Strawberry Kisses

Baking: Serves 6-7 as a dessert 

INGREDIENTS 

• 500 g medium-sized, blemish-free strawberries, as fresh as possible
• 200 g icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon Grand Marnier
• 1½ - 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 150 g dark chocolate
• ½ tablespoon butter
• baking cases

PREPARARTION 

Briefly rinse the strawberries under cold water and carefully pat dry on paper towel.

Sieve the icing sugar into a small bowl. Add the Grand Marnier. Add the lemon juice by pouring through a fine sieve. Mix everything to a thick smooth icing. Important: it takes a moment for the icing sugar to absorb the small amount of liquid, do not add the lemon juice too soon. The icing should coat a spoon when dipped in it, and only flow off it again very slowly.

Now dip each strawberry up to two-thirds into the icing. Allow to dry on a cooling rack or on baking parchment.

Chop the chocolate finely. Place in a metal bowl with the butter. Slowly allow to melt over a hot – not boiling! – bain marie. Only stir right at the end until smooth. Allow the chocolate cream to cool down slightly until it becomes thicker.

Now dip the strawberries into the chocolate, but not as deep as into the icing, so that a beautiful white border remains. Allow the strawberries to drip until the chocolate starts to set. Then place the strawberries in baking cases and cool for a short while. Then store at room temperature and enjoy within 6 hours.

Annemarie Wildeisen's KOCHEN