in , , , , , ,

colorful chocolate cups

If chocolate is your favorite accompaniment to summer ice-cream, these colorful chocolate bowls will make the treat even sweeter! They are bright, festive and ready to gussy up a hot afternoon standby. No matter the reason, make a batch of the festive bowls and you’ll be the favorite host, mom, or neighbor on the block.

To make these bowls you’ll need: chocolate candy melts in the colors of your choice, water balloons, parchment paper, skewer or toothpick.

First, line a baking pan with parchment paper. Wash and dry water balloons and inflate balloons (with air, not water!) using an air pump. You can vary the size of the balloons. Tie them off. Make a few extra as balloons might pop. Then, in a bowl, melt candy following manufacturer instructions. Let candy melts cool completely (no longer warm to the touch) but to where you can still stir through it easily.

Next, take about a tablespoon of melted candy and spread it in a circular motion on the parchment to create a small circle; this will serve as the base of one bowl. Dip a butter knife in the melted candy and shape the chocolate around the bottom of a balloon. Cover the bottom of the balloon completely and up the sides as far as you desire. You can also simply dip the balloon into the bowl of chocolate but move it gently as it needs to acclimatize to the temperature of the candy.

Gently place balloon on top of the base. Repeat until you have used up all the chocolate. Place the baking pan in the fridge and allow molds to chill and harden, at least one hour. Remove pan from fridge. Take a skewer or toothpick and pop the balloons. Carefully peel balloons from the molds and voila! you have chocolate bowls perfect for holding little scoops of ice cream. Place molds back in fridge until ready to serve or fill bowls with ice cream immediately. Eat the ice cream, then the bowl!

Photography by Athena Plichta for A Subtle Revelry.

PS. Colorful ice-cream cones, if you’d prefer.

9 Comments

Leave a Reply
  1. I did these several years ago with chocolate, and they are fun. Your idea to put the chocolate onto the balloons instead of dipping the balloons into the chocolate is a good one: I had one to pop on me, and we had chocolate all over the kitchen :). I also like the addition of the base, which I didn’t have. Love the idea of using the melting chips….I used chocolate chips. The colors are really fun!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *