Make the richest hot cocoa ever with these homemade vegan hot chocolate bombs! Learn to make these dairy free chocolate treats with this easy recipe. These make wonderful gifts for the holiday season!
Winter is the season for warm drinks, and Valentine’s Day is the holiday for chocolate, so I thought it was high time I shared this recipe for vegan hot chocolate bombs. A cup of hot cocoa is welcome at any time, but if you have a special occasion coming up, you might want to take the time to make these chocolate treats for an extra special cup of cocoa.
If you’re not familiar with this idea, a hot chocolate bomb is a chocolate shell that has hot cocoa mix and marshmallows inside. You place it in the bottom of a mug, and pour steamed milk (non-dairy in this case) over the top. The hot milk makes the chocolate shell melt and release the cocoa mix and marshmallows. It’s a very fun way to enjoy hot chocolate!
If you’re like me, you saw lots of people offering these treats on Facebook during the Christmas season. There were lots of different varieties being made – white chocolate, festive varieties with sprinkles and food coloring, peppermint, and more.
I know with any kind of chocolate or candy treat, those with food allergies are wary of the ingredients and the facility it’s being made in.
That’s why I wanted to make this tutorial for you, showing you exactly what ingredients I used, where to find them, and how to make these vegan hot cocoa bombs step by step. Let’s get started!
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Ingredient Notes
- Vegan Chocolate Bars – I used Pascha chocolate bars, which are made in a dedicated allergen free facility, and they worked very well! You should be able to use any brand of chocolate bar that works for your dietary needs. Pascha chocolate bars can be found on Vitacost or Amazon.
- Cocoa Powder – We use Hershey’s Unsweetened Cocoa Powder, but feel free to use any brand that works for your dietary needs.
- Sugar – We use organic cane sugar from Wholesome Sweeteners. All of their sugars are vegan.
- Marshmallows – Dandies marshmallows are vegan and free of most allergens, but they do contain soy. Campfire brand marshmallows are free of soy and most allergens, but they do contain gelatin, so they aren’t vegan. If you aren’t comfortable with any store bought brands, you can also try making your own marshmallows. If you can’t find any marshmallows that will work, you can also just leave them out! They aren’t necessary – the hot chocolate will be delicious without them.
- Extra Melted Chocolate or White Chocolate for Decoration – For the decorative drizzle on top, I used a little more melted chocolate, and I also melted some Pascha white chocolate chips.
Always double check on any brand that is new to you to make sure that it is safe for your family’s particular needs.
Special Equipment
The first thing you’ll need to find is a silicone sphere mold like the one pictured below. This is a must for making the chocolate spheres. I really don’t think a different shape would work, and I don’t think you can somehow find a way around this particular type of mold.
Since hot chocolate bombs are so popular right now, it’s pretty easy to find this silicone mold on Amazon or other websites like Michael’s or Walmart. If you think you want to make at least six at a time, you will want to buy two molds.
I found mine on Amazon, and the size of each cavity is two inches across. There are a wide variety of sizes, so make sure to read the description! I found that the two inch size was perfect for a standard sized mug.
Step by Step Instructions
- Finely chop your favorite vegan chocolate bars.
- Place the chopped chocolate in a double boiler.
- Heat and cool the chocolate according the the instructions for tempering below.
- Paint the sphere mold with melted chocolate and cool in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
- Mix the cocoa powder and sugar in a jar.
- Carefully remove the hardened chocolate from the sphere mold.
- Fill half of the chocolate shells with the cocoa mix and mini marshmallows.
- Use melted chocolate to seal the two halves together. Drizzle more melted chocolate and melted white chocolate on top.
Variations
- Add chopped candy canes to the mix and sprinkled on top of the chocolate bomb
- Add some white chocolate chips to hot cocoa mix
- Decorate the outside of the chocolate shells with some sprinkles
FAQs
That depends on if you would like to temper the chocolate or not. Chocolate chips don’t work as well for tempering the chocolate (the process of heating and cooling the chocolate to a specific temperature so that it’s smooth and shiny).
Honestly, if you are just making these treats to enjoy with your family, I think you can just use melted chocolate chips and skip tempering. The chocolate may not be as shiny, but it is going to melt immediately as soon as you add the steamed milk.
If you are making these to give as gifts, you may want to go ahead and use chocolate bars and temper the chocolate. If you temper the chocolate, the result will be prettier – the chocolate will have a smooth and shiny surface.
Any type of dairy free milk that works for your dietary needs should be fine in this recipe. I used So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk Beverage, but you could use oat milk, rice milk, flax milk, soy milk, or any milk that you like.
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Learn how to make and serve these vegan hot chocolate bombs by watching the video below:
Recipe
Vegan Hot Chocolate Bombs.
Ingredients
For the chocolate shells:
- 9 ounces vegan chocolate bars A little more or less is okay – I used three Pascha chocolate bars.
For the hot cocoa powder:
- 5 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 4 Tablespoons organic cane sugar
For the filling and decoration:
- ¼ cup vegan white chocolate chips optional, for decoration
- ½ cup dairy free chocolate chips
- ½ cup vegan mini marshmallows
Instructions
To temper the chocolate:
- Finely chop the chocolate bars with a sharp knife. Set aside.
- Place some water in the bottom of a double boiler or another pan. Bring to a simmer.
- Place â…” of the chopped chocolate in the double boiler insert, or use a metal bowl if you don't have a double boiler. Don't let the bowl touch the simmering water. Clip a candy thermometer to the pan or bowl.
- Stir the chocolate with a rubber spatula until it's melted, keeping an eye on the temperature. Don't let the temperature get higher than 120 degrees F for dark chocolate, and 105 degrees F for milk chocolate.
- Remove the bowl (or upper bowl) from the heat. Wipe off any water on the outside of the bowl or pan.
- Add the remaining â…“ of chocolate a little at a time, stirring to melt, then adding a little more chocolate and stirring some more.
- Allow the chocolate to cool to 82 degrees F. Once it reaches this temperature, place it back over simmering water.
- If you are using dark chocolate, reheat to about 88 to 91 degrees F. For milk chocolate, reheat to 85 to 87 degrees F. Note: This recipe uses less chocolate than is typically recommended for tempering chocolate. The temperature will go up and down quickly because the amount is smaller.
Make the chocolate shells:
- This recipe makes 6 hot chocolate bombs, so you will need two silicone sphere molds. The molds I used had cavities that were 2 inches across.
- Spoon some melted chocolate into each cavity of the silicone mold, and use a spoon to spread it around evenly. Make sure you get a fair amount of chocolate in each half of the spheres – you don't want the chocolate bombs to be too thin.
- Place the silicone molds in the refrigerator to cool for about 10 minutes.
Make the hot cocoa mix:
- Put the unsweetened cocoa powder and the organic cane sugar in a jar and stir to combine.
Assemble the hot chocolate bombs:
- Very gently remove the cooled chocolate from the silicone candy molds by peeling the mold away from the chocolate shells. Set the chocolate shells on a cookie sheet or plate.
- Place a heaping tablespoon of hot cocoa mix into 6 of the chocolate shells. Put a few mini marshmallows on the hot cocoa mix.
- Place the ½ cup of chocolate chips and the ¼ cup of white chocolate chips in small microwave safe bowls. Microwave these one at a time to melt. Start with 30 seconds, then stir and microwave in 10 second intervals. Be careful with the white chocolate chips as they burn really easily.
- Dip the empty halves of the spheres into the melted chocolate chips. Place onto the halves that contain the hot cocoa mix. Hold in place for a few seconds so that it adheres.
- Drizzle the hot chocolate bombs with melted chocolate and melted white chocolate. Place each completed chocolate bomb in a cupcake wrapper on a plate. Refrigerate for a few minutes to let the chocolate drizzle cool.
To serve:
- Place one hot chocolate bomb in a mug, and slowly pour steamed non-dairy milk over the top. Stir well and enjoy!
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Anthony Allen
Yummy vegan hot chocolate bombes. Great idea to have a hot chocolate bombe that melts when you pour milk over it! And great that they have a vegan version and a mug to go with it! It made the perfect
Katie
Delicious recipe!