How to Make Chocolate Hearts?

There’s something about chocolates and sweet candies that just makes all of the people happy. Maybe it’s the smooth texture or the rich taste that feels like a little moment of luxury. When you shape that chocolate into a heart, it instantly becomes more meaningful. 

Heart-shaped homemade chocolates are a classic way to show love, especially on Valentine’s Day or anniversaries. They make any occasion feel a little more special and personal. To surprise your loved ones with a sweet delight, have a look at this perfect recipe. 

That’s not all from our side, as we will explore all the ingredients and equipment in detail. So, read the rest of the article to learn how to make chocolate hearts like a pro.

Part 1. Every Ingredient and Tool You Need to Make Silky Chocolate Hearts

Want to give something other than the same Cadbury chocolates to your loved one? Try gifting homemade chocolate heart candy to make the occasion special. For this, you have to gather the following ingredients to get started. 

Essential Ingredients for Silky and Smooth Chocolate Hearts

As we know, each ingredient plays its role in helping you make that perfect melt-in-your-mouth chocolate. So, all the Willy Wonkas, grab your buckets and gather these must-have ingredients for your DIY chocolate hearts. 

• Quality Chocolate (Dark, White, or Milky)

As a star of the show, chocolate needs to be the first thing on your recipe checklist. Instead of chocolate chips, we highly recommend you utilize couverture chocolate or quality bars. With more cocoa butter, these bars create a smooth finish. 

• Cocoa Butter

In case you want extra silkiness, you can choose to add a small amount of cocoa butter. Thanks to this ingredient, home chefs get to enhance the texture and help the heart-shaped chocolates set with a beautiful shine. For best results, make sure to melt your chocolate properly before adding cocoa butter.

• Flavor Extracts

To add a delicious twist to your DIY chocolate hearts, add a small amount of any of the available extract. 

• Sweeteners 

When making your own heart chocolates, natural ingredients like honey syrup can prove to be quite effective.

• Fillings 

For extra indulgence, we suggest you add the magic of caramel, chopped nuts, and dried fruit. All of these will provide fun texture and flavor contrast to your heart shaped chocolates.

• Decoration Ingredients 

While the taste matters, you have to make your chocolate hearts look as good with these ingredients:

• Edible Glitter or Gold Dust 
• Drizzled Chocolate
• Sprinkles 
• Crushed Nuts
• Freeze-Dried Fruit

These ingredients don’t just enhance heart shaped chocolates, they’re also perfect for making hot chocolate bombs.

All the Equipment You Need to Have for Perfect Chocolate Hearts

You don’t need a high-tech kitchen setup to make stunning chocolate heart candy. All you will need is just a few key tools to keep things smooth without creating any mess. 

• Heart-Shaped Molds

These guarantee that every chocolate comes out in a perfect heart shape. These silicone molds work best since they make it easy to pop the chocolates out without breaking them.

• Double Boiler or Microwave-Safe Bowl 

Both these tools serve as the key to melting chocolate bars without burning them. A double boiler is the safest way, but the microwave works, too. 

• Silicone Spatula

You’ll need this equipment to stir your melted chocolate to silky perfection. Other than that, such spatulas can even be used to scrape every last bit from the bowl.

• Piping Bag or Spoon

To make the pouring into chocolate molds clean, home chefs will need a piping bag that gives you better control. For less experienced cooks, spoons work just fine, too.

• Airtight Container 

Once your DIY chocolate hearts​ are done, store them in an airtight container to keep them fresh. Such a tool will also prevent them from picking up fridge odors.

With all these materials at your fingertips, now proceed to turn simple chocolate into something magical. To avoid making any mistakes, explore this detailed guide to learn how to make chocolate hearts. 

Part 2. What Are the Steps to Make Smooth and Silky Chocolate Hearts?

Now that you've got everything ready, it is time to be the Gordon Ramsay of chocolate, minus all the yelling. Take guidance from the instructions below to surprise your loved ones with homemade chocolates. 

Step 1. Choose the Perfect Heart-Shaped Mold for Your Chocolates 

First things first, you need to pick the best possible mold to lay the strong foundation. For this purpose, silicone molds work best because they can pop out the chocolates without any heartbreak.

Step 2. Prep Your Premium Chocolate Bars and Melt Them 

We recommend you skip the waxy chocolate chips and go for premium chocolate bars. To prepare these bars for melting, chop them into small pieces. You can utilize the following two methods to make the melting process easier than ever. 

Step 3. Temper the Chocolate for a Glossy Finish 

Want your chocolates to have that snappy texture? We strongly suggest tempering the melted bars to do so. For this purpose, you need to follow this set of instructions. 

• Once melted, let your chocolate cool to about 88-90°F for dark chocolate or 84-86°F for milk chocolate.
• Proceed by stirring in a small handful of finely chopped solid chocolate and mixing this ingredient until melted.

Step 4. Fill the Molds Like a Professional Chocolatier

Upon getting everything together, move forward to fill those chocolate heart molds. While doing so, you have to pour or pipe the melted chocolate into each heart cavity. 

While looking to make filled ones, add a thin layer of chocolate and then add your filling like nut butter. Afterward, simply seal the filling with another layer of chocolate to get the job done.

Step 5. Let the Heart Chocolates Set for Desired Outcome 

After filling the molds, you can opt for the following two options. 

• Room Temperature

When dealing with tempered chocolate, allow them to sit in a dry place by themselves for nearly three hours.

• Refrigerator

While working on a tough deadline, chill the heart shaped chocolates in the fridge for approximately half an hour.

Decoration and Flavor Variations to Make Your Chocolate Heart Candies Unique

Upon mastering the basics, you can get creative to be the master chef of the house. To get help in this regard, you’ll find a variety of decoration ideas and flavor variations in the following section.

When looking to master this recipe, take help from the following section to choose the custom molds for your chocolates. 

Part 3. Exploring the Importance of Good Molds in Making Smooth Chocolate Hearts

As mentioned repeatedly, you have to pick a perfect mold in order to craft a delicious chocolate heart candy. Throughout this section, we will explore the benefits of such molds and help you pick the best one for chocolate-making. 

Benefits of Using a Good Mold for Heart Shaped Chocolates

To begin the discussion about perfect silicone molds, we will familiarize you with their benefits. 

• Perfect Shape Every Time

Thanks to a perfectly shaped mold, you will be able to make uniform DIY chocolate hearts with clean edges.

• Easy Release Without Breakage 

When you make use of quality silicone molds from PJ Bold, they prevent chocolates from sticking to minimize damage.

• Durability and Reusability 

After making an investment in sturdy molds, chocolate lovers can use them over and over again for multiple batches.

• Versatility for Fillings and Layers

With the help of the right mold, you get to experiment with filled heart shaped chocolates and apply decorative touches effortlessly.

Top PJ Bold Silicone Molds for Crafting DIY Chocolate Hearts

Being one of the best brands out there, PJ Bold has the ultimate lineup of chocolate molds. Thanks to its range of silicone molds, you can turn your kitchen into a five-star chocolatier’s workshop. Explore these top choices to make your chocolate-making task smoother. 

• Heart Chocolate Mold Candy - Half Sheet

With each mold having a capacity of around 4 ml, this mold is made to work in extreme cold and hot temperatures. 

• Heart Candy Mold - Half Sheet 

Thanks to its deeper cavity, it allows for more indulgent chocolate pieces with room for additional fillings.

• Polycarbonate Heart Mold 

Containing around 21 cavities, these flexible chocolate heart molds can manage around 10 millimeters of melt. 

• Heart Wax Melt Mold

This heart wax melt mold contains multiple cavities of around 0.5 ml in size, which makes it perfect for crafting tiny DIY chocolate hearts in bulk. 

Apart from these pre-built molds, PJ Bold also gives its users the capability to order custom molds in any shape and size. Through this, businesses can optimize their branding by crafting chocolates in the shape of their mascots.  

Other than choosing a perfect mold, you need to keep the following troubleshooting tips in mind to better learn how to make chocolate hearts. 

Part 4. Common Problems You Can Face When Making Heart Chocolates

Even the best chocolatiers run into a few hiccups when making heart shaped chocolates. For those looking to perfect the art of chocolate-making, we will present some best practices they need to follow. 

1. Chocolates Won’t Release from the Mold

Sometimes, your DIY chocolate hearts can get stuck and refuse to pop out cleanly. Due to this annoying issue, you're left with broken or misshapen hearts.

Best Tips for Effective Release

• To avoid this problem, we recommend you make use of the best silicone or polycarbonate molds like those from PJ Bold. 

• Other than that, you need to refrigerate the chocolates for five extra minutes to make the release easier.

2. Air Bubbles in the Chocolate

Upon accumulating tiny air pockets, your chocolate heart candy can get disoriented. With such a problem, the overall look of your sweet delights will be ruined. 

Best Tips to Avoid Bubbles 

• As the best solution, always remember to tap the mold gently on the counter after pouring the chocolate.
• While filling the cavities, try to use a piping bag or spoon instead of pouring directly from the bowl.

3. Chocolates Melt Too Quickly in Your Hands

When you fail to refrigerate the heart shaped chocolates properly, the candies may soften as soon as you touch them. 

Best Tips to Prevent Quick Melting

• Always prefer to utilize properly tempered chocolate, which has a higher melting resistance.
• While making filled chocolates, you have to avoid using very soft fillings that might affect the chocolate’s structure.

4. Chocolate Has a Sugar Bloom on Its Surface 

Your chocolates may develop a white or grayish coating on their surface over time. Due to this sugar bloom, your DIY chocolate hearts will look dull and unappealing.

Best Tips to Tackle Sugar Bloom

• Try to store heart chocolates in a dry place, away from moisture and direct sunlight.
• When sugar bloom occurs, you should look to avoid refrigeration, as condensation can make the situation worse.

Conclusion

And just like that, you’ve unlocked the secret to making irresistible heart shaped chocolates. No matter if you have kids or lovers to impress, these DIY treats will surely do their magic. Just don’t forget to add lots of love as a secret ingredient to these chocolates to make the special occasions even more memorable. 

While learning how to make chocolate hearts, never forget to pick the right equipment. As the first thing on the checklist, you have to make sure to buy PJ Bold silicone chocolate molds. Thanks to these molds, users get to make the perfect treats for their loved ones.  

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Is My Melted Chocolate Turning Grainy or Lumpy?

This common mishap happens due to overheating or contact with water. To avoid this issue, we suggest you melt chocolate gently using a double boiler and keep all tools dry.

How Do I Add Fillings Like Caramel or Nuts to Chocolate Hearts?

Start by pouring a thin layer of melted chocolate into the mold. Upon adding your desired filling, now seal the caramel and nuts with another layer of chocolate before letting them set.

Can I Make Heart Chocolates Without a Mold?

Yes, you can directly make DIY chocolate hearts using a much messier way. While doing so, just pour melted chocolate onto parchment paper and then use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to shape the chocolates.

Why Do My Chocolate Hearts Have a Dull or Cloudy Appearance?

When your chocolates are giving a cloudy look, it’s probably due to improper tempering. To keep them shiny and smooth, make sure to temper the chocolate properly and store your finished treats in a dry place.

How Long Does It Take for Chocolate Hearts to Set?

When talking about room temperature, it takes about less than three hours. While using the fridge, your chocolates will only need around half an hour to be ready.