There is something mesmerizing about hot cocoa bombs. Last year, these delicious spheres were ubiquitous on Instagram and TikTok. We watched them being dropped into warm milk, cracking open and releasing a flurry of hot cocoa mix, marshmallows and other treats until— poof!—there appeared a steaming cup that warms the soul as much as its creation captures the imagination.
Karin Giamella, owner of Blue Sheep Bake Shop in Somerville, heard about this hot trend last holiday from her daughter, Phoenix, who was captivated by the exploding hollow chocolate balls on TikTok and begged her mother to make them. Not intending them for retail, Giamella posted a photo and her phone started blowing up with customers who wanted a taste. She purchased machines and rented a kitchen to accommodate the influx of orders.
The hot cocoa bombs, which come in a variety of flavors such as vanilla and cinnamon toast crunch, populate Blue Sheep’s holiday gift boxes. “We offer a deluxe set for a family of four, which has four cocoa bombs with toppings like caramel, marshmallows, fluff and candies like chocolate-covered caramels and chocolate-covered Oreos,” she says. “We also offer a smaller set with two cocoa bombs.”
Besides the hot cocoa bombs, the most popular holiday orders are gift items, such as a cookie box containing a collection of mini cookies in a wooden box, and their signature cake and a Rudolph cake, complete with horns. “Our signature cake is elegant and has colors other than the traditional red-and-green,” Giamella says.
Blue Sheep, which this year celebrates a decade in business, opened a new production facility in August to accommodate the ever-increasing orders. Giamella recommends customers make special orders, such as for the Tres Leches cake, as early as possible as they usually hit capacity two weeks before the holiday.
Order a sweet treat at Blue Sheep Bake Shop at bluesheepbakeshop.myshopify.com.
Hot Cocoa Bombs
1/2 c granulated sugar
1/4 c cocoa powder
Mini marshmallows
32 oz melting chocolate wafers
Combine sugar and cocoa powder, set aside.
Place clean, dry plastic cocoa bomb molds on a flat surface, open side up.
In medium-sized microwave-safe plastic bowl, melt wafers in 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval, until the chocolate is just melted.
Fill mold cavities to the top, scrape chocolate off the top to remove excess. Let sit for 5 minutes.
Set in freezer/refrigerator for a few minutes until the chocolate easily pops out of the shell.
Place chocolate bombs on a cookie tray lined with parchment paper.
Place an aluminum cookie tray on top of 3 inches of simmering water to heat the tray to flatten out the bomb for a clean edge.
Split the bombs in half to make bottoms and tops. Using food serving gloves, run the open end of the cocoa bomb down the cookie tray to smooth and flatten the bottom. Place on parchment-lined tray with flattened side down.
Place the bomb bottoms into the cavities of a cupcake baking pan. Add 2 tbs of the cocoa mix to each bottom. Fill with mini marshmallows.
Using the same technique, smooth out the bottoms and immediately place directly on top of the bottom of the bomb.
Decorate.
Learn Giamella's expert tips at https://bit.ly/2X5vb4F.