Move over coffee ice! TikTok has given the world another hot, new trend and this time, it’s the tastiest way to usher in cooler weather!
Social media enthusiasts are ditching cocoa powder mixes and taking hot cocoa to the next level this season with hot chocolate bombs.
But what exactly are they? Hot chocolate bombs are pretty simple. Each bomb is a hollow chocolate sphere that's filled with mini marshmallows and cocoa mix. You put the chocolate orb into an empty mug and pour hot milk on top until the chocolate begins to melt. When the chocolate shell begins to melt into the milk, the marshmallows from the interior float to the surface. After a quick stir, you’ve got yourself the perfect sweet treat!
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The trend is going viral on TikTok and even sparked the creation of some Facebook groups like “All things Hot Cocoa Bombs” for hot chocolate bomb creators to discuss techniques and recipes. Some users are taking it one step further and setting up online businesses to sell their hot chocolate bombs locally.
Cathy Ortiz, 34, started her business Love Meets Sugar this July in Winter Springs, Florida, combining her love of sweets with her experience as a cake decorator and entrepreneur.
“In July, I was part of a cake pop group and somebody had mentioned a hot cocoa bomb and I’m like, I used to make bath bombs, so let me set this up because it’s perfect for me," she told TODAY Food. "I started doing my research in July and I got all of my molds and everything ready for myself in the fall.”
Ortiz’s video showing how to prepare her white peppermint hot cocoa bomb has garnered over 300,000 views on TikTok and her pumpkin spice version received just over 155,000 views. Beyond the traditional chocolate bomb, Ortiz recommends that people try peanut butter cup bombs, as well as her bestselling flavor and personal favorite, s’mores bombs.
Ashlei Nordmeyer, 33, from South Elgin, Illinois, started making hot chocolate bombs last month on TikTok for fun. A video she posted on Oct. 7 of one of her hot chocolate bombs has amassed over 2 million views and keeps growing.
Nordmeyer started her new venture for a very sweet reason, telling TODAY via e-mail, "My inspiration to start making the bombs would be my kid's love for hot chocolate!"
Two weeks after starting to make her hot chocolate bombs at home, Nordmeyer started her own online business, Cocoa creations by Ashlei. Not surprisingly, her business has taken off.
Interested in making a hot chocolate bomb at home? Try these recipes shared by Ortiz and Nordmeyer that feature their favorite flavors.
Cathy Ortiz's s'mores hot chocolate bomb
Ingredients
- Compound chocolate
- Graham crackers
- S’mores hot cocoa mix
- Mini marshmallows
Instructions
- Melt your compound chocolate in a bowl (if you’re an expert, you can also temper the chocolate).
- Brush your silicone mold with two coats of chocolate and let it dry.
- After they’ve dried, remove the hardened halves from their mold and heat the edges of one side with a hot plate so the rim is melted and even.
- Put a tablespoon of s’mores hot cocoa mix inside that half of the sphere along with as many marshmallows as you can fit (toasting optional, but recommended).
- Heat the rim of the second half on a hot plate and connect both halves together so it forms a complete sphere.
- Melt more of the chocolate compound and put it into a piping bag. Drizzle chocolate on top of the dried hot cocoa bomb and top off with some finely grated graham crackers for the full s’mores effect.
Ashlei Nordmeyer's Oreo hot chocolate bomb
Ingredients
- Chocolate melting wafers
- Hot cocoa mix
- Mini marshmallows
- Oreos
Instructions
- Separate your Oreo cookies in half and remove the cream. Set the cookies aside.
- Begin to melt your chocolate wafers and mix in your cream to make the shell.
- Brush your chocolate and cookie cream mixture into your silicone molds and let them dry to form the shell halves.
- Melt the edges of one side of the shell and put in a spoonful of hot cocoa mix, mini marshmallows and crushed-up pieces of the Oreo cookies you set aside.
- Combine the two halves of the chocolate shell to form the full hot chocolate bomb.