Fun and Easy Caramel Bonbons

I’m spending Christmas at my parents’ this year. Despite the grey and rainy weather, the Christmas spirit is alive and well thanks to our huge Christmas tree and the abundance of Christmas decorations around the house! My sister will be arriving soon, and we’ll soon be spending hours on our annual tradition of making our own delicious bonbons for Christmas. Every year we come up with new and exciting chocolate sweets, but we always include some old favorites—especially these mouth-watering caramel-filled bonbons!

These easy caramel filled bonbons are molded with dark chocolate and filled with a creamy dulce de leche caramel. They taste absolutely amazing, much better than store-bought bonbons, especially if you invest in quality dark chocolate like my favorite, Callebaut 811.

Best of all, they are incredibly simple to make. You don’t need to fuss with boiling sugar in a pot to make your caramel; you can just cook it directly in the can.

What is Dulche De Leche?

There are different types of caramel that can be used for filling chocolate bonbons. Traditionally, caramel is made by boiling sugar and adding cream, which requires some practice and can be a bit daunting for beginners.

The easier alternative is to make dulce de leche—a caramel made from sweetened condensed milk. Dulce de leche is simply condensed milk that has been cooked until it caramelizes, resulting in a wonderfully creamy texture with a subtle nutty caramel flavor. It’s perfect for filling bonbons and incredibly easy to make! All you need to do is simmer a can of sweetened condensed milk in water for three hours. Once the can has cooled, the caramel is ready to use!

Tips for Making Dulce de Leche

• It’s crucial that the can of sweetened condensed milk is completely covered with water while it’s simmering—otherwise, it can actually explode and you’ll have caramel everywhere! Keep an eye on the water level and add more water as needed to ensure the can remains fully submerged.
• Be careful with your fingers! Caramel is hot and so is dulce de leche. Use tongs to lift the can out of the water and avoid touching it with your fingers until it has completely cooled.
• You can’t make a smaller amount of dulce de leche, as it needs to be cooked in the sealed can. However, any leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks.

Quality Chocolate vs Chocolate Melts

Not all chocolate is created equal—there’s a big difference between quality chocolate and chocolate melts, even though they may look similar. Understanding the difference is key to choosing the right chocolate for your bonbons.

Quality chocolate contains cocoa butter (natural fat extracted from cocoa beans) which gives chocolate its smooth texture, rich feel, and shiny finish. However, quality chocolate is expensive, and cheaper options have been created as alternatives. These substitute products contain cheap vegetable fats such as palm oil or coconut oil instead of cocoa butter. These types of substitute chocolate products are not allowed to be sold under the term ‘chocolate’ but are labeled as e.g. compound chocolate or chocolate melts. They look like chocolate, they can be melted and harden like chocolate, but they do not have the same flavor or feel as real chocolate.

While cheaper chocolate substitutes are great for molding chocolate figures or creating decorations, they have a very sweet taste that really don’t work well for bonbons. I always recommend to use real quality chocolate for your bonbons to achieve the best possible flavor. My favorite chocolate brand is Callebaut and I highly recommend their different chocolates.

Tempering the Chocolate

While compound chocolate and chocolate melts can be melted and used without considering temperatures, quality chocolate has to be tempered in order to get the perfect chocolate snap and have a beautiful, shiny finish. Tempering is the most important step when making molded bonbons! If you skip tempering, you’ll end up with thick, rubbery chocolate shells that won’t come out of the mold.

For beginners, I recommend checking out my ultimate guide to tempering chocolate. If you’re ready to dive deeper, my e-book The Chocolate Handbook offers a comprehensive look at tempering and has lots of delicious filling recipes for your chocolates.

How to Use a Chocolate Mold

To create these beautiful, delicious dulche de leche-filled bonbons, you need a chocolate mold. I always recommend to use polycarbonate (hard plastic) molds because they are scratch-resistant and easy to clean.

Here are some tips for using a chocolate mold:

• Make sure the mold is clean and dry. Any moisture or residue can cause streaks or holes in your bonbons.
• Tap out air bubbles: After filling the mold, gently tap it on the counter to release any trapped air for a smooth, even surface on your bonbons.
• Scrape the top completely free from chocolate in a fast, determined motion. Use a little force here.
• Ideally allow your bonbon shells to set overnight in a cool place (ideally 16-18°C / 60-65°F) before filling them. If that’s too long, do wait at least 2 hours for the best results.
• Fill your bonbon shells with dulce de leche from a piping bag. This prevents caramel dripping all over the place and prevents air bubbles in your bonbons.
• Once your chocolates have set, tap the mold on the counter to release. Never twist your molds!

Never put your bonbons in the fridge!

Chocolate should ideally set at a temperature of 16-18°C (60-65°F). The fridge is too cold and also moist, which will get into your chocolate and potentially ruin it. The only reason to ever put your bonbons in the fridge is if your tempering or filling has gone wrong and you just can’t get your bonbons out of the mold. In that case, cooling the chocolates can help release them.

Recipe

Easy Caramel-Filled Chocolate Bonbons

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These rich chocolate bonbons are filled with creamy dulce de leche, a no-fuss caramel made from sweetened condensed milk. They're easy to make and perfect for the holiday season.

Difficulty: Moderate

Yield: 32 bonbons

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• Chocolate mold
• Infrared or probe thermometer
• Piping bag
• Scraper

Ingredients

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• 1 can sweetened condensed milk*
• 200 g quality dark chocolate
• 100 g quality dark chocolate

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Instructions

Bonbon shells

• Melt and temper 200 g quality dark chocolate. Pour the tempered chocolate into the cavities of your chocolate mold, filling them completely. Tap the mold on the counter several times to eliminate air bubbles.
  200 g quality dark chocolate
• Flip the mold upside down and tap out the excess chocolate onto a piece of parchment paper. Scrape off any excess from the top of the mold with a scraper and let the chocolate shells set in a cool place (16-18°C / 60-65°F) with the cavities facing down on a piece of parchment paper. Ideally overnight or at least 2 hours.

Dulche de leche filling

• Place the can of sweetened condensed milk in a large pot and cover it completely with water. Put a lid on the pot and bring the water to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and let it cook for 3 hours.
  1 can sweetened condensed milk*
• IMPORTANT: Check the water level regularly to make sure the can stays fully submerged—if the water evaporates and exposes the can, it can explode. Add more water as needed to keep it covered.
• After 3 hours, carefully remove the can with tongs or a fork and let it cool for at least 1 hour. Do not open the can while it’s still hot! Once cooled, transfer the caramel to a piping bag**.

Chocolate bonbons

• Pipe the cooled caramel into the chocolate shells, filling them 80%. Melt and temper the remaining 100 g quality dark chocolate. Pour the chocolate over the caramel-filled molds to seal them completely. Scrape off any excess chocolate from the top of the mold with a scraper and let the bonbons set in the cool place again for at least 30 minutes.
  100 g quality dark chocolate
• Once fully set, gently tap the bonbons out of the mold.

Notes

*Make sure to use sweetened condensed milk, not plain condensed milk, as the latter won’t caramelize.

**This recipe makes a large batch of dulche de leche. Store any leftovers in a sealed jar in the fridge for 1–2 weeks.

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