With Valentine’s Day right around the corner an allergy friendly chocolate box sounds perfect. Well almost perfect! How about a dairy free chocolate box with filled chocolates? Now that’s perfect! I found a silicone chocolate box shaped mould from Lakeland and I knew I had to try it out. Having watched a fair few culinary programmes which feature chocolate making and reading tutorials on working with chocolate, I was not expecting my chocolates to have a glossy, professional looking finish. I also did not attempt to temper the chocolate, but hoped that they would still look as appetising as the Allergy Friendly Christmas tree decorations I made last year.
Fillings
So what should an allergy friendly chocolate box include? The mould had space to make 30 small chocolates, so I decided to make half of them filled and half of them solid chocolates. To make it easier I chose three fillings- caramel date sauce, crispy and strawberry. The caramel date sauce is a tried and tested recipe which makes a delicious caramelly filling. I used a puff rice Kallo crispies cereal for the crispy centre which happens to be gluten free and chopped dried strawberries for a fruity filling.
Box
An allergy friendly chocolate box wouldn’t be complete without a box to house the yummy treats. When I was a teacher Pinterest provided a wealth of ideas for simple crafts. Making a box from a paper plate was one of them. We used a Frozen plate (other character plates are available!!) to make ours. You can find a simple tutorial on Pinterest but I’ve also included a photo of how I made mine below.
Top Tips!
- Make sure that the mould is clean and completely dry. This helps to ensure the chocolate sets nicely.
- Break the chocolate into even sized pieces to help the chocolate melt evenly and achieve a smooth consistency.
- Save some of the chocolate to add to the melted chocolate. Only melt the chocolate until almost smooth and then add the reserved chocolate. Stir through until smooth as this helps to prevent the chocolate from burning.
- Try to avoid introducing water to the chocolate as it can make it seize up.
- Resist over filling the chocolates (this goes against my ethos of ‘you can never have too much chocolate’) but it helps to give an even, more professional finish.
How did they turn out?
I wasn’t disappointed! They turned out brilliantly (if I may say so myself!) and tasted even better. I was surprised at how easy it was to create filled chocolates and the Moo Free chocolate melted beautifully. The real test was if little one liked them? Needless to say I had to hide them as she loved them, especially the hidden, surprise centre.
I’d love to hear what fillings you would choose!
Linking up with:
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 5 minutes |
| Passive Time | 90 minutes |
| Servings |
chocolates
|
- 350 grams dairy free chocolate I used Moo Free
- 1 tbsp date caramel sauce
- 1 tbsp rice crispies Choose gluten free cereal for a gluten free chocolate
- 1 tbsp dried strawberries Cut into small pieces
Ingredients
Centre Fillings
|
|
- Melt the chocolate. I used the microwave to do this. Break the chocolate into small pieces and place the majority of the chocolate into a microwave safe bowl, reserving the rest to the side. Heat the chocolate in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until the chocolate is almost melted. Then stir in the reserved chocolate until smooth.
- Place the silicone chocolate mould onto a lined baking tray. Using a spoon, drizzle, or paint using a pastry brush, the chocolate into half of the moulds, making sure the mould is individual moulds are completely coated. Then turn the mould over onto the baking tray and tap out any excess chocolate. You want the moulds to be coated rather than full so that you can fill them. Scrape the excess chocolate back into the bowl and continue to fill the rest of the clean moulds. These ones will be solid chocolates so should be filled to the top.
- Place the mould flat onto a plate/ tray and place in the fridge to harden for 30 minutes.
- Once the chocolate has firmed up, remove the mould from the fridge so that you can add the fillings. Divide the three fillings between half of the moulds. For an even finish I filled each chocolate to 3/4 full.
- After you have added the fillings cover the chocolates with the remaining melted chocolate. You may need to re-melt the chocolate. I heated it again for a couple of 30 second intervals, stirring in between. Use a palette knife to smooth the chocolate across the mould. Place the mould back into the fridge to set. This can take up to an hour.
- When the chocolate has completely hardened remove from the fridge and rest on the side for 10 minutes. I found this made it easier to remove from the mould. To remove the chocolates, gently press on the underside of the mould. Carefully remove an excess chocolate and serve!
Dairy, egg, nut, soya and gluten free
Vegetarian and vegan
Published by