This homemade Raspberry Ruby Chocolate Bonbon recipe is a quick, easy, impressive homemade chocolate bonbon made with naturally pink Ruby chocolate and raspberries. Can you believe that you can make these homemade bonbons in less than half an hour? Bonbon making is rather simple with impressive results. It is also a super fun activity, people tend to fall in love with the process, at first sight, try it!
Bonbons are super versatile, can be made in a great variety of flavors with endless fillings, and using a different shape mold you end up with something totally unique. Bonbons are the perfect bite-size treats and can be the most thoughtful handmade gift to your loved ones for birthdays, anniversaries, or festive occasions like Christmas or Valentine´s day.
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What Bonbon is
Bonbon is a small chocolate confection and can come in various shapes, sizes, colors, fillings. The sky is the limit but usually features a chocolate shell that is filled with some sort of ganache, liqueur, fruit marmalade, nuts, or maybe other crispy layers. The word bon means “good” in the French language so bonbon must mean something extraordinary (my translation)!
Bonbons are often referred to as pralines in some countries although caramelized hazelnut filling is also called praline… To add to the confusion the word praline in Belgium also refers to filled chocolates that are basically chocolate bonbons. No matter how you want to call them, bonbons or pralines, they are magical, and mastering them can be one of the most rewarding skills you can learn as a home baker!
This Raspberry Ruby chocolate Bonbon is made of two kinds of chocolate: Ruby and White chocolate which is filled with freezer-dried raspberry. The Bonbon is very well balanced in sweetness with a strong berry afternote that is driven both by Ruby chocolate and also the raspberry filling.
Ingredient notes
- Chocolate: Obviously you will need some chocolate to make this Raspberry Ruby chocolate Bonbon recipe however not all chocolate are created equal. In general, worth remembering that in the case of recipes that require chocolate decoration or chocolate work, the quality of the chocolate goes way beyond taste. You might have recognized that by simply melting chocolate then waiting to set, you won´t achieve shiny results. Well, you will need couverture chocolate if you want to replicate those beautifully shiny chocolate Bonbons you see in pastry shops. In this recipe, I am using two kinds of chocolate: Callebaut Ruby chocolate and Callebaut WhiteChocolate (callets). They are high-quality chocolate (yet affordable) and contain a higher percentage of cocoa butter than the average supermarket chocolate. The additional cocoa butter, combined with proper tempering technique gives the chocolate a more shiny look, a firmer “snap” when broken, and a creamier, more smooth texture. Couverture type of chocolate is used by professionals and by home bakers who want to take their chocolate work to the next level. It is usually sold online in a bigger pack eg. 1 kg and it is perfect to make recipes that require high-quality chocolate. I order mine from Amazon and surprisingly the price/kg is not even so much more expensive than low-quality supermarket chocolate. You can make this Raspberry Ruby chocolate Bonbon recipe using only one kind of chocolate whether it is dark, milk, white, or ruby, or combine some of these but make sure to use the best quality chocolate you can access.
- Cocoa butter powder (optional): There are a few ways to temper chocolate and since in my Hot chocolate Bomb post earlier I shared the seeding method, today I share another method that is called cocoa butter powder method. If you can´t access cocoa butter powder, no problem, please read my earlier post about the seeding method in which case no cocoa butter is needed
- Freezed dried raspberry: You will need 15 pieces of freeze dried raspberry into each bonbon. Do not use fresh raspberry as that would make the chocolate way too wet. If can´t find freezde dried raspberry you can either replace it with eg. strawberry or leave it out, the chocolate bonbon will still have a wonderful berry afternote due to the Ruby chocolate
5 Expert tips
1. What is Ruby chocolate
Callebaut Ruby chocolate is what makes bonbon wonderfully pink without any food coloring! Ruby chocolate is a variety of chocolate introduced in 2017 by Barry Callebaut, a Belgian–Swiss cocoa company. It is marketed as the “fourth” type of chocolate alongside the dark, milk, and white chocolate varieties and is notable for its natural pink color.
The chocolate is characterized by a taste that has been described as slightly sweet and sour, similar to a natural berry flavor, however, Ruby chocolate does contain berries, berry flavor, or colorings. It is incredible, I am totally in love with it and warmly recommend it to try! I order Callebaut Ruby Chocolate Callets from Amazon. If you are unable to purchase Ruby chocolate, the recipe can be made using white chocolate only (or dark or milk) and with the added freezed dried raspberry it will still taste amazing.
2. What equipment is needed to make home made Bonbons
For making any Bonbons you will need a mold. There are a great variety of shapes available to purchase from semi-sphere to heart, square, etc. Material wise polycarbonate and silicone are the most common ones. I have a few different versions and using them for different bonbons. Chocolate molds are actually rather affordable considering the magic you can make with them. They cost around 10 EUR / USD / GBP so literally like one nice box of Bonbon, great investment in my view.
The mold I am using to make these Chocolate Hazelnut Bonbons: Silikomart Choco Flame mould. I love the design, it makes the bonbons super special. It is also very easy to work with this mold, which I can warmly recommend!
What other tools do you need to make this bonbon? For a consistent, happy baking experience always measure your ingredients with the help of a Digital scale. Cup measurement is an indicative figure only and not appropriate for making chocolate bonbon!
For chocolate tempering, you will need a thermometer. I purchased an Infrared thermometer gun last year and absolutely love it, it is the most accurate and convenient way to check the temperate whether I am making curd, cream, or tempering chocolate! My husband loves it too, he measures everything with this since we bought it! You can also measure the choc temp with other kinds of cheaper thermometers, choose according to your preference. One important thing is that for tempering you have to measure the temperature so “guessing” is not an option and will lead to best-in-class kitchen disasters.
I also recommend investing in some Piping bags, it is much easier and neater to pipe things than anything else like pour or spoon.
3. What is the difference between melting and tempering chocolate
Both involve melting chocolate…but they are very different, indeed.
In short, when chocolate is melted, the molecules separate. When you temper the chocolate, you bond those molecules back together so your chocolate will harden with a glossy shine and fine “snap”. With simply melting chocolate, without tempering, the chocolate will somewhat harden but will lose its initial shine, will be matt with an unpleasant texture.
There is no need to temper chocolate when you use chocolate IN a recipe like when you make brownies, however when chocolate IS the recipe, for example, chocolate decoration, chocolate bonbon, etc. you need to apply proper pre-crystallizing / tempering. Without appropriate chocolate tempering, it is likely that you simply won´t be able to unmould these Raspberry Ruby chocolate bonbons from the mold because they stay will crystallize unevenly and stay somewhat too soft and unpleasant.
The good news is that as fancy as it sounds, chocolate tempering is actually rather easy and quick, really nothing to be worried about! There is one easy step between melted and tempered chocolate… Continue reading!
4. How to temper chocolate
From the Callebaut website I think you might find this piece of learning material below useful:
Each variety or type of chocolate should be tempered before you use it to mold chocolates and hollow figures or to enrobe cakes and chocolates. In short, whenever chocolate needs to have a beautiful satin gloss and a hard snap, tempering is absolutely crucial.
When you add chocolate to dishes as a flavor component (e.g. chocolate mousses), it suffices to simply melt it without tempering.
What is tempering / pre-crystallising?
The purpose of tempering chocolate is to pre-crystallise the cocoa butter in it, which is important to make your chocolate ready for processing. During tempering, the cocoa butter in the chocolate takes on a stable crystalline form. This guarantees a perfect finished product with a satin gloss and a hard snap. It also makes the chocolate contract during cooling, which makes it easier to unmould.
If chocolate is simply melted and then left to cool down, the finished product will not be glossy. If you make the small effort of bringing your chocolate to the right working temperature properly, you are guaranteed to get the desired end result. And that’s what we mean by tempering: bringing chocolate up to the right working temperature while making sure that the crystalline structure of the cocoa butter in it is stable.
There are various methods to temper chocolate, earlier I made a blog post about seeding method, please read in here. With the seeding method, you basically temper the chocolate using the chocolate itself, no need for cocoa butter, so if you can´t access cocoa butter please temper your chocolate with the seeding method.
For this Raspberry Ruby chocolate bonbon I used a different method, I tempered the chocolate with cocoa butter powder. Compared to the seeding method I find the cocoa butter method even easier and more stable, with less opportunity for mistakes.
For the exact melting, working, and set temp of your chocolate follow the instructions on the bag of chocolate you are working with, as per below:
Please note, that I am tempering 100g Callebaut WhiteChocolate (callets) with 1g (½ teaspoon) of cocoa butter butter powder and then tempering 50g Callebaut Ruby chocolate separately with 0.5g (¼ teaspoon) of cocoa butter powder.
There are 4 super simple steps to follow
Step 1
Melt your chocolate to 45C / 113F. You can use a microwave, in that case, check and stir the chocolate every 30 seconds. Or you can use a double boiler, in this case, do the process over low heat so you don´t burn the chocolate
Step 2
Allow the chocolate to cool at room temperature to 32C / 89.6F by stirring
Step 3
Add 1% cocoa butter powder to your melted chocolate, i.e. 1 g for 100g of chocolate. I am using a product from Callebaut called Mycryo and it is perfect. Buy any cocoa butter powder if Mycryo is not available for you or alternatively use the seeding method
Step 4
Mix well cocoa butter powder with chocolate
Step 5
Use chocolate according to the recipe bearing in mind the chocolate “working temp” and “set temp”
That´s it, easy peasy!
5. Step-by-step process to make Raspberry Ruby chocolate Bonbon
Please note, that I am tempering 100g Callebaut WhiteChocolate (callets) with 1g (½ teaspoon) of cocoa butter butter powder and then tempering 50g Callebaut Ruby chocolate separately with 0.5g (¼ teaspoon) of cocoa butter powder.
After tempering the chocolate, making this Raspberry Ruby chocolate Bonbon is super easy and quick!
1. Make sure first that you properly clean your Silikomart Choco Flame mould (I am using vinegar and paper towel) as any residue will be seen on the chocolate
2. Pipe tempered white chocolate then ruby chocolate into the Silikomart Choco Flame mould. Don´t fill it fully as a piece of freezed dried raspberry will go into each
3. Place one freezed dried raspberry into each cavity. Pipe some more chocolate on top to cover the raspberry
4. Carefully tap the mold onto the kitchen counter a few times – this help to release potential air bubbles
5. Smooth the top with an offset spatula so your Raspberry Ruby chocolate Bonbon will have a flat bottom, if necessary push the raspberries down into the chocolate again
6. That´s it! If you tempered the chocolate correctly, the chocolate will set and you will be able to pop the bonbons out of the mold easily. Leave the chocolate set either on room temp (30-60 minutes) or in the fridge (15-30 minutes) or in the freezer (5-10 minutes). If chocolate is tempered correctly the Bonbons should be easily removed from the mold. I usually place my mold into the freezer for 10 minutes and that´s it, delicious homemade Raspberry Ruby chocolate Bonbons are ready!
Tip.: Use gloves while unmoulding the Bonbon. Although chocolate should be already set when you unmould them yet gloves can prevent leaving fingerprints on the surface of the bonbons also ensure that you do not melt the chocolate with your warm fingers
7. Decoration: There is not much need for decoration, however, a bit of shiny dust can´t hurt, can it?
Other Homemade Chocolate Bonbon recipes for you to try
Chocolate hazelnut Bonbon - Using the same Silikomart Choco Flame mould this is a decorative dark chocolate bonbon with a hidden hazelnut in each - can be the perfect elegant, delicious homemade gift to your loved ones. Recipe in here
Homemade Ferrero Rocher bonbon - Shocking easy and no mold required! This Ferrero Rocher recipe delivers on the main unique taste experience of contrasting layers: a whole roasted hazelnut in the heart, a delicious creamy hazelnut filling around, all covered with chocolate and crunchy hazelnut pieces. Recipe in here
RECIPE CARD
Raspberry Ruby chocolate bonbon
Ingredients
- 150 g Callebaut WhiteChocolate (callets)
- 50 g Callebaut Ruby chocolate
- 2 g (1 teaspoon) Cocoa butter powder for tempering chocolate, optional
- 15 pieces Freezed dried raspberry
US customary cup measurement is an indicative figure only. Measure the ingredients with a digital scale by weight (gram). Baking is art but also science which requires precision and accuracy.
Instructions
- Clean your Silikomart Choco Flame mould to get rid of any potential residue
- Melt and temper both chocolates. Use a thermometer, eg. Infrared thermometer gun to measure the chocolate temp while tempering
- For the tempering: Melt chocolate to 45C / 113F then allow the chocolate to cool at room temperature to 32C / 89.6F, add 1% cocoa butter powder to your melted chocolate. I am using a product from Callebaut called Mycryo, use any cocoa butter powder you can access. Mix well cocoa butter powder with chocolate. Alternatively use seeding method for tempering. For more tips regarding chocolate tempering read my tips above
- Pipe both chocolates into the mould, place one freeze dried raspberry into each
- Carefully tap the mould onto the kitchen counter a few times to release potential small air bubbles
- Smooth the top with an offset spatula
- Leave the chocolate set either on room temp (30-60 minutes) or in the fridge (15-30 minutes) or in the freezer (5-10 minutes). If chocolate is tempered correctly the Bonbons should be easily removed from the mould. Tip: Use gloves when unmoulding the Bonbons
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