Berry and Chocolate Wreath

One absolute failproof food pairing is that of really good chocolate and fresh berries. Add this Berry and Chocolate Wreath to your holiday no-bake confections list this Christmas! Buy your favourite chocolates and your family’s favourite berries. Assemble this wreath and dig in!

Everyone knows that calories don’t count at Christmastime. Well, maybe not everyone believes that, but it certainly does ring true in our home. Christmas has always been a time of indulgence, so we take full of advantage of that. But, if in the case that calories do count in your home, this Berry and Chocolate Wreath is the perfect solution! You can indulge in the chocolate while feeling good about the healthy benefits of eating fresh berries too! It’s all about moderation and compromise.

Speaking of compromise, I have to compromise all the time when it comes to chocolate. To be honest, I think McKenna is pretty easygoing when it comes to eating chocolate. But, as for me and John.e, we couldn’t be more different. You see, Dear Reader, he’s a fan of Hershey’s chocolate. He can eat M&Ms at any time of day, and he loves minty chocolate like that After Eight bar.

In contrast, I prefer Lindt and Cadbury. I don’t mind M&Ms with peanuts or almonds, but the plain chocolate M&Ms taste horrible unless they are baked into a cookie! Even though I had a wonderful time a few years back when we visited Hershey Park in Pennsylvania with McKenna, I do not like the chocolate. It doesn’t melt on the tongue as Cadbury does. And, it has a really horrible aftertaste!

COMPROMISE CAN MAKE EVERYONE HAPPY!

So, in the case of my Berry and Chocolate Wreath, I was able to find chocolates that we both like. He’s not a fan of Lindt, but he does like the white chocolate balls. I’m not a fan of Ghirardelli, but I do like the caramel-filled white chocolate squares. I love strawberries, but he doesn’t. And, he loves raspberries, but I could do without them. See, I told you – it’s all about compromise!

This gorgeous and delicious Berry and Chocolate Wreath is the ninth in my 12 Edible Wreaths of Christmas Series. Have you been following along? Which of the wreaths has been your favourite so far? And, which of the wreaths are you planning to prepare? Now, if you cannot wait until tomorrow, you can always check out a series from Christmases past. Find the links for each series below!

WHAT IS CHARCUTERIE ANYWAY?

Charcuterie is a French term meaning “flesh” and “cooked.” It is a branch of cooking devoted to prepared meat products, such as bacon, ham, sausage, terrines, and pate, etc. Originally intended as a way to preserve meat before the advent of refrigeration, they are prepared today for the flavours derived from the preservation processes.

Today, when we hear the term charcuterie, most of us immediately know that we are referring to the preparation and artful assembling of arranging items like cured meats, hard and soft cheeses, dried and fresh fruits, vegetables, and crackers or bread on a large wooden board.

Charcuterie has been popular in many parts of Europe for many, many years. In fact, there’s documented evidence of charcuterie being present in ancient Roman times. The popularity of these boards did not catch on here in North America until recently. Now, they’re everywhere! And, I’m going to show you how to make wreath-shaped charcuterie boards specifically for Christmas!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR THIS RECIPE:

The following is a list of the items needed to prepare a Berry and Chocolate Wreath. Please keep in mind that the number of items you will need will greatly depend on how many people you are preparing the wreath for. Also, these items are suggestions only. Feel free to switch it up with things that you love, or things that you can find in your local area.

• Lindt Lindor Milk Chocolate Truffles – These gourmet milk chocolate truffles are irresistibly filled with a delectably smooth melting milk chocolate centre for a luxurious, melt-in-your-mouth texture.
• Lindt Lindor White Chocolate Truffles – With the same melt-in-your-mouth texture, these are made with white chocolate for the white chocolate enthusiast.
• Ghirardelli White Caramel Squares – These have a buttery caramel center covered with creamy, milk chocolate.
• Ghirardelli Sea Salt Dark Chocolate Squares – The combination of really good chocolate topped with sea salt just cannot be beaten!
• Toffifee Chocolates – These half-sphere chocolates are made with a caramel shell, a whole hazelnut, nougat, and chocolate icing. Who could resist that!?
• Ferrero Rocher Chocolates – I’m using three types here – white coconut Raffaello, regular milk chocolate crisps, and the dark chocolate variety too.
• Strawberries
• Blackberries
• Raspberries
• Blueberries

HOW TO PREPARE YOUR WREATH BASE

The first thing you want to do is to source a serving plate or bowl. The number of people you are serving and the number of items you have to place on the board will help to determine the size you will need. You can use a cutting board, a charcuterie board, a marble slab, or an old silver-plated tray. In fact, you can build the wreath right on top of your clean countertop too, especially if that is where the rest of your food items will be set up!

Next, using fresh sprigs of edible greenery, such as summer savoury or kale, create a circular pattern on the board. I used cedar branches that I cut from one of our cedar trees. They were washed very well and dried in a salad spinner. Whatever greenery you choose to use, position the sprigs so that the leafy end is pointing out from the center of the board. The wreath size will be determined by how much berries and chocolate you will be piling onto it, so size the wreath accordingly. It’s always best to make the wreath a little bigger so that the green leaves are not completely covered. Once you’re happy with positioning those, it’s time to assemble the wreath.

Start by laying down alternating chocolates. Work your way around the cedar wreath alternating between the white and milk chocolate Lindt balls, the white, milk, and dark chocolate Ferrero Rocher balls, and of course, the square white and dark chocolate Ghiradelli chocolates. Don’t use up all of the balls yet, save a few to fill in the gaps later. Next, go in and sporadically place in some of the Toffiffee chocolates.

When you’re happy with that, it’s time to add in the berries. Start with the strawberries first, because they are the biggest. Place them around at random, followed by the blackberries, raspberries, and finally, the blueberries. The blueberries make great gap fillers! Finally, tuck in the reserved chocolate balls and you’re done! Now, stand back and admire that work of art that you just created! Gorgeous isn’t it!?

CHOOSING YOUR BERRIES

Pick berries that you like to eat! You can be very selective and choose only red berries. Or, you can use berries that are in season. For my board, I choose berries that we love to eat and also I picked a few that would add to the overall look of the wreath.

Red berries were an obvious choice, so I picked both strawberries and raspberries. I absolutely love strawberries, but John.e is not a big fan of them. For him, I added the raspberries. He loves those! I like them too, but not as much as I like strawberries. And, as for McKenna, she doesn’t care for raspberries at all, but she loves strawberries too!

Next, I picked blackberries and blueberries. I love the combination of blueberries and chocolate! And, blackberries can be quite tart, so I knew they would pair well with the sweetness of the chocolate as well. But, here’s the thing, if you have never tried blackberries with coconut, you’re missing out! See those white fuzzy-looking chocolates? Those are coated in coconut. Try one of those with a blackberry. It’s a big mouthful, but well worth it!

CHOCOLATES – THE BEST PART!

Who doesn’t love chocolate!? I ask that knowing full well that I know of one person who doesn’t. My sisters little boy doesn’t care for chocolate at all. Isn’t that odd? His older brother loves it though, so I bet he’s happy that he gets to eat all of the Easter and Halloween chocolate by himself!

For this Berry and Chocolate Wreath, I wanted to add a few different kinds of chocolate that would appeal to everyone’s tastes, but not break the bank at the same time. We all know that really good chocolate can be quite expensive, so only buy what you can afford. The mass-produced chocolate is just fine for a board like this! Save the specialty shops and artisan chocolate for Valentine’s Day!

In my case, I wanted to buy different types of chocolate, so I got some white chocolate, milk chocolate, and dark chocolate. I also wanted different shapes of chocolate, so I was sure to find some chocolate squares as well as chocolate balls. Luckily, I was able to find some Toffifee, which are shaped like a semi-sphere. They add such a nice contrast, especially with that outer ring of caramel!

So, we have covered flavours of chocolate and shapes of chocolate, so what’s next? Texture, of course! The texture is very important when it comes to assembling your Berry and Chocolate Wreath. In my case, I opted for Ferrero Rocher chocolates for that. I picked up Raffaello, which is white chocolate and coconut. And, I also got the Rondnoir which is fine dark chocolate with a dark chocolate pearl at the center.

Ferrero Raffaello has a crunchy white almond in the middle that is surrounded by velvety smooth cream and the familiar delicate crisp shell that makes Ferrero Rocher chocolate so distinct. This one is also covered with coconut flakes! Needless to say, I think I had all the basis covered here!

MAKE IT AHEAD OF TIME

You can make this Berry and Chocolate Wreath earlier on the day you are serving it, however, I would not make it a day or two in advance. There most certainly will be moisture in the berries, which will make the chocolate wet and soggy in spots if left to sit too long. If you do make it ahead of time, I would not recommend any longer than 8-12 hours. Cover the board well and keep refrigerated until about 20 minutes before serving.

If you need to make this wreath further in advance, you can, but don’t assemble it. Wash and dry the cedar branches. Wash and gently pat the berries dry. You can even unwrap all of the chocolates ahead of time. Package everything up in food-safe containers individually. It will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Don’t store the cedar branches in your fridge. Prop them up in a jar or vase with water. They will stay fresh for about a week. In fact, you can leave them in the water out on your front porch too. This might be the best way to go, especially if you have pets that like to chew on things! (I’m looking at you, Jake and Maggie!) When ready to assemble, take everything out of the fridge and layer as described in the section above.