Gourmet Filled Chocolate Candy Bars
I was totally inspired on TikTok when I saw the gourmet filled candy bars made by The Dsrt Company. Their work is gorgeous and looks so delicious, but they sell out quickly so they are hard to get. I decided I would try making my own filled chocolate bars as a special surprise from my husband.
I personally prefer dark chocolate, the darker the better, but I really wanted to make these bars a fun color, so I bought some high-quality white chocolate (I chose Merckens) and chocolate food coloring.
The key to a filled chocolate bar is having a deep mold so that there's plenty of room for the yummy fillings. I purchased the perfect deep-cavity molds from Icing Inspirations.
After tempering my chocolate, I tinted it blue and coated the inside of the molds with it.
While the chocolate shell set up, I worked on the yummy gourmet fillings. My husband loves cheesecake, so I decided to fill these candy bars with a turtle cheesecake filling. To start, I spread a thin layer of cheesecake in the candy bar shell.
Next, I sprinkled on some crumbled graham crackers that I had mixed with melted butter, to make them taste just like a cheesecake crust.
Then I sprinkled on some finely chopped pecans...
...a layer of caramel...
...and finally, a layer of chocolate ganache. Now you see why that candy bar mold needs to have a deep cavity, to hold all these fantastic layers!
After all the fillings were in, I topped off the bar with a thin layer of the blue tempered chocolate to fill it completely, and finished with a smooth layer. Then I let it set up until hardened, and removed them from the molds.
The most fun part of making these candy bars was adding the gold! I lightly brushed some food paint over the raised areas on top of the candy bar, giving them a luxe look. I love how it makes that geometric design really pop.
Just think of all the fun flavor combos you could do! I think I want to try French Silk Pie filling next.
Look at all those yummy layers!
Tips for making gourmet filled candy bars
- Make sure you temper the chocolate properly or it will never come out of the mold, and it won't have that nice glossy shiny and snap.
- Don't make the chocolate shell too thick or it will be difficult to eat/cut the candy bar.
- Use quality chocolate for the best taste. Try to avoid using candy melts.
- For even and level layers, pipe smooth fillings into the mold instead of trying to spread them with a knife.
- Make all of your fillings ahead of time and have them ready to go so that your chocolate doesn't cool too much before it's time to pour the bottom.
- Sandwich any crumbly fillings between two layers of creamier fillings if possible. This will help ensure the bottom of your bar is smooth and not lumpy.
- Make sure you get nice deep molds so that you'll have plenty of room for fillings.
- If you want to tint white chocolate, make sure you use proper oil-based chocolate coloring. Regular water-based food coloring will cause your chocolate to seize up.
2 comments so far:
I have made a bunch of filled chocolate bars and every single one cracked in the mold. What am I doing wrong?!?!
Meagan, I'm not nearly the chocolate expert to be able to tell you for sure, but my gut tells me that cracking occurs when temperature changes are too drastic. Hope that helps somewhat!