It’s tax day!
If you are anything like me, you have an appointment at your accountant’s office this afternoon.
Waiting until the last minute…? You could say that. I just like procrastinating adrenaline. Yep…that’s it.
Hopefully, you have a nice little deposit headed to your bank account soon, but, if not, you can help yourself feel a little bit better by making these DIY chocolate gems instead. They might not be a hefty cash payment from the government, but they are covered in edible gold dust. That’s gotta count for something.
I chose to use white chocolate for these guys because I really wanted you to be able to see the shimmer, but you could easily use milk or dark chocolate, or use an oil based chocolate coloring to tint your chocolate too!
There is also a delicious and ooey gooey caramel filling hidden in the middle of these babies…a fun surprise for anyone that bites into them!
Here’s what you’ll need to make your own batch:
- Silicone Chocolate Gem Mold (This one
is similar to mine)
- White Melting Chocolate
- Caramel Bits
- Half & Half Cream
- Gold Pearl Dust (Find it here
)
- Paintbrush (Used for food only)
- Scraper (This one
is great!)
Melt your white chocolate using the package directions. Depending on how many gems you want to make, you won’t have to use the whole package.
Once melted, scoop a small amount of chocolate into each of the gem shapes on your mold. Only fill the gem about halfway full. Using a paintbrush, brush the chocolate up the sides of each of the shapes. The bottom of your molds will end up being the top of your finished chocolates, so make sure there is enough covering the bottoms of the molds too, so that you don’t have holes in your finished gems!
Once all have been filled, lightly tap your mold to remove the air bubbles. Place your mold into the fridge to chill for a few minutes to let the chocolate set.
While you’re waiting, melt your caramel using the package directions. I added a little bit of half & half to my caramel bits when I melted them to create an ooey gooey consistency.
Scoop your caramel onto the hardened chocolate layer. You can add as much or as little as you want, but keep in mind that you’ll be adding another layer of chocolate on top, so don’t overfill them!
After all of the caramel is in place, cover with more melted chocolate.
At this point, you can add as much chocolate as you think you’ll need to cover the molds. You’ll get rid of the excess chocolate in the next step.
Once all of the molds have been covered in the second layer of white chocolate, and while the chocolate is still warm, use your scraper and run it across the top of the mold, removing the excess chocolate. This will make sure that the bottoms of your chocolates are flat once they have been popped out of the molds.
Yep, it’s going to get pretty messy. (And delicious).
You might have a little bit of your caramel filling run out of the molds, but once your chocolates are cool and when they are out of the mold, you won’t even notice.
Pop them back into the fridge to set (about 15 minutes).
Once your gems have set, pop them out of the mold. Because the mold is silicone, they pop out SUPER easy!
Using your paintbrush, brush the gold pearl dust right on top of your chocolates.
They are quick and super easy to make and they also happen to make the cutest little party favors too! (Pink chocolate gems would be perfect for a Barbie themed party!)
How are you going to celebrate with yours?
