3 Tips for Making Your Molded Chocolate Bonbons Faster!

It usually takes three days to make molded bonbons:

But with the holiday rush, there’s got to be a way to shorten the process!

Below, I’m sharing three shortcuts I use to finish bonbons in two days, instead of three (I still recommend spraying on day one and waiting 24 hours before shelling for optimal shine).

1. Pre-crystallize the Ganache

• Make your ganache.
• Wait for it to come down to 34°C.
• Add between 0.4% to 1% cocoa butter silk or creamy cacao butter (click for my free class).
• Let cool down to the right temperature depending on the chocolate you use (27°C for white, 29°C for milk, 30°C for milk + dark, and 32°C for dark chocolate).
• Pipe inside the shells and cover with plastic wrap.
• Place the molds in the fridge for 30 min to kickstart the crystallization.
• Then, let your bonbons crystallize in the cold room at 14°C for 6-8 hours if it’s a white chocolate ganache;  4-6 hours if it’s a milk chocolate ganache; and 4 hours if it’s a dark chocolate ganache.
• Let the molds come to 20°C and close them with more pre-crystallized chocolate.
• Let the shells crystallize for 30 min in the cold room at 14°C.
• Place them in the freezer for 10 min to shock them.
• Unmold the bonbons and pack them.

2. Fill Your Bonbons with Fat-Based Fillings Only

Fat-based fillings take no time to crystallize, so if you fill your bonbons only with a gianduja, crunch, or praliné, they will be ready in a couple of hours:

• Make your fat-based filling.
• Pre-crystallize it.
• Pipe it inside the shells.
• Let it crystallize at 14°C for 30 min.
• Let the molds come to 20°C and close them with more pre-crystallized chocolate.
• Place them in the freezer for 10 minutes to shock them and unmold them easily.
• Unmold the bonbons and pack them.

3. Fill Your Bonbons with Two Layers

The third and final option is to fill your bonbons with a layer of ganache first, and then pipe a layer of fat-based filling on top:

• Pipe the ganache inside the shells.
• If it’s a white or milk chocolate ganache, let it crystallize for 2 hours at 14°C before piping the fat-based filling on top.
• If it’s a dark chocolate ganache, you can pipe your fat-based filling on top right away.
• Let the fat-based filling crystallize for 30 min at 14°C.
• Let the molds come to 20°C and close them with more pre-crystallized chocolate.
• Place them in the freezer for 10 minutes to shock them and unmold them easily.
• ⁠Unmold the bonbons and pack them.