Fruity Chocobowls

As you may have guessed from the name, this is a combination of recipes and my own creation.  A bowl made of solid chocolate, filled with a fruity cream cheese pudding, garnished with bits of Skor and assorted other crushed up chocolate bars.  These would also be good with whip cream, caramel, nuts, sprinkles or pretty much any other topping you can think of. 

First off, this is not a recipe of exact proportions.  These are the ingredients I started with - eventually I ended up adding an extra brick of cream cheese and more icing sugar than was originally called for.  I also added some milk later on, to smooth out the pudding. 

Working on the chocolate bowls first gives them time to cool while you make the pudding. Start by melting all the chocolate chips in a double boiler until smooth.  Once melted, take them off the heat and let them sit until they're no longer warm to the touch.  Don't worry about it re-solidifying - once chocolate has been melted it will stay liquid for a long time.  Also, the thickening that happens in the chocolate makes making the bowls easier.  I waited almost an hour before proceeding. 

Now for the balloons! These are used to create the shape of the bowl.  Each is dipped in chocolate, then later deflated once the chocolate has hardened.  You want to use water balloons or other small balloons.  Now is a good time to enlist your friend, room mate, significant other or anyone else who may at one point have enjoyed your delicious baking to help  you blow up about 20 balloons.  More than likely some will pop and not survive to become bowls, so inflate more than you think you will need. 

Now that the balloons are inflated and the chocolate is cooling, it's a good time to start on the pudding. Take your frozen fruit - as much as you want, really - I used about 1.5 cups, and chop up any particularly large pieces. 

Once fruit is chopped put cream cheese and icing sugar together and beat with a hand mixer until fluffy.  Add milk and vanilla and beat until combined. Again, isn't a recipe of exact proportions, so taste and add until you get something you like. 

Throw in the berries and mix until everything is well blended.  It can be chunky, if you would prefer it that way, or you can beat it until it's smooth.

Back to the bowls! Once your chocolate has totally cooled, take balloons by the end and dip them into the melted chocolate.  You may have to swirl them on their sides a bit to get a good chocolate coating.  Gently place balloons on a parchment lined baking sheet and let sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes, then transfer to fridge.  After totally solidified in the fridge bowls can be transferred to the freezer to further firm up.  This is particularly a good idea if you're going to have to transport them from where they're being made to where they will be served.  


Once the chocolate has set up in the fridge for about 30 minutes, use a pin or scissors to put a small hole in the tip of the balloon.  Use this hole to slowly and gently release the air from the balloon.  The balloon should peel away from the chocolate, leaving just the bowl.  If you have trouble getting the balloon out, refrigerate for a while longer - the balloon should pull away from the chocolate naturally and it will be easier to remove. 


Don't get discouraged if you loose a few balloons during the dipping/cooling/popping process - I lost about 3 total.  Just make sure you make a few extra and experiment with what works best for you.  Once bowls are set, fill with pudding and garnish with toppings of your choice. 

Fruity Chocobowls

yield: about a dozen

Pudding:

2 350g bricks of cream cheese

1.5 cups of mixed frozen berries

3/4 cup icing sugar

1/4 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

Bowls

500g chocolate chips (any kind)

~20 water balloons

Garnish (Anything works, sprinkles, whip cream, smashed up chocolate bars, nuts, etc)