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Tutorial: Chocolate Covered Strawberry Soap Recipe

By Leanna Blacher 18 Comments

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Valentine’s Day is coming up, and with it comes all of the sweets and treats! To celebrate the season, I’m sharing my take on a chocolate covered strawberry in soap form! (Chocolate covered strawberries are my very favorite thing to say “Be my Valentine!!” – Perfection!)

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Soap Recipe and Tutorial

This chocolate covered strawberry soap involves making your own strawberry puree and grinding your own cacao nibs. However, you can choose to leave them out if you want to skip the extra work.  If you want to leave out the prep work, skip down below to dive right into the chocolate covered strawberry soap tutorial!

Preparing the Ingredients

Before we can use fresh ingredients in our cold process soap, we need to prepare them! So, here’s what you’ll need to make our two fresh homemade ingredients: strawberry puree and ground cacao nibs.

Ingredients Used

  • 1 cup Fresh Strawberries, with tops removed
  • 1 tablespoon Cacao Nibs
  • Distilled Water

I used these Cacao Nibs, but you can find different brands at your local market where organics and and health foods are sold.

Other Tools Used

  • Cutting Board
  • Knife
  • Blender or Food Processor
  • Spice Grinder

Kenna uses this electric coffee grinder/spice grinder for soapmaking – lasts forever, easy to use, and cheap!

Making the Strawberry Puree

PREP THE STRAWBERRIES: Remove the tops of the strawberries and slice them in half. Then, place the strawberries into your blender with 1 to 2 tablespoons of distilled water.

PUREE: After putting on the lid, blend the strawberries on low speed until pureed.

Place the cut strawberries into your blender with just a little bit of water. Blend until almost smooth, leaving a little bit of texture.
Place the cut strawberries into your blender with just a little bit of distilled water. Blend until almost smooth, leaving a little bit of texture.
When your fresh strawberry puree is prepared for the strawberry soap portion, it should look similar to this photo.
When your fresh strawberry puree is prepared for the strawberry soap portion, it should look similar to this photo.

When you are done, set your fresh strawberry puree aside. If you are not making your chocolate covered strawberry soap immediately, cover the strawberry puree with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you are ready to use it.

Making the Ground Cacao nibs

MEASURE: Measure approximately 1 to 2 tablespoons of cacao nibs and place them into a spice grinder. Grind until mostly powder with some coarser pieces.

If you don’t have a spice grinder, you can crush the cacao nibs on a cutting board by placing a heavy pot on top of them and rocking it back and forth to break the nibs into smaller pieces.

A wonderful side effect of using the cacao nibs in your soap is their rich chocolate aroma!

Cacao nibs can be found at your local market where organics and and health foods are sold, or you can purchase them online. Measure out approximately two tablespoons.
Cacao nibs can be found at your local market where organics and and health foods are sold, or you can purchase them online. Measure out approximately two tablespoons.
After the cacao nibs are ground, they will have a nice texture variation from fine powder to coarse bits for your chocolate strawberry soap!
After the cacao nibs are ground, they will have a nice texture variation from fine powder to coarse bits for your chocolate strawberry soap!

Making the Chocolate Covered Strawberry Soap

This chocolate covered strawberry soap recipe is sized for a 12″ round PVC with 3″ diameter mold that I made. If you don’t have one, you can follow along with this tutorial to make your own. If you are using a different mold, you can resize this recipe using a lye calculator for whichever mold works for you. 

(If you aren’t sure how much soap your mold holds, you can find out with this guide to resizing your soap recipes to fit your mold.)

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Soap Recipe Used

This chocolate covered strawberry soap was made as a single recipe, and then split in half with some ingredients going into the strawberry soap half and other ingredients going into the chocolate soap half.

Total Soap Recipe Oil Amounts

  • 12.25 ounces of Coconut Oil (35% of the oils)
  • 10.5 ounces of Olive Oil  (30% of the oils)
  • 3.5 ounces of Avocado Oil (10% of the oils)
  • 3.5 ounces of Shea Butter (10% of the oils)
  • 3.5 ounces of Rice Bran Oil (10% of the oils)
  • 1.75 ounces of Castor Oil (5% of the oils)
  • 4.75 ounces of Sodium Hydroxide (10% superfat)
  • 7.15 ounces of Distilled Water (40% lye solution)*

* I know that this is a steep water discount. I like to do this so that my soaps harden quickly and cure quickly. Please feel free to adjust this recipe for more water: a 33% solution would use 13.2 ounces of water total.

I buy most of my soaping oils from Soaper’s Choice and Wholesale Supplies Plus.

Fragrance Oil Used

  • 1 oz of Strawberry Fragrance Oil

I buy most essential oils and fragrance oils from New Directions or Mad Oils.

Looking for essential oil blends to use instead? Check out the Essential Oil Blending Calculator here on Modern Soapmaking!

Colorants and Additives Used

Used in Chocolate Soap Half

  • 2 teaspoons of Cocoa Powder
  • 1 tablespoon of Ground Cacao Nibs

Used in Strawberry Soap Half

  • 1 teaspoon Firecracker Mica (Nurture Soap Supply)
  • 1 ounce Strawberry Puree

Used in Both Portions

  • 2 teaspoons of Sodium Lactate (Soaper’s Choice)**
  • 2 teaspoons of White Kaolin Clay (Wholesale Supplies Plus)**

** Optional ingredients

PREP IT UP: Prepare your oils, lye solution, and additives. I premixed my mica into 1 tablespoon of sweet almond oil to disperse it easily in the soap later. You could also use a tablespoon of oils from your soap pot to premix your micas.

Line your mold, if you wish. I like to line my mold with some freezer paper, and cover the end with plastic wrap before adding the end cap.

I like to line my PVC molds with freezer paper, and cover the end with plastic wrap before adding the end cap. Whatever mold you are using, make sure it's ready to go before you start your chocolate covered strawberry soap!
I like to line my PVC molds with freezer paper, and cover the end with plastic wrap before adding the end cap. Whatever mold you are using, make sure it’s ready to go before you start your chocolate covered strawberry soap!

MAKE THE SOAP: Slowly pour your lye solution into your premixed oils. Personally, I add my kaolin clay and sodium lactate to my oils and stick blend before adding my lye solution, but you can add it later if you want!

Stick blend until you reach a light to medium trace. When thoroughly mixed, add your fragrance oil and stir to incorporate. (You can also add your fragrance oil before your lye solution, if you’d like.) Next, divide your raw soap into two portions – half for the strawberry soap and half for the chocolate soap.

Add the mica and the strawberry puree to one half to create the strawberry soap. Then, add the cacao nibs and cocoa powder to the other half to create the chocolate soap. (You can add a brown colorant such as mica to your chocolate half, if you wish!)

After splitting your soap in half, add the mica and the strawberry puree to the strawberry soap half and add the cacao nibs and cocoa powder to the chocolate soap half.
After splitting your soap in half, add the mica and the strawberry puree to the strawberry soap half and add the cacao nibs and cocoa powder to the chocolate soap half.

Stick blend each half of the soap to thoroughly incorporate the additives. Be careful to clean your stick blender between uses, so you don’t muddy the pink strawberry soap! (And try not to overmix so it doesn’t get too thick on you!)

With the added pink mica, the strawberry soap portion is a gorgeous pink/red color!
With the added pink mica, the strawberry soap portion is a gorgeous pink/red color!
The chocolate soap portion will be a beautiful chocolate-y color from the cacao nibs and cocoa powder, but you can use brown mica in this half to make the chocolate color more intense, if you wish.
The chocolate soap portion will be a beautiful chocolate-y color from the cacao nibs and cocoa powder, but you can use brown mica in this half to make the chocolate color more intense, if you wish.

SWIRL IT UP: Once you’ve stick blended both the chocolate soap and strawberry soap, it’s time to pour your soap into the mold! Alternate between each color of soap, pouring one at a time in the mold. When pouring, count to three with each pour to help you split the soap evenly.

If possible, do your best to pour into the center of the mold to make a bullseye pattern!

Alternate pouring your chocolate soap and strawberry soap in the mold, by pouring in the center of the mold and counting to three.
Alternate pouring your chocolate soap and strawberry soap in the mold, by pouring in the center of the mold and counting to three.
Continue alternate pouring your chocolate soap and strawberry soap in the mold. Pouring into the center of the cylinder PVC mold will create a bullseye pattern that we'll swirl later!
Continue alternate pouring your chocolate soap and strawberry soap in the mold. Pouring into the center of the cylinder PVC mold will create a bullseye pattern that we’ll swirl later!

Next, I used a bamboo skewer to swirl the soap in the mold, starting in the center and going in a spiral pattern.

Optional: Use a skewer or thin dowel to swirl the chocolate covered strawberry soap in the mold!
Optional: Use a skewer or thin dowel to swirl the chocolate covered strawberry soap in the mold!
Allow your chocolate covered strawberry soap to hang out in the mold for at least 12 hours, and then slice it up, cure, and enjoy! Remember: it's soap, not food! ;)
Allow your chocolate covered strawberry soap to hang out in the mold for at least 12 hours, and then slice it up, cure, and enjoy! Remember: it’s soap, not food! 😉

I left the chocolate covered strawberry soap in the mold overnight, uncovered to saponify. The next day, I sliced it up and was so happy to find little hearts in some of the bars!

Love the lather on this recipe! Smells delicious, but remember: it's soap, not food! ;)
Love the lather on this recipe! Smells delicious, but remember: it’s soap, not food! 😉

I loved making this fun twist on a Valentines classic, and enjoyed the final soap! Plus, it is always fun to think of ways to turn food into soap. I would love to hear what you think!

Please me know in the comments below if there is a food item or liquid you’d like to see in my next Using Food in Soap tutorial!

Filed Under: Guest Contributors, Soap Recipes and Tutorials Tagged With: cold process, fragrances, in the mold swirl, micas, natural colorants, palm free soap, soap recipe, soapmaking tutorial, using food in soap

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About Leanna Blacher( Read more from Leanna Blacher )

Leanna is a classically trained chef and mother of 3 that discovered soapmaking in 2014. She started The Soapy Chef in 2015 after having a successful catering business for several years. She loves using her chef's palette to try out new "flavor" combinations to make exciting and innovative soap and bath products. She also loves teaching people about using food products in soap. When not soaping or cooking, Leanna loves working on her next funky manicure!

  • Connect with Leanna Blacher:

Reader Interactions

What Folks Are Saying

  1. Lisa says

    January 17, 2017 at 9:13 pm

    Hi Leanna,
    What a great idea, just in time for Valentine’s Day! I can’t wait to try it. I always enjoy your combinations of food and soap.
    Thanks! Lisa

    Reply
    • Leanna says

      January 18, 2017 at 4:51 am

      Thank you so much!!

      Reply
      • Lisa says

        February 2, 2017 at 4:56 pm

        You are welcome! I finally made this yesterday with voodoo pink mica from mad oils and it turned out gorgeous. Thanks again for this fabulous rescipe.

        Reply
      • Joni says

        October 9, 2018 at 7:35 pm

        Is there a benefit to the skin for using strawberries? Do they turn the soap brown like some organic material sometimes dose? I love this idea! It is so fun!

        Reply
  2. Judy says

    January 18, 2017 at 7:29 am

    Hi Leanna,
    This looks like a great soap recipe & I can’t wait to try it out. I love using food & plant material in my soaps. I just can’t think of a good complimentary essential oil to go along with the chocolate scent that would be sweet like the strawberry. Any suggestion?
    Thanks,
    Judy

    Reply
    • Leanna says

      January 18, 2017 at 7:48 am

      Judy,
      That’s a great question. For this, I would just choose a warm scented essential oil. Maybe like allspice, cardamom, Cedarwood, Myrrh, Sandalwood, clary sage, or even use a pure vanilla extract. Hope this helps!

      Reply
  3. Jacqueline Drury says

    January 19, 2017 at 8:50 pm

    Hi leanna,
    That was a great tutorial, I am going to give it a go sometime, making the mould. Keep up the good work.
    Kind regards from Australia
    Jacqueline.

    Reply
    • Leanna says

      January 22, 2017 at 4:24 pm

      Great!! I hope you try it. And thank you for the kind words!

      Reply
  4. Andrea says

    January 22, 2017 at 12:11 pm

    I made this used espresso fo from Brambleberry, so nice. However, the soap is still pretty soft even 2 days after making it and my colors don’t pop as nicely as yours…..hoping that as it cures it’ll get there. Btw, i also got a little heart in one of my cuts…lol

    Reply
    • Leanna says

      January 22, 2017 at 4:25 pm

      Yay for the hearts!!! Hopefully it will harden up for you. Did you use sodium lactate? I find that makes my bars much harder and easy to unmold. I also use a pretty high percentage of hard oils, which helps as well. Thanks for trying it!!!

      Reply
      • Zainab says

        May 26, 2017 at 10:11 pm

        hi leanna,
        does adding sodium lactate also result in a longer lasting bar? What EO can i add instead of strawberry fragrance, if i want to make a totally natural soap. any ideas?

        Reply
  5. Kelly says

    January 31, 2017 at 5:41 am

    Do you have any recommendations for a natural red or pink pigment instead of mica?

    Reply
    • Leanna says

      January 31, 2017 at 12:25 pm

      Kelly,
      You can definitely use madder root powder for a brick red color, or Australian red clay or Australian pink clay. All of these work great! Good luck!

      Reply
  6. K.Young says

    January 31, 2017 at 4:32 pm

    gromwell root infused into oil makes a nice magenta. I usually do it in a mason jar in a pot of water (semi double boiler) on the stove on very low for 3-4 days, turning it off at night. At the end is a deep, beautiful maroon-magenta that will either be pink or purple in your soap.

    Reply
  7. Meandewe313 says

    April 27, 2017 at 8:21 am

    I’m a newbie on soap making. Hot hooked on the first book and video I saw. Would love to eventually sell soap. Is there a beginners kit on the whole subject of starting out. I want to go as natural as possible. Thanks

    Reply
    • Leanna says

      May 19, 2017 at 4:44 am

      You have come to the right place. Modernsoapmaking.com is a great resource for soapmakers at any level. I would suggest reading all you can, practicing as much as possible, and asking questions.
      There are also some very informative youtubers out there for soapmaking. Good luck and happy soaping!

      Reply
  8. Marjie says

    January 24, 2019 at 11:12 am

    Hi Leanna! I have just stumbled upon your site today, and am so happy I did. I just received Cacao essential oil yesterday, and it smells SO DELICIOUS! Just like chocolate. Can I use this in the chocolate portion of your recipe? If so, according to your recipe, how much of that eo would you use? I was just thinking this past week that I would love to make a strawberry chocolate soap, and have been wanting to work with purees as well. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Marjie says

      January 24, 2019 at 12:36 pm

      I apologize, I meant cacao fragrance oil (FO), not essential oil (EO). Was in a hurry while typing! 😛

      Reply

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