Easiest DIY Hot Cocoa Bombs (+ COFFEE BOMB RECIPE)

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hot cocoa bomb diy

Dear Future Hungry People. At the time of writing this, we are at the tail end of 2020. I shouldn’t need to say more than that. If there’s one good thing that’s come from this wild and crazy year, it’s the reignition of food trends unlike any we’ve ever seen before.

hot chocolate bombs at home

At some point, someone, somewhere, realized you could make a chocolate sphere and fill it with marshmallows and cocoa mix and let it slowly ‘explode’ in a mug of hot water. And that’s how hot cocoa bombs were born.

Christmas of 2020 is really when these bad boys took off – on TikTok especially.

@thestarvingchef I've been making hot cocoa and coffee bombs FO' DAYS #Christmas2020 #hotchocolatebombs ♬ Jingle Bell Rock – Bobby Helms
hot cocoa bomb

Here’s What You Need:

  • chocolate candy melts/buttons
  • colored candy melted – I used green, red and white for holiday cheer!
  • hot cocoa mix – I used Swiss Miss (affiliate link)
  • mini marshmallows AND/OR mini dehydrated marshmallows
  • parchment paper
  • latex gloves – so you don’t leave fingerprints!
  • cupcake liners – make ’em festive!
  • silicone sphere mold

While hot chocolate bombs might look complicated, they certainly are way easier than they look. The only special tool you need is a silicone mold for spheres, like the ones in the affiliate link below:

Get Silicone Sphere Molds Here!

If you get super lucky, you can usually find these molds at hobby and craft stores with the cake decorating tools. I went to several craft stores and never had any luck finding them in person due to their popularity this year – but hopefully they will be returning to the store shelves soon now that the hype is dying down.

Assembly Process:

There are many different methods that you can follow to make your hollow chocolate spheres. This is the way I personally did it – and it was super easy.

  1. Place 8-10 candy melts into each of the half spheres of the mold
  2. Put the mold on a plate and microwave for 30-60 seconds
  3. Use the back of a spoon to ‘brush’ the chocolate up around the edges of the mold so that the molds are evenly coated
  4. Flip the mold over onto a silicone mat or sheet or parchment paper and let the excess chocolate drip out
  5. Flip the mold back over and reserve the excess chocolate for the next batch of spheres
  6. Chill for 10-20 minutes, until the chocolate is set
  7. Microwave a ceramic plate for 45 seconds so that the plate is warm but not burning hot
  8. Wear the gloves while removing the chocolate spheres to avoid fingerprints
  9. Go one half at a time, melt for 5 seconds on the plate and place the first half in a cupcake liner
  10. Put a handful of marshmallows in the sphere in the cupcake liner along with a TEASPOON of hot cocoa powder – don’t add too much cocoa powder or else the cocoa will be too rich!
    1. Remember, most of the chocolaty taste should be coming from the chocolate shell
  11. Grab the second half and melt on the plate for 5 seconds then carefully place on top, aligning the edges
  12. Chill until you are ready to decorate!
coffee bomb

Speaking of food trends – at the beginning of quarantine many people discovered another trend (thanks again, TikTok) for dalgona coffee aka whipped coffee. And many people, such as myself, bought a huge tin of instant coffee only for that trend to fade away as quickly as it came.

hot cocoa bomb diy

Easiest DIY Hot Cocoa Bombs (+ COFFEE BOMB RECIPE)

The Starving Chef
DIY hot cocoa bombs can be made in your own home! All you need is a silicone sphere mold and a little bit of chocolate to make these easy hot chocolate bombs.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Assemble Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Course Drinks
Cuisine Holidays
Servings 12 bombs

Ingredients
  

  • 12 oz milk chocolate candy melts or buttons
  • 4 oz (each) red, green & white candy melts for decorating
  • 1 cup hot cocoa mix
  • 2 cups mini marshmallows and / or mini dehydrated marshmallows
  • ½ cup instant coffee optional, for coffee bombs

Instructions
 

  • Place 8-10 chocolate candy melts into the half spheres of the mold. Microwave for 30-60 seconds, until the chocolates are glossy and melted together. Stir the chocolate in the molds and use the back of the spoon to 'brush' the chocolate up to the edges of the mold.
  • Flip the mold over onto a sheet of parchment or silicone mat. Let the excess chocolate drip out of the molds – this will create a thin shell of chocolate. Flip the molds upright and immediately place into the fridge to set, about 10-15 minutes. Reserve the chocolate drippings – these can be remelted and used for more bombs.
  • Microwave a plate by itself for 30-60 seconds until it is warm but not burning hot. Arrange a few cupcake liners near the plate for ease of transferring.
  • While wearing latex gloves (to avoid leaving fingerprints), remove one half of the sphere from the mold. Place it seam side down on the plate for about 3-5 seconds to get the edge melted. DO NOT LEAVE THE CHOCOLATE ON THE PLATE FOR LONGER OR IT WILL MELT TOO MUCH TO FORM A SPHERE.
  • Place the first half of the sphere in a cupcake liner with the melted edge facing up. Add about 1/2 – 1 teaspoon of hot chocolate mix into the sphere. Then place 1-2 tablespoons of mini marshmallows and 1-2 tablespoons of mini dehydrated marshmallows into the cavity.
  • Remove the other half of the sphere and place it on the still warm plate for 3-5 seconds to melt the edge. Quickly place it directly on top of the other filled half and press very gently so that the melted edges stick together. Make sure there are no open edges. It's okay if the seam feels weak – it will be strengthened with the decorative topping. Chill and repeat the first steps until you have about a dozen chocolate bombs – or however many you need.
  • When all of the chocolate bombs have been assembled, melt the colored candy melts in plastic piping baggies. Cool for a minute or two so that the baggies are melted but cool enough to be handled. DO NOT USE PIPING HOT CANDY MELTS OR THEY WILL MELT THROUGH THE CHOCOLATE.
  • Snip the ends of the baggies and drizzle the green, red and white candies over the cocoa bombs. While still wet, sprinkle on the mini dehydrated marshmallows, sprinkles or other festive toppings as desired. Enjoy!

FOR THE COFFEE BOMBS:

  • Repeat the process of melting the white chocolate in the half sphere mold. Follow the assembly process but add coffee instead of hot cocoa and marshmallows – seal, chill and decorate. Enjoy!

TO SERVE:

  • Heat 8-10 ounces (10-12 ounces for the coffee bombs) of hot water or hot milk heated to 160-170 F. Drop in the bomb and watch it "explode!" Then stir so that the contents are evenly melted. The chocolate will settle on the bottom as the drink cools, so continue to stir occasionally as you enjoy your drink.
Keyword chocolate, cocoa, coffee, white chocolate
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!