The king of all chocolate covered fruit must be the fresh fig. Besides eating them plain, adding a soft coating of rich chocolate and nuts accentuates their already creamy, jammy texture. They're super easy to make too, but take note of these key tips before you do.

Chocolate covered mission figs with pistachios on a round white plate

While strawberries may be the more commonly covered fruit, figs are much better suited to chocolate IMHO due to their creamy, non-juicy filling.

A naturally gluten-free and customizable dessert this is such a nice treat for holidays, parties, or everyday indulgence.

Fresh figs are in season from May to November. If you can't find them, dried figs make a luxurious dessert too. Fresh figs also make a divine salad with beets and raspberries.

For other easy dairy free, desserts check out this fresh blueberry sauce or these vegan, gluten-free almond cookies.

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Ingredients
Instructions
Tips & Tricks
Storage
When are figs in season?
Recipe

Ingredients

Dark chocolate - I used dairy-free Guittard chocolate chips. The higher quality chocolate you choose, the nicer it will melt.
- Otherwise, I've found a chocolate like Hershey's has a lot of additives that melt to a thick paste, rather than a glossy, smooth texture.
Nuts - They really do add crunch and offset the sweetness of the figs and chocolate. I like using salted, roasted pistachios for their green color contrast and flavor.

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

You will need a double boiler or a heat safe bowl that fits over a pot of water, without touching the water.

chocolate chips in a silver bowl over a saucepan

Step 1: Melt the chocolate over a pot of gently simmering water.

fresh fig being dipped in chocolate in a silver bowl

Step 2: Stir the chocolate occassionally until all the chocolate is melted and you can dip in the figs.

hand holding a chocolate dipped fig over a silver bowl of melted chocolate

Step 3: The fig should be very dry. Dip and let the excess chocolate drip off before setting on to a piece of parchment or wax paper.

fresh figs dipped in melted chocolate and chopped pistachios on a parchment lined gold baking sheet

Step 4: Any leftover chocolate can be dumped into a puddle on parchment paper to dry. It can be remelted for the next dipping session.

Tips & Tricks

Chocolate and water do not mix. You don't want the pot of water to boil vigorously, else excess steam rolls over into the bowl.

You also don't want to dip wet figs into the chocolate. If you wash the figs, make sure they are thoroughly dry before dipping.

If water does get into the chocolate, it will seize and become undippable. You can rescue it by adding more boiling water, but the coating will no longer harden when dry for a chocolate dipped fig.

Chocolate covered mission figs with pistachios on a round dark blue plate

Storage

Store at room temperature if you plan to consume within a day. They can also be store in the fridge for 1-2 days, but the chocolate will likely get some condensation droplets.

When are figs in season?

There are two natural harvests annually:
Figs produce a smaller “breba” crop in late spring to early summer, followed by the main, more abundant crop in late summer to early fall.

Northern Hemisphere timing (e.g. U.S.):
Fresh figs are typically in season August through early October. In California, the prime season is June to September.

Recipe

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