Exploding the Internet: Hot Chocolate Bombs! It's time for a DIY!
Posted by Marva Scott on
If you haven't seen them yet, it is simply inevitable and these fun explosives are popping in popularity just in time for a Valentine's Day sweet treat. Think bath bomb ... only sweeter! What could be better than chocolatey goodness exploding in your favorite mug in the form of hot cocoa bombs? Well, not much! This is an explosive we can all get behind, amiright?! They are cute, decadent, delicious and even absolutely gorgeous! There's just something wonderful about a beautifully decorated, all inclusive chocolate ball ready to go for a perfect cup of hot cocoa. Genius! So, we decided to try a little kitchen DIY with this popular trend to see what all the fuss was about and we wanted to share the fun with you!
These sweet bombs are simple to make, but maybe not quite as simple to make them complete works of art. That's okay, we'll leave that exquisite work of art part to the experts (and I'll refer you to one at the end of this blog), but for now we are just in it for cute, crafty, yummy baking FUN! So, let's get started! (an ingredient list is at the end of this blog)
Most all of the ingredients can be found at your local supermarket, but the sphere/ball molds may be a bit difficult to find in craft stores because, let's face it, this craftiness is all the rage right now! I found these molds on Amazon. They are considered "medium" in the world of sphere molds and upon receipt I decided to order a large mold as well, but the package was incorrectly delivered to my neighbor for which I am waiting for them to arrive home and forward on to me. We shall see. For now, medium it is!
First off and simply enough, just melt your chocolate. I used the microwave, but a double boiler over the stove would work perfectly as well. If you're using the microwave, make sure your dish is microwave safe. Next, just start dispersing a spoonful of melted chocolate in each cavity of the sphere molds, then spread the chocolate into the mold with your paint brush. Let them cool to a dull finish. I did two coats of chocolate in each half-sphere.
Once the chocolate in the molds has hardened to a dull finish you can remove them from the mold. As for the types of molds, there are hard plastic molds available, but I recommend the silicone mold for easiest removal.
Lay the chocolate half spheres out on parchment paper or a cookie sheet.. even a plate. Whatever you have.
Now we're going to clean up those edges to achieve a smooth seal for the top and bottom to connect and form the ball. Heat up a small skillet. It doesn't need to be too hot, a little warmth goes a long way with chocolate! Remove from heat and place on a hot pad near your chocolate half spheres. You could even microwave a ceramic plate for warmth, if that works better for you. You just need a slightly warm, flat surface.
Place the chocolate half sphere edges on the warm flat surface, swirl around a bit and remove. Set the half spheres with the edges up to cool on your parchment paper or plate. You only need to do half of the spheres now, the second half will be done when you've filled the balls and are ready to close them up. The skillet will likely stay warm enough through this process so there's probably not going to be a need to warm it again. If you're using a ceramic plate, you may need to warm it in the microwave when you're ready to seal up the balls. Just check for warmth first.
Next up is filling the balls with powdered hot cocoa mix and fun surprises! Fill the half spheres with the hot cocoa powder, marshmallows, sprinkles, candies, whatever floats your boat.. or bomb! I filled mine with Swiss Miss hot cocoa powder, marshmallows, heart shaped sprinkles and a little sprinkle of powdered sugar shimmer glitter, because everything is better when it sparkles!
Once you have filled your half spheres with all the exploding goodness, warm the edges of the other chocolate half spheres for the tops the same way as before and place them onto the bottoms to form the sealed sphere. Easy peasy!
Next up was my favorite! Decorating the outside! There are so many options! I went with some simple Valentine's Day sprinkles, sugar pearls, marshmallows and vanilla melting candy, but the possibilities are endless! If you're decorating for Valentine's Day you could use conversation hearts or other small Valentine's Day candies. You could sprinkle with sugar glitter, use star sprinkles, you could use colored melting candies for melting and add splashes of colorful "icing"! Get creative! Experiment! Make them your own! Afterall, it's DIY so you're in charge! Go for it!
I melted my vanilla candy in the decorator/icing bags in the microwave. Very easy! Then, I cut the bottom for the icing tip and away I went with decorating! Be careful not to cut an opening at the tip too big so your "icing" doesn't glob up on your chocolate bomb ... well, unless you want it that way. If so, you do you and go for it! Put the chocolate "icing" on those bombs and before it dries, put on sprinkles, glitter, marshmallows .. whatever creative idea you have!
I placed these cute little explosives in baking cups/cupcake wrappers for the finishing touch. Simple, fun and oh so adorable! For something different like white bombs, you could make the molded spheres with the vanilla candy melts for white hot cocoa bombs or add a tiny touch of red food coloring for pink hot cocoa bombs! I'll share with you what those can look like when I give you a link to the pro at the end of this blog. You could also use colored marshmallows instead of the classic white. FUN! I plan to experiment some more while the weather still begs for snuggles and warm beverages. These really are so simple and a fun, creative way to experiment with your own ideas. These are great for the kids decorate as well! Get them involved and let them get creative, too! (Just be careful with anything hot, of course!)
Now that they are complete, it's time to grab your favorite mug and give them a try! You can use hot water or milk to pour over these in your mug. I used whole milk and my daughter used almond milk. As a side note, I also think if you're living the Keto lifestyle, these hot chocolate bombs could easily be adjusted to work for Keto. Lily's or ChocZero chocolate chips can be melted for the molds and you could easily make your own hot chocolate powder with cocao and a Keto friendly sweetener. In fact, I'll link a recipe at the end of this blog that will show you how. For now, let's talk exploding chocolate, because that's what we really want to see, right?
Did you grab your favorite mug yet? Go, go, go ......
Warm your liquid preference (water, milk, almond milk, etc.) and get ready to enjoy! (Be careful with hot liquids!) Take your bomb out of the wrapper, place it in the bottom of your mug and pour!
That was fun, right? It was yummy, too! Ready to give it a try? Well, if you aren't the DIY type and you just want extraordinary things arriving at your door by someone fantastically creative, I get it! If delivered hot cocoa bombs are on your list of needs, I have just the thing to help you out! As I mentioned before, there are some real pros out there making hot chocolate bombs fit for a queen! Below is a link to one of them! Check out their Instagram and link to their shop. Amazing stuff! Oh, and remember I mentioned you could make white or pink hot cocoa bombs with the vanilla candy coating, too? You can see an example of how those would look here, too! Absolutely gorgeous!
Are our Keto friends still with me? Remember when I mentioned these could easily be made Keto friendly? I have a great recipe link for that right here:
You may even be able to order Keto friendly bombs that can be shipped right to your door, too. The Internet can probably provide a good list of those!
"Hey, Alexa" . . .
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Okay, so, here is the list of ingredients I used (also in the photo). Some aren't absolutely necessary and you may want to add some of your own for decorations:
Sphere molds - the ones I used are silicone
Chocolate and vanilla candy coating - candy melts
Hot Cocoa pouches (I used Swiss Miss)
Marshmallows
Sprinkles - various
Food Safe glitter/shimmer powder
Baking cups
Disposable decorating bags
Paintbrush (new and unused for food safety)
Milk (your preference on the type)
Small skillet/pan or ceramic plate (warm flat surface)
Microwave safe bowl for melting chocolate
A Few Quick Tips:
Don't get your chocolate coats inside the mold too thick. Just enough to make them sturdy enough to remove, but easy to melt fast in your mug. This makes for a better "exploding" event!
Make sure your milk (or water) is hot! You want it to melt that chocolate shell quickly. Just make sure to let it cool a bit before you drink, of course.
When matching up your half spheres to close up your balls, make sure your marshmallows are well out of the way to get a good seal on the two halves.
ENJOY!
Well, what are you waiting for? Get out there and DIY! Or, if DIY isn't your thing, get those bombs ordered! They're perfect for Valentine's Day and you won't want to miss this fun trend! Share some pics and videos with us on Instagram @bethlynndesigns! We want to see what you're up to! Thanks for checking out our Hot Chocolate Bomb DIY!
In our next blog we're going to talk dupes of some of my favorite cosmetic products! Fun! You won't want to miss it!
