwwww........Mr & Mrs Berry are too cute for words.....i dont think i could have eaten them :)) they look sooooo pretty
You really deserve the kreative blogger award..........
The click are awesome, fanastic and beautiful.....i m at loss of words here :))
Great job.....
Rachana said…
Mr and Mrs Berry are such an adorable couple... I am a big fan of them:)
Sushma Mallya said…
wow such a cute and beautiful couple...very nice one PJ
Pari Vasisht said…
That was a great way to come out of wandering thoughts and enjoy the rain. The berries look beautiful. I am sure DH must have been impressed.
Joanne said…
I'm glad that both of us do crazy things like this when we're bored. It makes me feel less insane.

These look amazing! I love how creative they are. Perfect for V-day!
Nupur said…
You sure have a way with desserts- your neat and delicate work turns them into pieces of art! Such pretty berries.

Funny you should mention Drunkard's Walk, I finished that book just last week, and yes, I enjoyed it very much.
indosungod said…
They look beautiful alright PJ. I prefer the white ones.
Unknown said…
Looks so................ beautiful and superb clicks too.
oH PJ,this is so so dang cute.....absolutely over the top...am in love with these and dont know if i'll pull this......
Ur so so good and creative with ur hands.....and thanx for d link on tempering chocolate....jus what i was looking for.....

oh u make me feel like LOVE IS IN THE AIR,SO IS ROMANCE....WISH U LOADS OF IT @ 365
And the rains actually make me romantic too...actually everything does......:-))))
shahana said…
Awesome!!!!Excellent click too!!!!
PJ said…
Padhu, thanks, I am glad you liked them.

Pratibha, thanks and welcome to my blog! I am glad you liked Mr. and Mrs. Berry.

Priya, thanks, I had a lot of fun making them :)

Rujuta, thanks so much for your sweet and encouraging words :) I am glad you liked them. I had no problem eating them... finished all between me and my husband in a few hours!

Rachana, thanks! Mr. and Mrs Berry would like to be a fan of your awesome blog too :)
PJ said…
Sushma, thanks! I am so glad you liked them.

Pari, it was much fun sipping a coffee and making these on a rainy afternoon for sure. DH said they are good.. I guess that much is all the appreciation he comes up with for such artsy things :D

Joanne, lol, that is sure true. What is the point of not doing crazy things when we may as well just enjoy the ride a bit too :) I didn't realize v-day was so close by when I was making these, but yeah, perfect for v-day.

Nupur, see, great minds read alike :D It is such a great book, gives you a whole new perspective on randomness and you daily life. Absolutely loved it. Thanks, I am so glad you liked the berry treats!

Indo, my husband preferred the white ones too, he felt they were more delicate and less cluttered.
Preeti Kashyap said…
Good Job done PJ...a very neat work! I was going to collect that book from Lib today too...gee...same pinch!
PJ said…
A2Z vegetarian cooking, thanks! I am so glad you enjoyed them.

VanillaStrawberrySpringfields, thanks! You will surely be able to make these.. don't worry about messing it up is the only tip I'll give, whichever way it goes, its still strawberry covered chocolates, and who doesn't like that! If I worry too much about if the work will be good or not, I invariably mess it up :) Good luck with chocolate tempering.

Shahana, thanks! I am so glad you liked these.

Preeti, see, I was just telling Nupur above, great minds read alike :D Its an excellent book by the way, I am sure you are in for a treat.
ruchikacooks said…
Cute Chocolate couple (I can say this without a doubt here)..

PJ, yogurt chilies are chiles soaked in yogurt and then sun dried then fried to go like a pickle for rices..Will post pix of them today.
Sayantani said…
they are indeed cute and tempting. what makes this perfect is your neat wrok PJ. really good work,
SE said…
hey...these looks so cute...great job and creativity !!!
PJ said…
Ruchika, thanks! Glad you liked these. Thanks for the info about yogurt chilis, I have never had them but they sound very interesting.

Sayantani, thanks! I am so glad you liked these.

SE, thanks! It was so much fun to make these :)
Cham said…
I adore MR & MRS Berry, They are cute PJ :)
Anonymous said…
Hi Pj
my first time here..I blgohopped from somewhere and landed here..boy-ur blog is so colourful.simply loved it.and every blog post title is unique and so catchy.well done
Shwetha said…
Awww!
How cute is that? Very neat and they look like they came right outta a Godiva store, where they cost 5 bucks a pop!
PJ said…
Cham, thanks! Yeah, I had a lot of fun making them :)

MunchCrunchAndSuch, thanks and welcome to my blog! I am so glad you liked browsing here. I am off to visit yours now.

Shwetha, thanks, now that just makes me so happy to hear :) I should checkout Godiva stores (I think nearest one to me is an hour drive away).
Namitha said…
Aw they look so cute...Lovely clicks and beautiful presentation as always..So the dull rainy day eventually turned out to be a romantic and sweet day :D grt job PJ :-)
TREAT AND TRICK said…
Such a lovely creation by you PJ, love it.
Rahin said…
how cute is that! looks perfect
PJ said…
Gulmohar, thanks! Yes, the dull rainy afternoon did indeed take a turn for the better :)

Treat and trick & Rahin, thanks! I am glad you liked it.
Sonia said…
PJ, it's so artistic creation of urs! I love your Mr.& Mr.Berry. :D Actually, I love strawberry and choc combo. :) Wish i cud grab all of them. :D
Thanks for book recommendation.
s said…
what a cute couple....and what fun!!!
Kalyn Denny said…
Gorgeous. I have a brother-in-law who makes chocolate dipped strawberries for the Superbowl party every year (I know, go figure). His aren't nearly so artistic though!
PJ said…
Hi Sonia, oh, I wish you could grab all of them too :) You surely deserve them. Thanks for the sweet words, girl!

s, thanks! I am so glad you liked Mr. and Mrs. Berry :)

Kalyn, sounds awesome! This was the first time I made these, but I'll surely be now grabbing every possible opportunity to make them again and again! thanks for stopping by.
Siddhi Shirsat said…
wow prajakta this luk so cute...lovely couple...gr8 idea coating strawberris with choco...n u hv dne the finishing work perfectly dear..
Hullo,Ola, Hola....u are an award winner more often than we know and this time there's a very different award for u ...jus from me....an award specially to fire up the imagination of creative writers in whateve which way....

I had mine fired up a bit too in the company of fantastic writers like ya n now its ur turn to take off from my humble beginings...take ur time but fire anyway...hop on the link below to see what am talking about and do hope u enjoy it as muc as i did...beleive i wanted to run away from it first but when i began...was thrilled and had so much fun and was really glad for it.....


http://vanillastrawberryspringfields.blogspot.com/2010/02/julia-child-omelettegrilled-shrimpy.html
PJ said…
Parita, thanks! I am glad you liked it.

Siddhi, thanks! It was so much fun doing these different designs with chocolates and strawberries.

VanillaStrawberrySpringfields, thanks so much for the award, I am hopping over to your blog now to see it :)
Haddock said…
Mrs Berry is acting very coy....
Good work.
ruchikacooks said…
Thanks PJ. I am waiting for summer to plant some more.
PJ said…
Haddock, heh heh, yeah, the expressions were unintentional, but glad you liked them though :)

Anu, thanks, I am so glad you liked it.

Ruchika, awesome! Would love to see pictures of your summer garden.
Radhika said…
Those chocolate covered berries look very inviting! Thanks for the book recommendation too, am going to give it a try.
Urmi said…
Looks delicious and yummy. Its very difficult to resist seeing these mouth watering chocolates. Thanks for this lovely and new recipe.
Sunitha said…
Very creative, they look great! Way to go.. I am going to check out the book you suggested now.
Hey dearie that is gorgeous I always sdore to your the title you give for ur post... Clicks are too good and Mr and Mrs looks sooooooooooooo romantic.
PJ said…
Radhika, thanks! The book is great, its about how randomness affects our life in ways that we hardly think about. I hope you like it.

Babli, thanks, I am so glad you liked these!

Nostalgia, thanks! The book is a great non-fiction read, I am sure you will love it.
Hayley said…
Done wonderful job P J...looks delicious and mouthwatering couple..;))as usual your pics are graet..done phd in photography?..:))
Nithya said…
They look cho cute :) nice idea and delicious indeed. :)
ruchikacooks said…
He'd be very happy to know that and would include you in his car games in a second :)
PJ said…
Pavithra, thanks!I am so glad you liked it.

Jagruti, lol, I wish ;) glad you liked it though!

Nithya, thanks! So glad you liked it.

Ruchika, ha ha, I love playing airplane games with my nephew so you can tell him I would love to include him in our games too :)
Preety said…
great to serve in parties
Miri said…
These are sooo cute - wish i had seen this before I finished a whole bunch of strawberries from Mahabaleshwar ....
PJ said…
Preety, yeah, it would look cute in parties.. I have seen it being served in wedding parties (ofcourse :D)

Miri, thanks! One more reason for you to get more strawberries! always fun to eat.
Anjum said…
Beautiful! I really like ur way of presenting things.Nice blog.Do drop by @ http://anjuskitchentreasures.blogspot.com/
Yasmeen said…
Chocolate and strawberries is a match made in heaven :D
PJ said…
Anjum, thanks for the lovely comment and welcome to my blog. I am glad you liked it, I am off to visit yours now.

Yasmeen, oh yeah, I am agree with you.. they are like a pair made for each other, with a bit of coffee too!
Deepa G Joshi said…
chocolate and strawberries marry so well..too good clicks PJ..drooling!!!
Spice said…
perfect couple....u r right looks like just wed....so happy....awesome job PJ...
Spice said…
perfect couple....u r right looks like just wed....so happy....awesome job PJ...
PJ said…
Rajani, thanks! I am so glad you liked these :)

Spice, yeah, don't they just look like newly-weds.. so the name 'Mr. and Mrs. Berry' :)
Nachiketa said…
That's totally awesome....

Loved what you did with the berries.... Really cute.. :)

Cheers,
The Variable, Crazy Over Desserts - Nachiketa
Catch me on facebook @ Crazy Over Desserts
Sanchita said…
Hi PJ!

First time on your blog and I liked it a lot but the most amazing thing is even I have done the same thing few weeks ago and its in my blog right now.

Glad to follow you :)

Thanks,
Sanchita.
Anonymous said…
Wow it looks so decadent!