Matcha White Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Are you new to the wonderful world of matcha? After recent foodie adventures in Japan, my love affair with matcha has been reignited.

Steeped in tradition, this finely ground green tea powder has an integral role in Japanese tea ceremonies. But, beyond sipping out of your favourite tea bowl, matcha can also be used to naturally colour or flavour food – like white chocolate!

These chocolate-dipped strawberries make the perfect Christmas sweet treat (green and red, so on brand), Valentine’s Day or bridal shower dessert, or really just something to enjoy any time you want to spoil yourself or loved ones.

Ingredients

• Matcha powder. There are two main grades of matcha – ceremonial or culinary. Ceremonial is sweeter, whereas culinary tends to be a bit more robust and bitter in flavour. For this dish, I prefer culinary grade – the bitterness compliments the sweet chocolate.
• White chocolate. Go for a product that contains at least 20% cocoa butter. Fun fact: not all white chocolate contains cocoa butter (instead – gasp – oil). This can impact taste and how it acts – cocoa butter is key for something that’ll behave more like, well, chocolate when melted.
• Fresh strawberries. Choose firm, bright red strawberries. Steer clear of overly ripe berries – they’ll be mushy on the inside (blegh).
• Coconut oil. A secret ingredient to take it up a notch! A small amount, mixed into the chocolate, creates the perfect consistency for dipping, adds shine and lustre, and makes it a smidge more ganache like – so the chocolate doesn’t shatter when you bite into it!

Kitchen Tips

• Make sure your strawberries are ultra dry. Chocolate and water are arch nemesis. Even a small amount can seize chocolate, rendering it lumpy – a thing of culinary nightmares. Wash your strawberries, then carefully dry each, making sure to pat the green leaves too.
• Use the stem to dip. Unless you want thumbs covered in chocolate, dunk the strawberries into the chocolate by their stem, letting the excess drip off.
• Drizzle over any remaining chocolate. Weight aside, strawberries vary in size. So, if you have any leftover melted chocolate, decorate the remaining strawberries with a drizzle. If it’s getting too thick to drizzle, a smidge of coconut oil will loosen it up.
• Set in the refrigerator, but then keep in a cool place. If it’s hot where you’re based, then store in the fridge in a sealable container, lined with paper towels to deter condensation.
• Make them on the day you intend to eat them. These are best eaten fresh.

Culinary FAQ

How do you melt white chocolate? Melting white chocolate is finicky business. It has a lower melting point than other types, which means it’s prone to overheating – and fast. Turn your back for mere seconds and you’ll singe your white chocolate a caramel-brown.

Fortunately, this is easy enough to deter with some mindful cooking. For this recipe, try using the microwave or do bain marie style:

• Microwave: while there are no risk of water droplets ruining the show, it can burn quick. To prevent this from happening, make sure to chop or use small pieces of chocolate – you’re more likely to burn a big hunk. Next, use a low power and microwave in short bursts i.e. 15 second intervals. After each blast, remove the chocolate and stir. Repeat until smooth.
• Bain-maire. There’s less risk of it burning, but be mindful of water droplets! This approach is where you sit a heatproof bowl over a small stove-pot of barely simmering water (a bain marie) and allow the chocolate to melt, stirring occasionally. The bowl and water in the stovetop shouldn’t touch – but the heat that comes up will melt the chocolate! Once melted, turn off heat.