Lesson—Creating Chocolate Bonbons Using a Mold

Step 1: Fill the Mold

Quickly fill your mold cavities using either a ladle or spoon. Don’t worry if you have chocolate all over the mold as you’re going to scrape off all the excess later. Once the cavities are full, tap the mold briskly on the table to settle the chocolate into any grooves or designs in the cavity and to force out air bubbles.

Step 2: For Solid, Molded Chocolate Shapes

Scrape off the excess using a pastry scraper or pallet knife. Tap the mold on the table again to settle the chocolate into the cavities. Place the mold (cavity side up) on a flat cool surface to harden.

A note about achieving perfect detail if your mold cavity is very detailed: To reduce the risk of small bubbles marring the mold detail, you can paint the mold cavities with a thin coat of tempered chocolate using a soft brush before proceeding to fill the molds.

Step 2: For Shell Molds to Be Filled with Your Truffle or Candy Mixture

Quickly fill your mold cavities using either a ladle or spoon and then turn the mold over your bowl of chocolate and let the excess chocolate run out of the cavities, leaving a thin coating of chocolate. Tap the bottom of the mold gently to release more chocolate during this process.
Turn the mold upright and scrape off the excess across the surface of the mold using a pastry scraper or pallet knife. A little of the scraped chocolate might run into the cavities but that is fine. Turn the mold over again and place it (cavity side up) on parchment paper or silpat mat to harden.

Filling the chocolate cavity: Make your favorite chocolate truffle recipe and have it in a plastic or parchment piping bag. When the chocolate-lined cavities have hardened, pipe the mixture into the cavity making sure not to fill more than 3/4 to 7/8 of the way up the sides of the cavity. Try hard not to get any filling on the outer rim of the chocolate. This is where the piping bag works great.

If you do get some filling on the edge of the chocolate, scrape it off immediately because it will keep your chocolate bottom from adhering properly. When all the cavities are filled, set the filled shells aside for a few minutes to let the filling settle and form a slightly dry skin on the top. When the shells are ready, ladle chocolate across the top of the mold as before and then use a pastry scraper or pallet knife to quickly scrape off the excess chocolate. Place the filled mold (cavity side up) on a flat, cool surface to harden.

Step 3: Hardening Your Molds

If you don’t have a cool room or cupboard in which to harden the chocolate in the molds or are pressed for time, you can use the refrigerator to speed up the process. Set aside one shelf in the fridge and have it empty before you start tempering the chocolate and molding. Once the mold is full, put it on the shelf and set a timer for five minutes. Remove the mold from the refrigerator and let it continue hardening at cool room temperature.

The chocolates are ready to be released when the chocolate pulls away from the mold slightly and the outside of the cavity appears grayish if you look at the bottom of the mold. This is an indication that air is being pulled in between the chocolate and the mold as the chocolate contracts and hardens.

Once you think the mold is ready, turn it over on parchment paper or a Silpat mat. If your chocolate is tempered properly and it is completely hardened, the chocolates should just fall out of the mold. If they don’t, give the mold a little tap on the bottom to help release the chocolates. If that doesn’t work, then set them aside and check later.

You can return them to the refrigerator, but again, not for more than three minutes — so set the timer. The problem with leaving the filled molds in the refrigerator for too long is that the cold environment will start to pull the sugar in the chocolate itself to the surface, which is up against the mold. The sugar will adhere to the mold and make it very difficult to remove the chocolates.