How to Make Filled Chocolates With Fondant

Fondant-filled chocolates make delicious treats.

Fondant is a versatile medium that is used for draping over cakes, making truffles and as fillings in chocolates and cakes. Fondant used as filling is cooked to a different temperature than fondant used for covering cakes. Soft fondant can be flavored with liqueurs, pure vanilla extract, fruit juice or chopped dried fruit. Form small balls of fondant as soon as it is cool enough to handle to use it as a filling for chocolates. Add chopped nuts to the fondant for variation in texture.

Things You'll Need

• 1 lb. semi-sweet chocolate
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup water
• Candy thermometer
• Microwave-safe bowl
• Saucepan
• Spoon
• Pastry brush
• Chocolate/Candy molds

Instructions

1. Chop and place chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Melt in the microwave at 50 percent power at 30 second intervals, stirring well each time. Tempering chocolate this way makes it smooth and shiny.

2. Combine sugar, corn syrup and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Allow it to boil, washing down sides frequently with a pastry brush dipped in water.

3. Place the candy thermometer in the sugar syrup and cook sugar until it reaches 238 F. It will resemble a soft mass.

4. Pour the sugar on a clean surface. A marble counter or a Silpat mat over a counter are ideal surfaces for working with sugar.

5. Mix sugar, folding it over itself until it cools down and becomes creamy fondant. Add flavoring or chopped fruit or nuts as desired. Place the fondant in a clean bowl and cover with a damp cloth.

6. Pour melted chocolate into chocolate molds, swirling the molds to coat them evenly. Set aside for 10 seconds and pour out the excess chocolate back into the bowl. Allow it to cool completely until set. This forms the chocolate shell.

7. Scoop out small pieces of fondant and place in the chocolate shells in the mold. Pour melted chocolate over the fondant filling and scrape out excess from the top of the mold. Allow the chocolates to set completely. Refrigerate to speed up the cooling process.

8. Tap the chocolates gently to remove them from the mold. Serve as desired.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep bowls and surfaces completely dry when working with chocolate.

References

• Cooking for Engineers: Tempering Chocolate
• Exploratorium: Candy Making Stages