Kim Joy’s Hot Chocolate Bombes

Method

First, you will need to set up a bain-marie: sit a heatproof bowl (which is clean and completely dry) over a pan of simmering water (making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water). Put three-quarters of the finely chopped chocolate into the heatproof bowl, and set aside a quarter of the chocolate for ‘seeding’ the chocolate later. Stir the chocolate until it has melted and its temperature is 43°c for white chocolate or 46°c for dark chocolate (you will need a thermometer).

Start taking the chocolate off the heat before it reaches the desired temperature, because you will find that the temperature suddenly shoots up from the bowl, getting very hot. add the remaining chunks of chocolate to the bowl, stirring constantly. Keep stirring until the temperature comes down to 28–29°c for white chocolate or 32°c for dark chocolate. now your chocolate is tempered and ready to use. You can check it is tempered by leaving some to set on the back of a spoon. It should set within 5 minutes. Be careful not to let any water touch the chocolate, otherwise it will seize and become unusable. You can keep the chocolate slightly warm (but not beyond the tempered temperature) in the bain-marie for a while, so you can use it when needed.

Spoon the tempered chocolate into the silicone moulds and use the spoon to spread it around the sides to coat. turn the mould upside down and shake to remove any excess chocolate (you don’t want the shell to be so thick that you can’t fit the filling in!). chill in the freezer for about 5 minutes, or until set, then peel the chocolate from the silicone moulds – they should come out very easily once set.

To assemble the basic bombe shape, first, warm a plate in the microwave. Place the rim of one of the chocolate semispheres on the plate until just slightly melted (you can wear gloves if you want to avoid fingerprints on the chocolate, although this isn’t necessary), then fill this semisphere with your filling. repeat the melting of the rim of the second semisphere and press both together to seal in the filling. You can leave this as it is or drizzle with more chocolate (make sure it isn’t warm enough to melt the chocolate). Alternatively, you can create one of the character bombes from the instructions below

CHRISTMAS PUDDINGS WITH EYES: Stick edible eyes onto a dark chocolate bombe using white icing, then drizzle white icing on top. Top with round red sprinkles and holly sprinkles. Chill in the fridge or freezer until completely set.

REINDEER: Pipe antlers using dark chocolate onto baking paper, then freeze for a few minutes. Attach to a dark chocolate bombe with more dark chocolate. use a red sprinkle or chocolate for the nose (stuck on with extra chocolate or icing), then pipe details with icing and stick on edible eyes. add edible glitter to the antlers, if liked. Chill in the fridge or freezer until completely set.

POLAR BEAR: Use extra chocolate or icing to add a marshmallow nose and ears to a white chocolate bombe, then pipe a face and eyes with icing. Chill in the fridge or freezer until completely set.

SNOWMAN WITH MELTING PUDDLE: Use a spoon to create a small puddle of white chocolate onto a piece of baking paper, then immediately place a white chocolate bombe on top. Add a hat using your favourite chocolates and pipe on a face using royal icing. chill in the fridge or freezer until completely set.