Valentine’s Hot Chocolate Bombs are a special version of the popular treat. These chocolate bombs are hollow spheres of high quality tempered chocolate filled with hot cocoa, sprinkles, and mini marshmallows. Cocoa bombs are beautifully decorated Valentine treats and, when placed in a cup of hot milk, explode into a creamy, rich cup of hot chocolate! It’s a fun and creative way to enjoy Valentine’s day, no matter how you’re celebrating it!
Use this step-by-step guide for Hot Chocolate Bombs. Learn all about tempering chocolate and making ones that suit any occasion. Holiday hot chocolate bombs, birthday bombs, or just because you want to bombs, are at your fingertips. They’re easy, pretty, and delicious!
Why Chocolate for Valentine’s Day?
Whether your plans for Valentine’s day include a low-key day spent with those you love, a romantic night out with your love, or getting together with your girlfriends, there’s no denying that chocolate should be a part of all of it.
It’s only as we get older does the idea of chocolate and romance get introduced as a concept. We start to recognize a box of good quality chocolate doesn’t come from a drug store (sorry guys). We learn all the ways chocolate can be used in a sexy dessert like a dipped strawberry, a decadent dessert, or a beautiful array of assorted chocolates.
Somewhere along the way, we decided that without chocolate, Valentine’s day just isn’t the same!
Whoever invented Valentine’s Day Hot Chocolate Bombs is quite possibly a genius. I mean kids might not care about the fact that you spent time tempering chocolate, but they will appreciate watching it explode in their cups! As adults, however, we can appreciate the effort, even if it doesn’t actually take much at all. They’re a treat for all of us at any age!
When did chocolate and romance become synonymous?
If you’ve ever wondered why chocolate and Valentine’s Day go hand in hand, I did a little digging. Turns out, this didn’t happen for quite some time. Back in the day (I’m talking Marie Antoinette days), the cacao bean was a luxury item and a rare commodity. Sugar was also a rare commodity, which is why the candy aspect wasn’t introduced right away. Most people were just using the cacao bean for its health benefits.
With increased technology and the introduction of chocolate as candy, centuries later, Valentine’s day became the target market. Cadbury was the first to cash in. They created cute boxes designed to attract lovers. The idea behind it was after eating all the chocolate you were to use the box to store your love letters. This was the beginning of the chocolate connection to romance. Hershey’s and Russell Stover followed suit.
Our idea of what Valentine’s Day means to us typically changes over the course of our lives. There are, however, two constants that remain. One is that it reminds us that love should always be celebrated and the other is that chocolate is life.
Appliance Tips:
Silicone mold – This is an essential item. It’s how we get the perfect chocolate sphere, that easily pops out when set. I get mine here, right through Amazon (affil).
Instant Read Food Thermometer or candy thermometer– Check the temperature of your chocolate (or whatever you’re cooking) and it gives you an instantaneous and accurate read. Tempering chocolate is a very specific technique requiring specific temperatures. You can alternately use a candy thermometer, but the chocolate changes temperature so quickly, it may get too hot before the candy thermometer catches up.
Double boiler – This isn’t a necessity, but if you have one it’s time to break it out. Otherwise, a tempered glass bowl over a pot of boiling water will work just as well.
Ingredients:
- High quality chocolate dark, milk, or white – Avoid using colored chocolate wafers. Instead, use food coloring. It is super important to use high-quality chocolate when tempering.
- Hot cocoa mix – What kind you use is totally up to you. You can usually find good quality hot chocolate at boutique chocolate shops, health food stores, even some fine cheese shops!
- Pink mini marshmallows – Using mini marshmallows allows you to fit more inside, but use whatever you’d like!
- Red or pink food coloring – Liquid or gel will both work just fine.
- Festive sprinkles – Any colors you want. Pink and gold give it a delicate and stunning presentation.
How to Make Valentine’s Hot Chocolate Bombs:
Tempering chocolate is a technique we use to get that beautiful shiny chocolate that lasts! Check out my easy to follow post on everything you need to know to get the perfect Hot Chocolate Bombs and specific techniques to use when tempering chocolate.
Step 1: Melt 2/3 of the chocolate over a double boiler. Remove it from the heat just as it starts to melt and while there are still unmelted chunks of chocolate. Continue stirring off the heat and add the remaining chocolate. White chocolate and dark chocolate will have different melting points.
Step 2: Once the chocolate is smooth and properly cooled to 82°F, place it back on to simmering water to melt just enough for molding. It is important to keep the temperature of the chocolate within the 82°-90°F range until it is in the mold.
Step 3: For pink hot chocolate bombs, use white chocolate. At this point, add gel or liquid coloring and mix well, to tint the chocolate. Just a drop of red liquid food coloring is enough to make a nice light pink.
Step 4: Spread a layer of chocolate inside each sphere and place it in the fridge to set. Gently remove each one and set up your fillings to be able to work quickly.
Step 5: Melt the edges of one half of the sphere on a heated cast iron pan or plate in the microwave. Fill with hot cocoa mix, festive sprinkles, and marshmallows. Melt the rim of the other half of the sphere and connect the two halves.
Drizzle the tops with melted chocolate and/or add sprinkles or decorations.
Use the same tinted chocolate for some drizzle on top! If you want to make it a darker red, use more coloring. For other festive hot chocolate bombs, you can really make these any color you want. Orange and dark chocolate for Halloween, or red and green for Christmas. Make them an assortment of rainbow colors for a unicorn birthday or keep them simple and classy with milk, dark and white chocolate.
To serve: place one hot chocolate bomb in a mug or heat-proof cup. Pour 6-8 oz. of steamed milk over the hot chocolate bomb. Stir and enjoy!
That depends. If you want to temper your chocolate to get a beautiful shiny coating, and brittle chocolate that cracks open and doesn’t fall apart, then no. If you are ok with not tempering your chocolate and have a dull (albeit very colorful!) hot chocolate bomb, then it’s definitely doable.
Valentine’s Hot Chocolate Bomb Recipe
Equipment
- 2.5-3" silicone sphere mold
Ingredients
- 12-16 oz. high quality chocolate dark, milk, or white
- 6 tablespoons hot cocoa mix
- 1 cup pink mini marshmallows
- red or pink food coloring
- festive sprinkles
Instructions
- Chop the chocolate into smallest possible pieces.
- Place 8 oz. (or 2/3) of the chocolate pieces into the top of a double boiler or a glass/metal mixing bowl.
- Heat an inch of water to a simmer in a small pot on the stovetop. Place the double boiler or bowl over the top of the simmering water (the top bowl should NOT touch the water). Stir with a spatula while the chocolate begins to melt.
- Regulate the temperature of the chocolate carefully. Remove from heat as soon as the chocolate is melting, but there are still some solid pieces. Temperature should not exceed 120°F for dark chocolate or 105°F for milk/white chocolate.
- Continue stirring off of the heat until the chocolate is smooth. Add the remaining 1/3 of chocolate pieces, a little at a time, stirring until they are melted as well.
- Continue stirring the chocolate until it cools to a temperature of 82°F.
- Once the chocolate has cooled, place the bowl/pan back over the simmering water and reheat just a little bit until it is smooth and liquid enough for molding. (88-90°F for dark chocolate or 85-88°F for milk/white chocolate) It is important to keep the chocolate between 82°F and 88/90°F at all times until it has been placed in the mold.
- To make pink hot chocolate bombs, follow the above steps using white chocolate. At this point, add gel or liquid food coloring and mix well to tint the melted chocolate just before molding. I used just a drop of red liquid food coloring for these bombs.
- Spread a layer of melted chocolate to cover the full inside of each sphere cavity. Place the filled mold into the refrigerator for 3-4 minutes to set.
- Gently remove each half sphere from the mold.
- Heat a small plate in the microwave or cast iron pan. Prepare your workspace with the hot cocoa mix and marshmallows so you can work quickly.
- Quickly melt the edges of one half sphere on the heated plate, fill with 1 tablespoon of hot cocoa mix, mini marshmallows, and holiday sprinkles. Melt the edges of the other half of the sphere on the hot plate and seal the two sides together.
- Drizzle the tops with melted chocolate and/or add sprinkles or decorations.
- To serve: place one hot chocolate bomb in a mug or heat-proof cup. Pour 6-8 oz. of steaming milk over the hot chocolate bomb. Stir and enjoy!
