With decadent chocolate shells, a creamy mascarpone filling, and fresh strawberries, these chocolate cubes are elegant to look at despite how simple they are to prepare. Their small size and the fact they are easy to pick up and eat makes them perfect to serve for something sweet as part of a cocktail party alongside all of your other hors d’oeuvres.
To make the chocolate cubes, you first dip ice cubes into a melted chocolate mixture to create square-shaped chocolate cups. Then, once the chocolate cups are unmolded from the ice cubes, they are filled with cookie crumbs followed by a mixture of mascarpone and heavy cream, and then they are garnished with slices of fresh strawberries. Easy to make ahead of time, you can have them sitting in the fridge until you are ready to serve them.
What are Chocolate Cubes?
Chocolate cubes are mini square chocolate shells that have a creamy mascarpone filling and sliced strawberries for garnish. The chocolate shells use a mixture of milk chocolate and dark chocolate, which gives that perfect blend of sweet, milky chocolate along with the hint of bitterness that dark chocolate has. Meanwhile, the creamy filling is made extra light and creamy with the inclusion of whipped cream.
Pro Tips
- Melt the dark chocolate and milk chocolate in a double boiler on top of the stove or in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave.
- Finely chop the chocolate so that it melts quickly.
- Use a silicone ice cube tray so you can remove the ice cubes easily.
- If you don’t have strawberries on hand, you could garnish the cups with other fresh berries such as raspberries, blackberries, or blueberries. They would also be delicious with some candied orange peel, chocolate shavings, or maraschino cherries when fresh fruit is out of season.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I Use Any Type of Chocolate for the Chocolate Cubes?
Yes, if you would prefer not to use a combination of milk and dark chocolate, you could use one or the other. Alternatively, you could replace them with semi-sweet chocolate if you like sweeter dark chocolate or white chocolate if you would prefer something a little less decadent.
What Types of Cookie Crumbs Should Be Used?
Feel free to use whatever cookie crumbs you enjoy such as graham cracker crumbs or digestive cookie crumbs. You could even use chocolate Oreo crumbs if you have those on hand.
Can I Use Other Garnishes?
Yes, when strawberries aren’t in season, you could top the cups with other berries or fresh fruit such as blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, or figs. They would also be delicious topped with segments of fresh peaches or cherries when they are available. Alternatively, consider garnishing the cups with chocolate shavings, candied orange peel, chopped nuts, or maraschino cherries when good-quality fresh fruit isn’t as available.
How to Store Chocolate Cubes
The chocolate cubes should be stored in the fridge until you are ready to serve them. Simply place them on a platter and cover them with plastic wrap before putting them in the fridge. They should keep well for 2 to 3 days, however, if you need to store them for longer, wait to garnish them with the strawberries or else their juices will bleed into the cream filling.
Ingredients
How to Make Chocolate Cubes
Fill an ice cube tray with water and place a toothpick in each cup. Freeze them until they are solid.
Fill an ice cube tray with water and place a toothpick in each cup. Freeze them until they are solid.
Melt the dark chocolate with the milk chocolate until smooth, and allow the mixture to cool until it is just warm. Remove the ice cubes from the tray and dip them in the chocolate two-thirds of the way up the sides. Place them on a parchment-lined tray until they are set. Once set, carefully remove the ice cubes from the chocolate cups. Sprinkle cookie crumbs in the cups.
Melt the dark chocolate with the milk chocolate until smooth, and allow the mixture to cool until it is just warm. Remove the ice cubes from the tray and dip them in the chocolate two-thirds of the way up the sides. Place them on a parchment-lined tray until they are set. Once set, carefully remove the ice cubes from the chocolate cups. Sprinkle cookie crumbs in the cups.
For the filling, in a bowl, beat the mascarpone with the cream until stiff.
For the filling, in a bowl, beat the mascarpone with the cream until stiff.
Pipe the cream mixture into the cubes and garnish them with the sliced strawberries.
Pipe the cream mixture into the cubes and garnish them with the sliced strawberries.
Serve and enjoy!
Serve and enjoy!
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