#69: Naughty and Nice Chocolate Bonbons

Bonbons are one of my favorite things to get during Christmas time. When I was younger, we used to get these assorted chocolate boxes from a Southern Californian chocolate store called See’s as gifts for Christmas. I think they’re more well-known now, but as a child, I always thought they were such a luxury. The boxes always had so many different and interesting chocolates and I had always wondered how they made them. And so, I thought that this would be a great first recipe to start Advent with. 

In terms of the theme, I had initially thought about doing multiple fillings, but I thought that this theme of naughty and nice fillings of the spicy raspberry and sweet honey vanilla ganaches would be a fun play on the holiday phrase. I originally was thinking that it would be fun to not decorate the bonbons so that it would be a fun surprise of which one you got, but of course, you are welcome to customize the designs however you wish.

Speaking of customizing, it is very easy to substitute these fillings for another such as a caramel sauce or dulce de leche sauce or even just fill the entire thing with chocolate! It’s pretty easy to customize it to your liking so just try experimenting!

And of course, you are welcome to use any other mold shape as well, especially if you want to make your bonbons extra festive.

Ingredients:

  • 8 oz of dipping or baking chocolate
  • Vanilla ganache:
    • 1 Vanilla bean or 1 tbsp or so of vanilla bean paste
    • 1/3 cup of Heavy cream 
    • 1/8 cup of Honey/glucose syrup/maple syrup
    • 2 tbsp of butter
    • 2 oz of White chocolate
  • Spicy raspberry ganache:
    • 1-2 tbsp of raspberry jam
    • Some cayenne pepper
    • 1/3 cup of Heavy cream 
    • 1/8 cup of Honey/glucose syrup/maple syrup
    • 2 tbsp of butter
    • 2 oz of White chocolate

Special Equipment:

  • Chocolate mold
  • Immersion blender (or a fork or whisk if you can mix everything together well)
  • Bench scraper
  • Some gloves
  • Piping bag
Step 1: Melt Chocolate

First, we’ll prepare the chocolate shell. There’s a couple of ways to melt the chocolate.

For the double boiler method, In a metal bowl, place your chocolate and then place your bowl over a pot of boiling water. Let the indirect heat melt the chocolate and stir it until it is completely melted and smooth.

For the microwave method, place the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and in 30 second increments, melt the chocolate, stirring in between each interval until it is completely melted and smooth.

I find the double boiler easier to do since you have more control over the melting process, but microwaving is certainly faster, so up to you.

Step 2: Add Chocolate to Chocolate Molds & Let Chocolate Shell Set

Once your chocolate is melted, place some parchment paper onto your work surface and grab your chocolate mold. Next, fill your piping bag with your melted chocolate and cut a small hole in the tip. Or get your spoon ready.

Begin filling each bonbon cavity all the way to the top with the chocolate by pinching and releasing the opening of the piping bag or by carefully spooning in the chocolate.

Pick the mold up by holding the edges and tap the edge of the mold with your bench scraper to release any air bubbles.

Turn the mold over onto the parchment paper and tap out the excess chocolate to create a nice thin shell.

Scrape off any more excess chocolate from the surface of the mold with your bench scraper and scrap the chocolate on the parchment paper back into the chocolate bowl to use for your later batches. 

Let your mold set for five minutes or so to help the chocolate to set evenly. You may repeat this process again if you want to thicken the chocolate some more, but it’s not necessary. Once you are ready, flip the mold cavity side opening down onto parchment paper for 20 minutes to let it set.

Step 3: Prepare Ganache Filling

While we wait for the chocolate to harden, we will prepare our fillings. In a saucepan, combine the heavy cream and honey and add in either the vanilla bean paste or raspberry jam as well and bring this to a simmer, stirring occasionally.

While we wait, in a heat-resistant bowl, place in your white chocolate and set that aside. Also take out your butter from the fridge now to allow it to soften.

Once the cream mixture starts to simmer, remove from the heat and pour half of it over the white chocolate and let it soften for a little bit before mixing them.

Then, add in the rest of the cream and keep mixing until the mixture is smooth. If you need to, you can place this over your boiler to help melt the remaining chocolate.

Then, cool your ganache until it’s still warm but not hot enough to completely melt the butter. Then, pour it into a glass or ceramic bowl and add in your softened butter.

Then, using your immersion blender, mix the butter into the ganache. You don’t want to incorporate any air when blending this, so try to hold the mixer at a slight angle.

Once it’s mixed together, mix in your cayenne pepper if desired and then, we’ll want to let it set, so place some plastic wrap on top of the ganache and set it aside to firm up either on the counter or in the fridge

Step 4: Fill Chocolates w/ Ganache, Seal Chocolate, Allow Chocolate to Firm Up, Add Decorations, & Enjoy!

When you’re ready to fill your bonbons, grab your filling and place it into another piping bag or grab another spoon. Fill each bonbon shell just shy of the top of the shell, leaving room to close it up. You can use your finger to smush the mixture flat if needed, but once every bonbon is filled, let the ganache firm up a bit more. If you want, you can also add some more cayenne pepper if a little more heat is desired.

Then, pipe or spoon the chocolate you used for the shell onto the top of the ganache to seal it in. Then, with your bench scraper, carefully scrape off the excess chocolate.

Once your bonbons are completely sealed, place them into the fridge for 10 minutes or so, so that they can firm up completely.

Once they’re ready, de-mold your bonbons by turning over your mold and tapping them out.

If you want to differentiate the two, you may add some sort of decoration like chocolate strips or a sprinkle of cayenne pepper on top.

And once they’re to your liking, your Naughty or Nice Chocolate bonbons are ready to eat.