Chocolate Otherwise known as cake pops, these Chocolate Bon Bons are for the grown ups! This bon bon candy recipe makes fabulous gifts for those who love a little booze with their chocolate.
If you’ve never experienced boozy chocolate bon bons, you are in for a treat! Some call these rum balls or bon bon candies. Others associate them with cake pops. But these require a more polished name, because they’re far more than just balls and pops (ahem).
Table of Contents
What are Bon Bons?
A bon bon is typically chocolate candy or a small confection that’s round in shape. It’s their shape that distinguishes them from other confections like marshmallows, turtles, caramels that aren’t covered in chocolate. Bon Bons can include dried fruit, nuts or coconut for example.
Bon bon candies are different from truffles, however in that truffles generally are filled in the center with ganache or fruity puree’ filling.
Ingredients for this Bon Bon Candy Recipe
This bon bon recipe calls for cake. In order to save some time, make the cake ahead and freeze it or use cake scraps from another cake you previously made and froze. For this recipe, you can use just about any left over cake, it doesn’t have to be chocolate. Just make sure the cake doesn’t have any fruit. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Cake, chocolate or otherwise – I like to use these chocolate cupcakes
- Almonds
- Coconut
- High Quality Bar Chocolate – I like Theo
- Dark Rum or Kahlua
- Heavy Cream
- Cocoa Nibs (optional)
How to Make Chocolate Bon Bons
There’s a bit of a time commitment to make this candy bon bon recipe, but it’s time well spent it. Especially as a gift or any special occasion. Here’s how to do it:
- First, acquire or make 2 C of cake.
- Second, set up a bain marie by filling a large, deep saute’ pan or stock pot ¾ full with water. Heat water until steaming. Keep the burner on med-low so that water continues to steam. The bain marie will be used to melt the chocolate.
- Third, heat oven to 325F. toast the almonds and the coconut. Place almonds in food processor and pulse to finely chop. Set coconut and almonds aside in separate bowls.
- Fourth, melt the chopped chocolate in a stainless bowl in the ban marie.
- Fifth, in a stand mixer add the cake, chopped almonds, toasted shredded coconut, melted chocolate, rum and heavy cream. Mix until ingredients are evenly distributed. The mixture will be very moist.
- Next, line a baking pan with wax or parchment paper. Using a #50 scoop or 1.5 Tbs each, scoop the bon bons out of the bowl and place them on the wax paper. Refrigerate for 10 minutes. Roll each piece into a ball. Refrigerate another 10 minutes.
- Last, dip in chocolate and roll in nibs, coconut or almonds to finish.
The cocoa nib bon bon is for the dark, bitter chocolate lover. The nibs are crunchy and are a mouth watering contrast to the creamy, melty texture of the inner bon bon. The possibilities for different coatings are endless. You can use just about any toasted and finely chopped nut or sweetened and toasted coconut flakes to roll the chocolate bon bons in.
A Few Chocolate Bon Bon Recipe Notes
- In order to save some time on this bon bon candy recipe, make the cake ahead and freeze it. For this recipe, you can use just about any left over cake, it doesn’t have to be chocolate.
- This bon bon recipe is very versatile. Depending on your tastes, or your gift recipient, you can use rum or Kahlua in this recipe. The booziness can be adjusted to your liking, increasing or decreasing the alcohol while adjusting it with the cream. If booze isn’t your thing, leave it out and replace it with more cream and/or espresso or strong coffee.
- These chocolate bon bons make great gifts. I’ve packaged them up in cellophane bags, or small confection boxes. The bon bon candies hold up well in the packaging and ship beautifully as long as it’s not above 80 degrees. Everyone loves getting these little treats as gifts! So when you can’t mail a cake, send them bon bons!
More Chocolate Recipes to Love
- Chocolate Hazelnut Cake with Whipped Ganache – vegan
- Tripe Chocolate Mousse – from Kitchen Confidante
- Gluten Free Chocolate Decadence
- Chocolate Ice Cream with Peanut Butter – from Floating Kitchen
- Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies – gluten free + vegan
the recipe
Boozy Chocolate Bon Bons
Ingredients
- 2 C Perfect Chocolate Espresso Cupcakes 12 oz
- 1 ¼ C Whole Almonds divided for finishing (6 ¼ oz)*
- 1 C Shredded Coconut divided for finishing (3 oz)*
- 3 1/4 C Chocolate Chopped Baking Bar or Wafers (I use Guittard 70 or 72% Couverture) divided for finishing (16 oz)*
- 4 Tbs Dark Rum or Kahlua
- 5 Tbs Heavy Cream
For Finishing the Bon Bons
- ¼ C Cocoa Nibs Optional 1 ½ oz
- Reserved from above:
- C *2 ¼ Chocolate Chopped Baking Bar or Wafers, (I use Guittard 70% or 72% Couverture) (10 oz)
- C *½ Toasted Almonds fine chopped (2 ½ oz)
- C *¾ Toasted Shredded Coconut (2 ¼ oz)
Instructions
For the Cake
- The Perfect Chocolate Espresso Cupcakes cake recipe is used for this recipe. I usually make a whole batch of the Perfect Chocolate Espresso Cupcakes, bake it in a sheet pan, cut it into four pieces, wrap it in plastic wrap twice and freeze it. For this recipe, you'll only use 1/4 of the cake, so you will have some leftover. It can be used for many different desserts including future bon bons. If you'd rather have cupcakes, make the cupcakes and just pull 4 cupcakes to freeze for future bon bon use. You'll need two cups of cake. If you have any other left over, frozen cake, this bon bon recipe is a good recipe to use it in. Just make sure the cake doesn’t have any fruit in it.
For the Bon Bons
- Set up a bain marie by filling a large, deep saute' pan or stock pot ¾ full with water. Heat water until steaming. Keep the burner on med-low so that water continues to steam. The bain marie will be used to melt the chocolate.
- Heat oven to 325F. On separate sheet pans, toast the whole almonds for 25-30 minutes and the coconut for 15 minutes. Watch the coconut closely, stirring every 5 minutes. It can burn quickly and easily. Allow the coconut to cool while the almonds finish toasting. Place almonds in food processor and pulse 25 times. You want a fine chop. Set coconut and almonds aside in separate bowls.
- Place 1 C of chopped chocolate in a stainless bowl. Place the bowl in the ban marie (with the bowl floating in the water), and begin the melting process. Keep an eye on the temperature of the chocolate. You don’t want it to get above 110F. Periodically take the bowl out of the ban marie and stir the chocolate. The residual heat from the bowl will continue to melt the chocolate. Wipe the bottom of the bowl dry and set aside.
- In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on, add the cake, ¾ C of the fine chopped almonds, ¼ C of the toasted shredded coconut, the 1 C melted chocolate, rum and heavy cream into the stand mixer bowl. Mix on medium until ingredients are evenly distributed. The mixture will be very moist.
- Line a baking pan with wax or parchment paper. Using a #50 scoop or 1.5 Tbs each, scoop the bon bons out of the bowl and place them on the wax paper. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
- Remove the bon bons from the refrigerator. Using your hands, roll the bon bons each into a ball. Refrigerate for another 10 minutes. While these are in the refrigerator, place the remaining 2 ¼ C of chopped chocolate into a stainless steal bowl. Heat over the bain marie not allowing the chocolate to get above 110F. Be sure there is enough water in the bain marie as to not let the stainless steal bowl touch the bottom of the pan. Set aside.
Finish the Bon Bons
- Have your ingredients ready and a pan lined with wax or parchment paper. You’ll need ½ C toasted fine chop almonds, ¾ C toasted coconut , ¼ C cocoa nibs (optional) and the 2 ¼ C chocolate you just melted. Remove the bon bons from the refrigerator. Use your right hand to dip and roll the bon bon in the chocolate and the left hand to roll the bon bon in the finishing ingredient. The coating of chocolate should be relatively thin, so you’ll need to manipulate the bon bon so that there is not a lot of excess chocolate. Gently, set the bon bon, after rolling, on the lined pan. Use all of one finishing ingredient before starting another as to not mix the finishing ingredients.
- Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before storing them in a covered container. Bring to room temperature before serving.
these look AWESOME!!
Hi Leah!
Thank you. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
What is chocolate espresso cake and where would you find that ingredient? I have to say these are pretty amazing. I typically don’t like truffle or rum balls but these little babies are magic, melt in you mouth balls.
Hi Amber!
The chocolate espresso cake (cupcake) recipe is found here. I’ve updated the link on my recipe sheet to reflect that. Thank you for pointing it out! Hope you enjoy the bon bons!