Chocolate Strawberry Verrines

These Chocolate Strawberry Verrines are splendor in a glass.

If you’re looking for a fun, hip dessert, look no further. The cookie crumbs, chocolate ganache, strawberries and meringue unite to create this fanciful dessert.

Fresh and fun, they will brighten your table and delight your family and friends.

Whether you call them verrines or dessert shooters, these gorgeous little treats will be a hit for Valentine’s Day or any celebration. You can even adapt your favorite desserts to create your own special verrines.

The word verrine comes from verre, French for “glass”.

This popular food trend originated in France by chef and pastry chef Philippe Conticini in 1994.

Verrines are appetizers or desserts consisting of a number of components layered artfully in a small glass. The transparency allows you to see each colorful layer.

This relatively new creation has been trendy in America for the past decade and has made a tremendous impact on patisseries around the world.

Being in the pastry field, I am always trying to stay ahead of the trends by reading and studying with great pastry chefs from around the world every chance I get.

I had the privilege of taking many classes from Stéphane Glacier, an MOF (Meilleur Ouvrier de France Pâtissier). He co-authored a beautiful book titled Verrines et Petits-Gâteaux. For a quick explanation of Chef Stéphane’s MOF title, MOF competition is held in France every four years. The final competition is narrowed down to 16 French pastry chefs. The blue, white and red striped collar worn on the jackets of the winners is more than the ultimate lifetime recognition for every pastry chef – it is a dream and an obsession.

My First Verrines

At the 2006 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival’s, Party for the Senses, I did a trio of desserts called, “Les Verrines”, showcasing France’s Valrhona Chocolate. It was lots of fun as always and was at the onset here in the U.S. of the mini desserts we call verrines.

The Trend in American Restaurants Started with Seasons 52

Seasons 52, a restaurant chain in the Darden family, focuses on seasonally inspired menus featuring ingredients at their peak of freshness. Founding chef, Clifford Pleau was responsible for putting Mini Indulgences on the menu. This started the mini dessert craze in the restaurant industry.

You may have had Applebee’s Dessert Shooters, Olive Garden’s Dolcini’s or the mini desserts at P.F. Chang’s. There are so many more restaurants, fast food locations and coffee shops offering these petit sweet treats.

No doubt we’re glad these mini desserts are around. They have a lot going for them. Besides being more affordable, they promote portion control and help prevent overindulgence after a filling meal. Furthermore, they allow guests to satisfy their cravings for something sweet.

Verrine glasses are available online through Amazon and other companies. JB Prince has a wide variety of glasses, including disposables, which are perfect for potlucks. Here are some examples of verrine glasses.

 

Let’s Make Ganache

Classical ganache is the divine blending of pure chocolate and cream. It can also include butter, liqueur or other flavorings. Any bittersweet, semisweet or dark chocolate may be used.

The ganache below is made from Enjoy Life’s Mini Chips, which worked like a charm. We made several other batches of ganache with other couvertures, sweet chocolate containing no added fats other than natural cocoa butter. It was definitely worth paying the higher price for the high quality chocolate!

Start by melting coins or finely chopped chocolate in a double boiler, stirring occasionally. Notice the water in the saucepan is only a couple of inches deep. The bowl of chocolate should not be in direct contact with the water. Once you place the bowl on the saucepan, lower the heat so the water is gently simmering.

When the chocolate is melted, stir in warmed hemp milk. If the hemp milk is cold, this will cause the chocolate to resolidify and lump. Stir the ganache with a rubber spatula or process with an immersion blender to emulsify the milk and chocolate. Using a whip to whisk the ganache is faster, but the ganache may be grainy and less creamy. However, with the ganache using Enjoy Life mini chips, I finished using the whip just briefly and had great results.

Set ganache aside to cool for approximately one hour, stirring occasionally.

While the ganache is cooling, crush graham or cookie crumbs of choice. Layer crumbs in verrine or shot glasses, followed by the cooled ganache. Place in refrigerator for approximately 30 minutes to firm up ganache before adding strawberries.

Dice strawberries and remove verrines from fridge. Fill glasses almost to the top. It’s that easy! Store in refrigerator until about 30 minutes before serving. Now you can allow the ganache to warm up slightly while topping verrines with meringue or whipped topping of your choice.

We love to have parties with verrines as the sweet ending. Sometimes it’s hard to decide what to have for dessert. With verrines, you can offer one or several of your favorite desserts.

It’s as easy as making your favorite cake and icing. Layer the cake and icing alternately in the mini glasses. Try it with s’mores or key lime pie. Just about whatever you can think of for a dessert can go in a glass.

Enjoy this Chocolate Strawberry Verrine, as elegant as it is easy to prepare!

Tidbits

• Water is an enemy of chocolate, causing it to seize up.
• Ganache is wonderful and can be used as a filling, icing or glaze-type coating on cakes, pastries, cookies and brownies.
• Store leftover ganache in the refrigerator. Ganache can be reheated over a hot water bath, or gently in a microwave at 5 second intervals.