The Filled Chocolate Balls are a truly unique dessert, a dark chocolate shell filled with chantilly cream. This dessert is not only delicious but also scenic, a really fun and original idea. I can assure you they are not difficult to make, you just need to be very careful in dosing the chocolate and especially very gentle when removing the ball from the mold. I am sure that when you bring the Chocolate Balls to the table, you will make a great impression, at my house it was a real success!
Let’s see together the ingredients and the various steps to make this fun Christmas dessert 😉
- Difficulty: Very difficult
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 3 Hours
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: No cooking
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Christmas
Ingredients for Filled Chocolate Balls
- 10.5 oz 70% dark chocolate
- 3.5 oz sugar paste
- 2 cups fresh whipping cream
- 3.5 oz powdered sugar
- 2 vanilla bean
Tools
- 4 Molds
- Molds
- 1 Pastry Bag
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 1 Mat
- 1 Brush
- 1 Electric Whisk
Steps for Filled Chocolate Balls
Before making the chocolate balls, about 2 hours before prepare the vanilla beans for the chantilly cream:
Open the vanilla beans and scrape their insides, put it in a bowl along with the seeds and the opened pod. Add the cream and place everything in the fridge to rest for at least 2 hours. This is a fundamental process to give an intense flavor to the chantilly, if you have time it would be even better to prepare the cream the night before and let it rest overnight. Once ready, with an electric whisk, whip the mixture adding the powdered sugar in small doses, when it is whipped continue a little longer with the electric whisk to make it beautifully fluffy.
When the chantilly is ready, place it in the fridge and start melting the chocolate in the microwave, or you can use a double boiler, to prepare the chocolate balls.
Once ready, pour it into one half of the sphere, you should fill it a little over 2/4 “about halfway.” Now place the other half over it and shake it slightly, this will ensure the chocolate adheres well inside the entire ball, make sure not to leave any empty spaces. Then place the ball in the freezer and let it rest for 30 minutes.
After the time has passed, take the sphere out of the fridge, if the chocolate has compacted well it will detach from the mold by itself. Otherwise, put the ball back in the freezer for another 5 minutes. When opening the sphere to remove the chocolate ball, you need to be very delicate and careful not to create cracks or, in the worst case, break the chocolate.
Then take the tip of the pastry bag and heat it for a second over the stove flame, but be careful. Place it on the chocolate ball on the circumference side and create a hole, do not press too hard. If you can’t pierce the ball, heat the tip again and repeat the process, maybe rotating the tip slightly. Be careful because in this step if you press too hard the chocolate might break.
At this point, take out the chantilly cream from the fridge and pour it into the pastry bag, then fill the ball.
Finally, create the decorations with the sugar paste, roll it out and cut out the snowflakes with the molds; then brush the flake with a bit of melted chocolate and make the decoration stick to the chocolate ball. Now your Chocolate Balls are ready to be served, aren’t they beautiful.😉 Enjoy your sweet treat!
You might also be interested in the wreath Christmas cookie gift idea
Learn more about chocolate and itsstory
Storage of Filled Chocolate Balls
The chocolate balls can be prepared up to 2 days in advance and stored in the fridge, just take them out 20 minutes before serving.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
Can white chocolate balls be made?
Yes, the balls can also be made with white chocolate, but white chocolate is much harder to melt than dark chocolate. This is because it has a lower melting point and can easily overheat. The best method to melt it is a double boiler and having quality white chocolate. If you’re not very experienced in handling it, I do not recommend it for this recipe.
