How To Make Chocolate Covered Ladybug Strawberries and Cupcakes

For my daughter’s 2nd birthday, I wanted to do something very different.  She does not have anything that she really likes or does not like and I had seen some really cute ideas on Pinterest for ladybugs.

Since I am 9 months pregnant, I was looking for something easy to prepare and that my other children could help me with.

I came up with the idea of making ladybugs out of halves of strawberries.  June is the perfect time to find fresh strawberries and they make such cute and tasty ladybugs.

To make the chocolate covered ladybug strawberries, you will need a little bit of time an planning ahead for chilling the chocolate prior to serving.

Things you will need to make chocolate covered ladybug strawberries:

15-20 Large, fresh strawberries
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 tsp shortening
3-4 tbsp mini chocolate chips
Approximately 40 chocolate covered raisins
White decorator’s frosting

Wash and dry you strawberries. Make sure they are FULLY dry before attempting to dip them in chocolate.  The chocolate will not stick to wet or damp strawberries and it will continue to slip off.  If you have stored your strawberries in the refrigerator, make sure you bring them to room temperature prior to dipping them in chocolate. Otherwise you will find that the strawberries will “sweat” and make the chocolate not stick.

Once you have washed and dried your strawberries, carefully cut the strawberries in half, leaving half the green stem on each part of the strawberry.

Once you have prepared all you strawberries, you need to make your dipping chocolate.  Take 1 cup of your milk chocolate chips and place them in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on 50% power for one minute.  Stir after the one minute. If the chocolate chips have not melted enough, microwave again for 30 seconds, again at 50% power. Continue doing this until the chips are starting to melt.  Add 1 teaspoon of shortening to the chocolate chips and stir.  Microwave again if the chocolate is not smooth, again for 30 second intervals at 50% power. Do this until the chocolate is completely smooth. Be careful not to overhead the chocolate, otherwise it will dry out and will not be usable for your strawberries.

Once you have your chocolate all melted, dip your strawberries, the small, rounded part only, into the chocolate and place on a wire cooling rack. Allow the chocolate to harder before adding the ladybug head. You may need to place them in the refrigerator for a little while to help the chocolate harden, especially if it is  a hot, summer day.

While the chocolate is cooling, you can add the mini chocolate chips to the strawberries. This is a great job for little helpers.  Push the pointy end of the chip into the strawberry to make the spots on your ladybugs.

Next, cut a small amount off one side of the chocolate covered raisins. It should be only enough so you can apply a little bit of the melted chocolate to the back and apply it to the round part of the strawberry.  I had my daughter put the eyes and month on the chocolate covered raisin before I put it on the strawberry, but it doesn’t really matter which order you do it in.

Refrigerate the completed ladybug strawberry until you are just ready to serve them.

I placed my chocolate covered ladybug strawberries on top of cupcakes for my daughter’s birthday.