Serious Chocolate: Balloon Bowls (Not a Hoax)
[Photographs: Melody Kramer]
Making bowls out of chocolate and balloons may not pave the way for your own reality show, but they will certainly grab your guests' attention. Water balloons, in particular, are the perfect size for dipping into tempered chocolate—and harden in just ten in the fridge. You can then fill the chocolate balloon-sized molds with candy, ice cream or whipped cream. (And don't worry, they're too small for any children to fit inside.)
These balloon bowls are easy, fun, and so delicious they may make you want to float away. Recipe and detailed instructions, after the jump.
Chocolate Balloon Bowls
Adapted from Gourmet Mom on the Go.
Note: You can use both white and milk chocolate in your dipping bowl. Feel free to experiment with as many different chocolates as you'd like. I imagine coconut or crushed walnuts would also be a nice addition.
Ingredients
1 container microwavable milk chocolate candy melts
1 sheet Wax Paper
5 to 10 latex balloons (Note: If you are allergic to latex balloons, use non-latex balloons in this recipe. Most balloons in party stores are latex, so be sure to check.)
Procedure
1. Attach balloons to faucet and fill with water until half full. Tie balloons and set aside.
2. Follow instructions on microwavable chocolate candy melt box. I poured the candy melts into a microwavable-safe bowl and microwaved for 30 seconds, making sure to continually stir the chocolate. You do not want the chocolate to burn.
3. Lay a sheet of wax paper on a baking tray.
4. Spoon a dollop of chocolate on the baking tray. This will form the base of your balloon bowl.
5. Dip one of your balloons into the bowl of chocolate, rotating it so that all sides are covered evenly. Remove and place on top of the chocolate dollop on your baking tray.
6. Repeat until all balloons are coated.
7. Place the baking tray full of balloons in the fridge until they harden. This took 15 minutes.
8. Remove balloons from fridge. Over sink, very carefully poke tiny hole in the balloon neck (near the knot) with a pin. Slowly drain the water out of the balloon into the sink.
9. Fill with candy, chocolate, or whipped cream. Enjoy!
About the author: Melody Kramer is a chocoholic living in Philadelphia. She writes for a variety of publications in order to fuel her sweet tooth.
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13 Comments:
Can you make these by filling the balloons with air instead of water? It seems like it would hold its shape better.
jo_wang at 9:43AM on 10/21/09
SO cute! I can't wait to try these out. But will they stay well at room temperature, won't they melt?
NehaM at 10:30AM on 10/21/09
@jo wang
I've tried them with air in the past. It works, but it's harder to get the balloon out without breaking the chocolate, since you have to pop them to remove them. With water, they lost volume at a much slower rate, so more gentle on the chocolate.
J. Kenji Lopez-Alt at 10:36AM on 10/21/09
Won't the chocolate taste like latex????
Ambitous at 10:55AM on 10/21/09
These are so cute. No idea when I would ever use them though.
rumanddiet at 11:14AM on 10/21/09
I made something similar in a cooking class that I took, but we used mini paper bags instead and filled them with whipped cream and strawberries (http://www.recipetips.com/recipe-cards/t--2945/chocolate-bag.asp). Delish!
kellybelly223 at 12:08PM on 10/21/09
I don't seem to know what are microwavable milk chocolate candy melts. Please advise.
RSA1256 at 1:05PM on 10/21/09
Why would I be worried about a kid fitting into a chocolate bowl?
Monkey4Sale at 4:14PM on 10/21/09
The water is an unnecessary and messy step. Just blow them up. The key to getting a balloon to not explode when you pop it is to prick a small hole up by the knot. Also don't blow the balloons up all the way.
alexisriley at 5:25PM on 10/21/09
Monkey4Sale: Just wondering if you'd had a busy week and haven't caught any cable teevee, lucky you. Some deranged guy pretended his 6yr old had accidentally taken off in a flying saucer shaped balloon and the country spent an afternoon riveted to the drama. We are now bitter about the whole thing.
lemonfair at 6:07PM on 10/21/09
Yeah I missed the joke. I saw the story.
Monkey4Sale at 2:18PM on 10/22/09
Love the title pun :) I'm seen this trick in many blog posts. Having my chocolate touch the balloon material kind of irks me a bit but I should really just get over it because this is so cool!
Chew on That at 4:44PM on 10/22/09
@Ambitous/Chew on That - You can wash the balloon before coating it to lessen the latex taste. Or you can buy plastic or vinyl balloons that aren't made out of latex. I know whenever I've made molds for food I've used silicone and not latex for food safety reasons.
Unless of course people would make these just for show and not for eating, which is just a waste of chocolate.
gingercookiewithlime at 8:15AM on 10/24/09