Chocolate Sphere Recipe

Have you ever needed to make something impressive yet incredibly simple for guests coming over? If so, this chocolate sphere recipe is for you! I love chocolate mousse, but I also love sprucing up simple desserts from time to time. In this process, I put my unused chocolate semi-sphere molds to use and put my own twist on a common-place dessert that is sure to impress! The best part of it is that it’s extremely customizable, so everyone will be happy! 

Tools/Devices: 

• Silicone semi-sphere mold
• Hand or stand mixer (or a strong arm) 
• Pastry brush (optional)

Ingredients:

• ½ + ⅔ cups of heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup of any chocolate of your choosing (I like semi-sweet the most)
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp of unflavored gelatin powder
• Powdered sugar for garnishing (optional)

Notes:

• This recipe should make at least 12 chocolate semi-spheres (2.8″ diameter) 
• A double boiler is your best friend! In this case, a double boiler is any way of passively melting your chocolate. For me, the easiest way to do this is to fill a small pot with an inch or two of water and put a heat-resistant bowl on top. I set the heat to medium-low. This allows the steam to melt your chocolate instead of directly melting it in a pot or in the microwave. This is important because the chocolate melts gradually and thus prevents burning and clumping. 
• Make sure there is ABSOLUTELY NO water in the bowl you melt your chocolate in. Water is chocolate’s nemesis and usually will hinder your chocolate from melting properly, causing clumping or splitting.
• Make sure to watch your gelatin when you melt it! Microwaving it for too long can cause it to bubble and spill out over your microwave plate.
• Make sure you do not overwhip your whipped cream—stop immediately after you reach stiff peaks
• Make sure that before adding the ganache to the whipped cream, let your ganache cool until you can barely tell that it is still warm—adding a too-hot ganache will melt your whipped cream while adding one that is too cool may cause the whipped cream to curdle.
• Using a pastry brush to spread your chocolate into the mold is the easiest way to effectively create a thin layer of chocolate
• Tempering the chocolate you use for your shells is key to achieving shiny and sturdy shells that have a “snap” when you break into them—I do this by keeping the heat for my double boiler quite low and constantly removing the bowl with chocolate constantly.
• You can make the mousse or the chocolate sphere with any chocolate you want (the process should be the same, even for white chocolate!)
• You can put fresh fruit, brownies, etc, when assembling your mousse and shells to spruce them up even more!

Steps: 

Making the Shells:

1. Temper ½ cup of chocolate (see notes above)
2. Once melted, remove the chocolate from the heat and spoon just a bit of chocolate into each shell of the sphere. 
3. Spread the chocolate into a thin layer with a pastry brush (preferably) or with the backside of the spoon until you can no longer see the mold. 
4. Refrigerate the mold with the chocolate until the shells have hardened
5. Repeat steps 2-4 if there are any holes in your shells once you remove them from the refrigerator
6. Keep the shells in the refrigerator until you are ready to assemble

Making the Ganache: 

1. Create a double boiler on your stove and add ½ cup of the chocolate and ½ cup of the heavy whipping cream to the bowl on top
2. Stir constantly, until the chocolate has melted with the cream and forms a ganache (should be semi-thick and creamy)
3. In a small, microwave-safe bowl, add 1 tbsp and 1 tsp of cold water
4. Sprinkle 1 tsp of unflavored gelatin powder over the water until it blooms (wait a minute or two and the powder should be absorbed)
5. Melt the bloomed gelatin in a microwave for intervals of 10-15 seconds until the gelatin is completely melted and the mixture is more or less clear
6. Stir the melted gelatin into the ganache mixture
7. Take the ganache off the double boiler and turn off your stove
8. Let the ganache cool until it is barely warm to the touch

Putting Together the Mousse: 

9. In a medium-sized bowl, whip ⅔ cup of heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form
10. Fold your ganache into the whipped cream until it is fully incorporated
11. Start assembling!

Assembling the Shells: 

1. Remove your chocolate shells from the refrigerator
2. Spoon the mousse mixture into each of the shells (this is where you would add any additional elements, such as fruits or brownies)
3. Once each shell is filled, flatten out the mousse carefully with the backside of a butter knife
4. Put your molds into a larger container that you can cover with foil or saran wrap (you do not want the foil to touch the mousse in the shells directly) and refrigerate overnight (or at a minimum of 5 hours)
5. Once the mousse has been set, carefully remove the shells from the mold and clean up the edges
6. Serve by keeping the mousse side face down on a plate and garnish with powdered sugar
7. Enjoy!