“There’s nothing better than a good friend, except a good friend with Chocolate” Linda Grayson
This is my take on ‘Hot Chocolate’. Instead of the typical cup of steaming hot chocolate, these cups are made 100% out of chocolate. Perfect for a party to entertain your guests. They’ll get a kick out of the velvety smooth mousse and edible cup that holds it.
The ‘hot’ aspect comes from the addition of cayenne pepper, which pairs nicely with chocolate. Don’t be afraid of the heat!
You get a cold creaminess from whipped cream, sweetness and crunch from chocolate cup, and heat from the cayenne pepper.
Prepare to have your taste buds dancing to a sweet and spicy tune!
I seem to be doing more social media now a days but I still enjoy baking up a storm in the kitchen. Lots of things happening this month! Check out Ghirardelli, I’m featured on there every month. I will be baking for the Austin Blogger Bake sale to raise money for Japan and the online bake sale for Japan. Check back for posts on those. And I will be going to the Texas Wine & Food Festival. Nevertheless, hopefully it’s not too late for hot chocolate! I know some of my friends who are in the northern States are still experiencing cold weather. Thankfully it’s been warm and sunny in Austin Texas.
Chocolate cups.
To make these chocolate cups, melt about 4 ounces to make 3 cups. Allow the chocolate to cool to slightly lukewarm but before the chocolate hardens up again. This is very important unless you want to see a balloon covered with chocolate exploding on you (don’t ask me how I know).
I suggest using a high quality melting chocolate. I recommend using Ghirardelli baking bars. You can either use the double boiler, direct heat, or microwave method. Remember to break the chocolate bar into small pieces to ensure even melting.
Place the chocolate covered balloons on a pan covered with parchment paper.
You can either let the balloon sit for 30 minutes or stick them into the fridge to harden up faster.
Be careful when you pull the balloons off the parchment paper. And don’t hold them to tight or else the sides will crush in and that’s not fixable. If there are slight cracks along the sides or on the bottom, fix them with a piping bag filled with melted chocolate
Chocolate Mousse.
Adapted from Alton Brown
Ingredients
3/4 cup whipping cream
6 ounces quality semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 ounces espresso or strong coffee
1/2 tbsp dark rum
2 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp flavorless, granulated gelatin
pinch of cayenne powder
- Chill 1/2 cup whipping cream in refrigerator. Chill metal mixing bowl and mixer beaters in freezer.
- In top of a double boiler, combine chocolate chips, coffee, rum and butter. Melt over barely simmering water, stirring constantly. Remove from heat while a couple of chunks are still visible. Cool, stirring occasionally to just above body temperature.
- Pour remaining 1/4 cup whipping cream into a metal measuring cup and sprinkle in the gelatin. Allow gelatin to “bloom” for 10 minutes. Then carefully heat by swirling the measuring cup over a low gas flame or candle. Do not boil or gelatin will be damaged. Stir mixture into the cooled chocolate and set aside.
- In the chilled mixing bowl, beat cream to medium peaks. Stir 1/4 of the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Sprinkle in cayenne powder and fold in the remaining whipped cream in two doses. There may be streaks of whipped cream in the chocolate and that is fine. Do not over work the mousse.
- Makes 3-4 servings.
Fill first with chocolate mousse
You can also add a topping of fresh whipped cream and garnish with a dash of cocoa powder.
Enjoy!
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| Chocolate cup cut right down the middle |
PLEASE NOTE: This post is undergoing publication, if you do use any of these pictures or reference, please email me at jane@atasteofkoko.com and let me know. I want to keep record of where it’s being featured!
** I am proud to announce this recipe has been featured on a NY based magazine!
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Great pictures, love the chocolate cup and the technique to make it.
This is so original!
Beautiful!
Love this!
i like the intense dark or peanut butter:)
This is so cute. I “stumbled” it
I thought you might have made these with the balloon technique. They are sooo cool looking. Perfect for a special company dinner.
I stumbled on ur space…oh!! I love these cups especially the handles…. how did u manage to make that…
The chocolate cups are adorable what a fun idea!
I agree with Nisa Homey, the handles totally make it! It looks like you just piped a handle shape flat and then attached it with melted chocolate. Is that about right?
so freaking cute! love it
very cool! I dont know if I would have the patience for something so delicate, but they look great!
Love this!!!!
Brilliant idea. simply brilliant. Mush share.
thanks
O, those chocolate cups are darling!
I just found out about the bakesale for Japan – so wonderful.
Chocolate bowls are so cute!! love yours with the little handles! I made some for st. patricks day with chocolate and green pudding in them! They were a hit!
These are adorable!! Nice twist on hot chocolate.
Too freakin' cute! Please tell how you made the handles. I must make these ASAP!
I love the cups you made for the mousse! So cute! Raymond Blanc does something similar.
Wow this is really awesome! I've never seen hot cocoa look that delicious!!!! I need to make this!!! ahh i can't wait
xoxo
What a fun idea. An entirely edible dessert – I love it!
This is so cool! Incidentally, I am glad to have discovered Ghirardelli chocolates in the US… Finally a decent US chocolate brand!
I just followed link here from “hello olive”, this is the cutest and most thoughtful thing I've seen in a long time. Can't wait to try it!
YOU ARE A HERO FOR POSTING THIS, thanks!
I've had hot chocolate explode on me before. Even worse was washing it off the walls.
Those chocolate cups looks so adorable. I can see the numerous possibilities of things that I could put there. Thanks for this great idea.
OMG- this is amazing!!!!
We found you on Stumbleupon.
I made this and it only kind of worked with the water balloon sized balloons I was using. It was hilarious watching chocolate explode all over my boyfriend though.
This is just a beautiful idea and looks so delicious too.
Yes I forgot to mention that this works best with water balloons and not regular balloons. Good luck everyone!
This is so mouthwatering. This can be served in 5 star restaurants as a delicious dessert. Great technique on the chocolate mugs.
I've repinned this to my pinterest page. Such a fun idea!
That's so awesome. Need to make it
Posted your delicious picture on Pinterest! http://pinterest.com/pin/152489137352824155/
THanks
Very clever and unique! A real conversation piece! But can you PLEASE explain specifically how you made/attached your handles? Need a little direction before attempting.
FIll a piping bag with melted chocolate and pipe out C's. Allow to harden then attach to cups and use a little melted chocolate as 'glue'. I would hold it for a couple of minutes until it dries
Jane Ko do you dip the balloon in the chocolate or brush it on?
Dip the balloon in the chocolate
Made this tonight! Cooked a dinner party for 9 and only discovered this yesterday (pinterest), so this was an impulsive move. The dish was successful, and I learned a few things, too:
1) Yes, this really works, and your guests will love it.
2) Let the molten chocolate cool to room temp, and the balloons won't pop.
3) Getting the balloon out can be hard. the sides are fine, but it really likes to stick to the bottom. In the future, I might add some cooking spray to the balloon first.
4) A little cayenne pepper goes a long way. But fortune favors the bold, and I wanted my guests to feel the “hot” in hot chocolate!
5) The coffee is also great.
6) I didn't manage the handles, but I'll sure try next time!
7) This dish is big. Nobody managed to finish all the chocolate on the plate. I'm thinking about keeping the cups (they're really clever) and serving fruit inside them next time. I think they could be versatile like that.
Thanks for making me look good tonight.
So glad this worked out and thanks for the additional tips Xander!
Found this on Pintrest and love the idea! Am sharing on there too if that's ok http://pinterest.com/pin/281615782919130583/
Hi!
Your super nice idea is on my blog! http://fioridiflowerland.blogspot.it/2012/06/scoprendo-il-cioccolato-discovering.html
Thank you so much!
Sara
Beautiful and happy!
How do you make the handles?
Like a few others, found this post on Pinterest. Great blog and FB page!
Like a few others, found this post on Pinterest. Great blog and FB page!
Oh gosh, this looks delicious!
I cannot wait to make these! I found it on pinterest, but the link went to an image on tumblr. I went ahead and edited the link so that it directs to this site now. thanks so much for the tutortial!
Just a tip to make the chocolate slightly less fragile at the balloon popping point [and obviously thereafter] do a second layer of chocolate to strengthen the cup that little but more.