Chocolate Covered Fruit Bliss

Having a dinner party can be a lot of fun, but it’s always a ton of work. Whether you are hosting a few or many, feeding people requires a great deal of planning, shopping, prepping, and preparing.  Sometimes I invest so much in the appetizers and main course, that I have little energy to bake a cake or make a complicated dessert.

Over the years, I have found a number of impressive ways to finish off the meal while barely lifting a finger. One such hack is chocolate covered fruit. This is perhaps the easiest crowd pleaser in existence. No matter how much chocolate-covered fruit I prepare, my guests always wipe the plate clean, wanting to know how on earth I made it. It’s pretty funny, because this must be the simplest dessert in the world to make.

All you need to do is melt chocolate of your favorite variety, dip the fruit halfway into the chocolate, and then place on wax paper before cooling in the fridge. I like to use bittersweet chocolate-covered Fruit Bliss dates and apricots. When the hard, slightly bitter chocolate mixes with the soft, moist, sweet dates it really is blissful. I also love the mix of the tangy Fruit Bliss apricots and chocolate. Add some chocolate-covered strawberries to the dessert plate and you will have a delectable variety everyone will enjoy.

The one thing you need to be mindful of is that chocolate can be finicky. I highly recommend melting it in a double boiler. If you don’t have one, you can improvise. Just boil a pot of water. Turn down the heat and rest another pot containing the chocolate in the pot of boiling water. This should keep the chocolate from burning and clumping. Also, make sure the fruit is dry before you dip it in the chocolate. Water and chocolate don’t mix well and wet fruit will turn the smooth, decadent chocolate into a yucky, clumpy mess.

Finally, when selecting your chocolate, you can really use any kind you like. In my opinion, the darker varieties go better with the sweet fruit. White chocolate also goes particularly well with strawberries. But it’s up to you. And you need not go fancy with the chocolate. Sometimes I splurge on a chunk of Belgian chocolate, but if that’s not available Hershey’s tastes nearly as good.

If you have a little extra time on your hands and you really want to wow people, whip up some homemade whipped cream and serve along with the fruit.

Ingredients
Makes 12 pieces

1 5-ounce bag of Fruit Bliss Dates
1 5-ounce bag of Fruit Bliss Apricots
8 oz. of the chocolate of your choice
Shredded coconut (optional)

Instructions

Melt chocolate in a double boiler. While chocolate is melting put fruit on skewers.  Dip fruit halfway into melted chocolate. Place on plate lined with wax paper. If you like, you can sprinkle with coconut. Store in fridge for at least half hour, until chocolate hardens. Serve and enjoy.

For the whipped cream, buy a small container of whipping cream and use a hand mixer to beat until it starts to peak. Add one teaspoon vanilla and one tablespoon of sugar and continue mixing until you have whipped cream. Refrigerate until you are ready to serve.