Quick and easy homemade gourmet chocolate (ice cube candy) with multiple filling ideas. Pack these fancy chocolate in a pretty box for a nice homemade gift.
Coming up with a name for today's post was so hard. I know many people won't agree with the name but it was better than calling them "chocolate ice cubes!" As you have probably guessed, these homemade candies are made in ice cube trays. You can use a fancy mold but this is the way my dear Mom made them. Back in the day when I was little, they didn't have cool molds or cute ice trays readily available at stores. So, my mom was smart and used whatever was on hand. Now these chocolates are not only delicious, but nostalgic too. The possibilities for fillings are endless, making them a sweet surprise on top of everything else! These How to Make Chocolate Leaves {With Mint} and Crockpot Candy {Chocolate Peanut Clusters} are additional unique ways to enjoy chocolate.
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Table of contents
How to make homemade gourmet chocolate in ice cube tray?
- Melt chocolate- Paint a thick layer into the ice cube tray.
- Freeze tray- Then, fill it with add-ins.
- Cover add-ins with chocolate- Spread it smoothly.
- Freeze again- Until chocolate is fully set.
- Remove chocolates- Gently. Enjoy.
Chocolate candy filling ideas
Marshmallows- In the form of marshmallow creme or actual marshmallows.
Chopped nuts- Such as walnuts, pecans, peanuts, almonds, pistachios, or cashews.
Nut butters- Such as Nutella, peanut, almond, cashew, or sunbutter.
Fresh fruit- Like strawberries or maraschino cherries.
Ganache- Such as this Easy Chocolate Ganache {2 Ingredients}
Crushed cookies- Like Oreos, biscoff, graham crackers, or chocolate chip cookies.
Dried fruit- Like cranberries, blueberries, cherries, or apricots.
Other candies- Such as truffles or even mini m&ms.
Edible cookie dough- Because cookie dough makes everything better.
Frostings- Such as Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Recipe, American Buttercream Frosting Recipe, or Best Cream Cheese Frosting.
Sauces- Like this How To Make Homemade Caramel Sauce and Hot Fudge Sauce {Chocolate Fudge Sauce}.
Crushed pretzels- For a salty and sweet version.
Jams/pie fillings- How to Make Strawberry Pie Filling, How to Make Cherry Pie Filling, How to Make Blueberry Pie Filling, How to Make Raspberry Pie Filling, or Easy Homemade Strawberry Jam.
Variations for fancy chocolate
Use a fancy chocolate mold- Simply follow the same tutorial to make cool shapes.
Add sea salt- Before the top layer of the chocolate sets add a sprinkle of sea salt.
Add espresso powder- To the melted chocolate for a coffee version.
Add spices- Such as ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, or even all spice to the melted chocolate.
Add extracts- Such as vanilla, almond, maple, or bourbon.
Tips and techniques for ice cube candy
Wash and pat fruit dry- Because this prevents water from collecting in the chocolates and then creating ice in them when frozen.
Your chocolate coating that you brush in the trays must be thick- If it's too thin, it will stick to the trays and crack when the candies are finally removed from the tray, or it would become too hard to remove them from the trays.
How to melt chocolate? Melt chocolate in the microwave in 30 second increments until smooth, stirring between each interval.
How to remove candies from ice cube trays? Flip the ice cube tray gently onto a baking tray, lined with wax paper and tap it a bit until the chocolate cubes fall out.
Storage
Refrigerate- In a sealed container, separated by sheets of wax paper for up to 1 week.
Freeze- This is not recommended since the chocolate topping can sometimes crack upon thawing.
Room temperature- If there are perishable fillings (such as fresh fruits, jams e.t.c), those cannot be stored at room temperature for more than 2-3 hours because they can go bad. However, non-perishable fillings (such as marshmallows, nuts, Nutella) can be stored in a covered box, separated by sheets of wax paper for up to 3 days.
More easy candy recipes
- Chocolate Bark
- Easy Chocolate Caramel (Salted)
- Easy Caramel Fudge (2 Ingredients)
- Condensed Milk Fudge (Cranberry and Pistachio)
- Maple Fudge (With Maple Syrup)
- Spicy Chocolate Fudge Footballs
- Chocolate Covered Potato Chips
- Chocolate Truffles
- Coffee Fudge
Recipe
Homemade Gourmet Chocolate (Ice Cube Candy)
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Ingredients
- 2 cups Melted chocolate Semisweet, dark, milk or even white
- 2 cups Fillings Such as nuts, Nutella, peanut butter, jams, preserves, fresh berries, marshmallows, marshmallow creme or fluff, caramel sauce, crushed oreos, thick ganache
Instructions
- Melt chocolate in the microwave in 30 second increments until smooth.
- Use a paintbrush to paint a thick coating of chocolate in each cavity of an ice cube tray.
- Freeze this tray for 10 minutes.
- Remove tray from the freezer and fill it with your choice of add-ins.
- Pour spoonfuls of chocolate on top of your add-ins and spread it smoothly.
- Freeze tray again for 15-20 minutes or until chocolate is fully set.
- Flip the tray gently onto a tray, lined with wax paper and tap it a bit until the chocolate cubes fall out. Enjoy.
Notes
- Read all my tips above.
- Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
An automated tool is used to calculate the nutritional information. As such, I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information provided for any recipe on this site.
Dave
How well would these hold up to mailing? I've got a friend out of state I'd like to try to send some to!
Abeer Rizvi
It is chocolate and it can melt if the mail room or the mail truck is hot. If you do end up mailing it, I would suggest staying away from any fillings that can go bad in transit.
Susan Langston
I have some silacon mini cupcake molds can I use them for the candies? If so do I need to use a nonstick spray?
Abeer Rizvi
Yes, you can use those. You don't have to use cooking spray. Chill them in the freezer and when they become hard, turn them over to a sheet of wax paper and tap the back of the mold and the chocolates should just drop out.
Sheila
The candy looks fabulous. I love this post. Will have to try it for the holidays. Thank you so much for sharing.
EDVALDO BARROSO COSTA
You'll gonna make me fat fast kkkkkk
Bea
Trying these over the next couple of weeks!! Can't wait..
Eunice
I would like to make these little dreams but I do live in Mexico and have not been very lucky with buying the right chocolate for this type of candy. Can you suggest which brand I should buy for this recipe? I would like to know for example what brand you used for the ones in the pics. Semi sweet is my choice.
Regards
Abeer Rizvi
You can use Nestle Semisweet chocolate chips. That's a very popular brand that's found in many countries and works well.
Beth
I can't get them out of the ice cube trays!! Any suggestions?
Abeer Rizvi
They should come out very easily. Just twist the sides of the ice cube tray a little to loosen the cubes and they should just pop out. However, if the the chocolate is still too soft and hasn't set, they won't come out because they are sticking to the ice cube tray. Just pop it in the freezer for 5-10 minutes and they should easily come out.
Mauriana
Amei a sua receita. Principalmente para aqueles que são iniciantes na cozinha, é fácil de fazer e pouco tempo de preparo. Vou fazer para os meus filhos que amam um chocolate, também para presentear a minha família. Agradeça a sua mãe também,guerreira e batalhadora que se vira com aquilo que tem,e faz o que precisa fazer.Parabéns.Feliz Natal para toda a família.Deus abençoa...
Renee
Hi! I don’t have any ice cube trays because my fridge makes ice without ice cube trays, any suggestion on what I can use instead? By the way, this recipe looks like it’s to DIE for. Can’t wait to try it
Abeer Rizvi
You can use any deep candy mold.
Becci
You can buy ice cube trays really cheap. Probably cheaper then molds.
Jb
You can buy trays at the dollar store
Karen
Do you need to temper the chocolate to get the crispy texture that your photo shows?
Abeer Rizvi
I don't temper it and somehow, it always works well.
Jenni Nichols
I would like to know what kind of chocolate you used. By the way your chocolate candy's look so delicious.
Abeer Rizvi
For the strongest cubes, chocolate almond barks works the best. However, you can use any brand of chocolate chips or chocolate bars too. Just make sure there is a thick coating so they don't crack, when removing from trays.
Cheryl
Do you spray the mold/tray? They don't stick? I love this recipe and would like to try it!
Abeer Rizvi
I have never had to spray it. It pops out of my ice cube trays. Make sure they are good quality ice cube trays and not the cheap "bendy" ones.
Aline
How far in advance can you make these? Does it depend on the filling? Like with the fruit fillings?
What a blessed child you were to have a smart, sweet mother.
Abeer Rizvi
You are right... it does depend on the fillings. Anything that's fruit based will also have to be refrigerated. But if you are using nuts, Oreos, peanut butter or Nutella, these should easily last at room temperature for a week.
My mom is the sweetest!
Cindy
They were delicious but I had trouble with my two chocolate layers separating. Wondering why?
Abeer Rizvi
Well, the top shell is hard chocolate and the inside is supposed to be ooey gooey if you are using Nutella or Fudge or something like that. So, there would be 2 layers of different conistencies.
What did you fill the inside with?
Pattie Sanders
I was wondering if coconut pecan icing would work for filling, or even marshmallows and nuts?
Abeer Rizvi
Yes, if the icing is thick... it will work very well as a filling.
Carole B
I'd like to try the peanut butter.Do you mix anything in the peanut butter?
Abeer Rizvi
Nope, nothing. I usually heat it for 10 seconds so that it's easier to add it in the chocolate cavities.