Hot Cocoa Bombs are all the rage right now! Melt some chocolate, pour it in a mold, and you are all set, right? Nope…it is a little more technical than that. Working with chocolate is actually a very fine art and that is why chocolatiers exist. However, in order to make working with chocolate a little more foolproof, companies have come up with candy coating chocolate (aka candy melts). This chocolate is an oil-base vs a cocoa butter base, which allows it to get hard at room temperature and look shiny and pretty whereas you wouldn’t get that with things like chocolate chips, and if you tried it with bar chocolate you may have uneven coloring, etc. That’s my long way of telling you to use candy coating chocolate for this!

Another issue with the hot cocoa bomb is having edges that are too thin. When you pour chocolate into a mold if it is too thin it will shatter. In my humble experience, I have found that all brands are different when it comes to the texture of their chocolate when it’s melted. Wilton’s tends to be thicker, Ghirardelli tends to be thinner, for example. You can work with either thickness! If you are working with a thicker chocolate, then you may not need to do as many steps. Just use a spoon or spatula to push the chocolate up the sides of the mold. Depending on your shape, you may need to place it into something like a bowl in order to help keep its shape. You can see my tutorial on Instagram here! If the chocolate you are using is thin, then you can swirl it around the mold until it is coated, pop it in the fridge to harden up, and then pour in more chocolate and either swirl it around or use a spoon to push it up the sides. You can do a few layers of chocolate until you have your desired thickness around the edges.

OK! Ok! Now, the reason you are here…the Chocolate Smash Heart!! My reason for giving you the background on the hot cocoa bombs is because it’s basically the same thing..only you don’t need to put two together and put it in warm milk! I used a larger heart silicone mold to create a chocolate shell, filled it with some chocolate….. and smashed it… as one should! It’s fun and perfect for Valentine’s Day!

I will warn you, these molds can come as kits to make these smash hearts…and the little hammer does not work! Unless your chocolate is pretty thin…or you are really strong. I ended up using a meat tenderizer! Ha! Not my recommendation…but my warning!

Ingredients:

candy coating chocolate (aka candy melts), in desired colors
mixing bowls + spatula (or spoon)
heart-shaped silicone mold
sprinkles
candy

How to make a Chocolate Smash Heart From Scratch

Melt the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl either in the microwave or in a double-boiler.
Pour the melted chocolate into the silicone mold and use the spoon or spatula to spread the chocolate around the mold. If the chocolate is thinner, then swirl it around.
Place the silicone mold in a bowl to help keep its shape if needed.
Place the silicone mold in the fridge to harden up.
If you are working with thinner chocolate, repeat the process by adding melted (not super hot) chocolate to the already hardened chocolate to create additional layers until the edges are thick enough to hold its shape.
Once the chocolate is hardened, remove the chocolate from the mold by pull away at the sides first and then slowly pulling the silicone off of the chocolate.
Decorate!! Drizzle on some more chocolate and add sprinkles.
Once the decorations have set, flip the mold over in your hands and fill it with candy.
Then place a plate or platter over the open end that’s filled with candy (this means the plate/platter will be upside down) and flip it over!
Your heart is ready to be broken!