Rotten Teeth Chocolate Strawberries

Here's a treat that will make your guests' jaws drop. These rotten teeth are nothing but chocolate-covered strawberries in disguise, so don't be afraid to take a bite!

They can be served alone or as a topping, like on a trendy Basque burnt cheesecake dripping with blood-red strawberry coulis. Either way, every sweet tooth out there will find these filling.

This is an entry into the Halloween Contest. If you know the drill, please vote and share by word of mouth. Thank you!

You'll need:

Strawberries -- the longer and narrower and less perfectly shaped, the better

Chopped white and dark chocolate

Coconut oil for thinning the chocolate to a good coating consistency

Edible silver pearl dust

Food color, preferably the gel variety, in yellow and black

Clear flavoring or alcohol like vodka

Black Food Writer edible marker (optional, as you can use the black food color exclusively)

Cake decorating brushes

Cocoa powder

Skewers

The amounts will vary according to how many strawberries you are using. I used 100g bar of white chocolate to coat about a dozen small-medium size strawberries.

1. First, wash and hull the strawberries using a small, sharp knife.

2. Cut several small "V" incisions off the top of the strawberry to carve and mimick the topography of a molar.

3. Carve away the bottom to look like 2 to 3 roots.

4. Cut some strawberries in half to mimick the incisors. The pointed part of the strawberry will be the incisor's root.

In a ramekin or very small bowl, melt white chocolate using your method of choice -- melting in the microwave or tempering in a double boiler.

Add a very small amount of coconut oil. Coconut oil will keep the chocolate more fluid and smoother for coating. It will also delay the setting time of the chocolate, so you can work longer. A half a teaspoon to a teaspoon is enough for a 100g bar of white chocolate.

1. Prepare the strawberries by patting any cut surfaces, like the roots, with paper towel to ensure the surface is dry and the coating will stick.

2. Place one strawberry in the melted white chocolate.

3. Using a spoon, coat the strawberry. Also use the spoon to pick up and guide the strawberry into a skewer. Make sure the strawberry is skewered through the top.

4. Using the same skewer, repeat steps 2 and 3 above.

5. One skewer can hold at least 3 strawberries at a time.

6. Prop the skewer on 2 stabilizers, like short glasses for example. I used espresso cups and tea glasses.

7. Repeat dipping and skewering the strawberries and let the chocolate fully set.

After the chocolate has set, gently remove from skewers. I suggest removing from the opposite end of the skewer since the pointed tip likely has a coating of hardened chocolate that will get lodged. If the strawberry is stuck to the skewer, carefully use a small sharp knife to trim off any hardened chocolate on the skewer.

Carefully shave off any hardened drips with a sharp knife.

Before decorating the strawberry teeth, have a good stare at some online images of rotten teeth, if you can stomach it. You probably can anyway if you are making these. It's helpful to observe the variety of colors and gradients in various types of rotten teeth.

1. If you are using gel food color, you can dilute yellow food color in several drops of clear flavoring (or alcohol like vodka) in desired color. Try the color out first on a small spot on the strawberry.

2. Paint stains on the strawberry teeth, especially focusing towards the roots. You want random washes of color so that there are many patchy shades to give dimension.

3. I preferred to hold each strawberry tooth on a paper towel as I painted, so that I could also pat away any areas where I put too much color.

It's good to continue observing online pictures of teeth as you proceed with every detail. To make the teeth look like they're rotten:

1. Melt a small amount of chopped dark chocolate in a piping bag or Ziploc bag. I simply put it in the microwave in 30 second bursts until melted.

2. To avoid any spills, I like to clip the piping bag shut.

3. Pipe dark chocolate on the tops of the strawberry teeth.

4. You can also put a small chocolate spot or two on the side of a tooth. I wouldn't do this for all of them, just enough for variety.

Time to give these teeth some silver fillings.

1. Mix together the edible silver pearl dust and a couple of drops of clear flavoring (or alcohol like vodka).

2. You want to get a nice paint-like consistency for the metal filling so that it isn't translucent. If it's too translucent, add more silver pearl dust.

3. Paint around the dark chocolate on the tops of the teeth and around any other spots where you've used dark chocolate.

Time to do the finishing touches on the tops and roots.

1. For any fine lines, you can either use a black Food Writer edible marker or black gel food color. To get a fine line with the food color, I used the tip and side a toothpick.

2. For the roots, paint a light wash of black gel color diluted in clear flavoring/alcohol. Also paint some smaller areas with a light wash, to add more gradient and dimension to the surface of the strawberry tooth.

3. To emphasize the roots further, dip the roots in cocoa powder and brush off any excess.


There you have them -- rotten teeth chocolate-covered strawberries! Enjoy and share!