What are Bonbons and How to Make Them
Highly revered, chocolate bonbons are truly blissful! They’re actually not that hard to make. But what exactly are they? How are they made? How are these chocolate confections different from truffles?
French pastry chef Clemence Pereur taught me all about these chocolate delicacies and shared three filling recipes and I’m happy to pass everything along to you here!
What are bonbons?
Bonbons are confections with a thin chocolate shell and an oozy filling that spills out when you take a bite. The sky is the limit when it comes to these fillings – caramel, oozy ganache, fruit purees and more.
Ingredients and Equipment
- Clearly, you’ll need chocolate – use about 500 grams of chocolate for 24 bonbons. The higher quality the chocolate you use, the better your bonbons will taste. Plan on having more chocolate than you will actually need for the confection because some of it gets scraped away in the process. Any excess chocolate can be cooled and used for another project.
- You must have a bonbon mold [paid link] to make bonbons. You can order one online and luckily they aren’t too pricey.
- You’ll also want a bench scraper [paid link] to scrape the molds. If you don’t already own one, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without one once you purchase it.
How It’s Made
Time needed: 1 hour and 30 minutes
While bonbons are something that people typically buy, there is no reason that you can’t make them at home!
- Fill Bonbon Molds
Overflow each depression of your bonbon mold with melted tempered chocolate. Don’t be skimpy here; we want to ensure full coverage. - Distribute Chocolate
Use a bench scraper to tap the side of the mold. This gets the chocolate to drop all of the way into the depressions. When you see little bubbles form on top of the chocolate, you know you can move on to the next step. - Remove Excess Chocolate
Turn the mold upside-down and tap some more on its side with your bench scraper. A layer of chocolate will remain, coating each depression, and the rest should come raining out. - Scrape
While the mold is inverted, run your bench scraper along the top surface to remove any remaining excess chocolate. - Cool and Fill
Set the mold in a refrigerator for about an hour or in a freezer for about ten minutes to let the chocolate harden.
Then, you’re going to fill the bonbons. In the recipe section below, you’ll find recipes for three of Clemence’s wonderful fillings: Earl Grey ganache, passion fruit caramel (my favorite), and vanilla dark chocolate ganache. Pipe the fillings into the bonbons almost to the top of each well. - Close the Bonbons
To close them, spoon tempered chocolate over the top of the mold – just halfway across. Then, scrape across the top with your bench scraper onto the uncovered half. If needed, fill in any empty spots with additional chocolate. - Cool and Remove
Cool as before. Then, tap the molds on the counter to extract the bonbons!
Expert Tips and FAQ
It is extremely important that the melted chocolate be well tempered. This ensures that it ends up smooth and shiny instead of grainy. I’ve written a complete guide to tempered chocolate, and that’s a great place to start to brush up on tempering.
Making bonbons can be a messy affair. Always work over a large bowl or a big piece of parchment paper. When you are done with the project, let any extra chocolate cool and save it for the next time you are making chocolates.
Truffles are made by making a ganache (chocolate and cream filling). When it thickens to the point that the ganache can be rolled it into a ball, the ball is then dipped into a chocolate exterior (typically much thicker than the exterior of a bonbon).
Store in a cool, dark, dry place – not in the refrigerator. They can last for six months or more depending on the fillings you use.
Related Recipes
- Tempering chocolate
- Chocolate ganache
- Homemade chocolate turtles
- Chocolate leaves
- White chocolate truffles
- Chocolate bark
- Working with isomalt
Three Bonbon Filling Recipes
Ingredients
Vanilla Dark Chocolate Ganache
- 100 grams heavy whipping cream
- 100 grams dark chocolate
- 5 grams vanilla extract
- 10 grams glucose you can also use corn syrup
Earl Grey Ganache
- 350 grams heavy whipping cream
- 15 grams Earl grey tea
- 75 grams unsalted butter
- 10 grams trimoline you can also use corn syrup
- 500 grams milk chocolate
Passion Fruit Caramel
- 25 grams glucose you can also use corn syrup
- 250 grams sugar
- 20 grams water
- 100 grams heavy whipping cream
- 100 grams passion fruit purée
Instructions
Ganache Instructions (for Vanilla Dark Chocolate Ganache and Earl Grey Ganache)
- Bring cream to a boil in a saucepan on medium-high heat. If making Earl Grey ganache, place tea in a tea ball in the cream during the boil. Remove from heat as soon as the liquid begins to boil.
- Place remaining ganache ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Pour hot cream into the bowl and stir until chocolate is melted and all ingredients are fully integrated.
- Let ganache rest until ready to use.
Passion Fruit Caramel Instructions
- In a small saucepan on medium-high heat, bring glucose, sugar and water to boil until they have a dark caramel color. Do not stir.
- At the same time, combine the cream and passion fruit together in another small saucepan and bring to a boil on medium-high heat. Remove from heat as soon as the liquid begins to boil.
- When the caramel is done, carefully mix in the cream and passion fruit.
- Let the caramel rest for at least 30 minutes before adding to the bonbons.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Clemence Pereur is 27 years old and from France. She started culinary school when she was 15 years old. After three years of school, she got her culinary degree. She then decided to go to pastry school for a year to the famous Alain Ducasse pastry school and got her pastry degree. Because that was not enough, she decided to go to chocolate school for an additional two year degree. When she got this degree, she went to work at FAUCHON – a really famous pastry shop in Paris. After this experience, she went to work for for Yannick Alleno at his Parisian bistro. Working in France was not enough anymore, so she decided to move to America and did an internship at the St. Louis Club in Clayton, Missouri for almost two years. After this experience, she thought that it was time for her to have her own baby – her own shop! Like Home (Comme à la Maison) is her dream come true. It’s a place to eat good food and to feel like home.
I enjoy the efforts you have put in this, thanks for all the great articles.
Thank you for these tips! How long will the ones with heavy cream in the ganache stay good for? Don’t those need to be refrigerated? I’m only familiar with making ganache for macarons and I was told to always refrigerate. Thank you in advance!
Love how you explain how to make. I want to use mica powder, do I need to use coco butter melted or do you have a better way??Thanks,
Hi I liked your recipe I also want to be a chocolatear. your recipe is so helpful.thank you so much.For how long does it stay good if prepared using this recipe and stuffing? Does the duration of ‘stay good’ period depend on how long we boil the stuffing and under which temprature?
great recipe
What is the shelf life of bonbon in summer in India… In India the weather is to hot and humid.. And the ganache is made of whiping cream…
Thank you for sharing your recipes and instructions. They were so helpful and my chocolates came out fantastic!!
Hi! Can’t wait to try this recipe. Do your fillings last for the 6 months you mentioned for shelf-life?
Thank you!
I can’t wait to make these!! I have a question about the gold you added to the tops, did you add it to anything or paint it on dry? I thought I would add it to cocoa butter then paint the molds prior to adding the tempered chocolate! Thanks so much!!
It was painted on afterwards. I can’t remember if anything was added to it first. Sorry I can’t be more helpful.
Love the chocolate recipe.
Thank you for sharing the nice article. 5 star rating for this chocolate company.
Srikanth from India
Chocolate Mantra
http://www.chocolatemantra.com
I made these and just love how they turned out . I added coffee extract to the ganache
Wonderful, thanks a Lot.
Hi I am from India I liked your recipe I also want to be a chocolatear and want to open my on shop looking forward for your guidance.
This is so helpful! I tried these once before with non-couverture chocolate and couldn’t for the life of me figure out why they weren’t coming out of the mold cleanly. That passion fruit caramel is one of THE BEST things I’ve ever eaten. I did have a question, though…
I used your microwave method, and the chocolate tempered beautifully, but I was wondering how you manage to smooth over the chocolate on tops of the bonbons without leaving holes in the bottom? I spooned the chocolate over half of the molds, as instructed, then spread it, but all of a sudden, I saw the beautiful amber passion fruit caramel leaking out! I think maybe my chocolate may have been too cold, as it was at 85° when I finished mixing it, and I didn’t even have to chill it before it was solid enough to fill the coated mold.
Is there a trick to chilling the filled bonbons first so that the caramel isn’t so liquid, or maybe getting my chocolate a little warmer so that it gets into all the crevices? I’d appreciate the help!
Hey can you tell which chocolate u used i mean compound or couveture???
What a great post! I always had the same impression of bonbons, until I realized how many of them I’ve actually eaten over the years. :) What a wonderful opportunity to learn how to make them at home. I’m going to try my hand at them!
Wonderful post! I love how the idea of sitting around all day and eating bonbons seems so lazily decadent, yet the process of making them is clearly not one for the lazy! But hey, once you make them, you’re allowed to laze around all you want eating them, right? I love that you went a step further here and included the delightful and unique fillings. I’ve done a bit of chocolate making myself but never delved into anything quite this complex – but I have to say I’m tempted now! You make it look very doable!
Oh wow, these are so fancy! I have made a lot of truffles and bon bons in my time, but definitely nothing as sophisticated as these. Hubbies birthday is coming up, so maybe a good time to try out something sweet and new for a surprise. Thanks for the information tutorial :)
I make truffles all the time, but bonbons look so much more complicated! A mold! Of COURSE you use a mold! Duh. Soooo now I need to make these- I love it!!
YOU MAKE IT SEEM SO EASY! I love the idea of coming up with my own fillings and such. How fun! I also love how these are decorated. They’re so simple and beautiful. I need to give this a shot one of these days :)
This is such a great tutorial! I love all the detailed information and omg! all those flavor combinations are amazing! I may just have to make them all!
Love, love, love this video! Man alive, watching that tempered chocolate being scraped off the bonbon mold was making my mouth water! Chocolates are so wonderful and such a special treat to make them yourself! Can’t wait to try these!
Oh my goodness!! I need a dozen of these in my life right now. I think these are going to be my new favourite dessert. That passion fruit caramel sounds like something I need a bucket of.
WOW!! I’m impressed! I’d love to see the bonbons made from start to finish and then of course, sample a few. I’ve never eaten a bonbon. I think I’ll have to wait to either try to make it myself or travel to get some genuine French bonbons.
Wow what a treat for you to get such a lesson! And thank you for sharing all of your knowledge with us! The hardest part for me is definitely tempering the chocolate, thanks for all of the tips! These look PERFECT. I LOVE the caramel!
Oh my….how delicious do these look. Honestly, I don’t think I would have the patience to make them. I do however, have the patience to eat them. It would be hard to stop at one….and I sure wouldn’t either!! Can you say addictive?? YUP!!
First, that marble board is gorgeous!! I need! Second, I was just like you. I thought bon bons were something bored women ate at home because of all the references on TV when I was a kid haha. It turns out I’ve had plenty of bon bons in my life and I love them! I can’t wait to make my own!
Nice cake… I like it…
This looks like absolute heaven!! Can’t wait to make this!