Tips & Recipes from an UN-Domestic Goddess : Chocolate Bowls

Hola! It's Laura here- welcome to my new segment! A little-known fact about me is I love love LOVE to cook, bake and more or less anything in the kitchen. It'd come as a shock to anyone who has known me for longer than this last year, because growing up I burned everything I touched- I blew up a frozen bagel in the microwave once, and I burned Easy Mac not once, not twice - but THREE times. Epic fail, I know.

It's cheese powder, pasta and water. How bad could it be?

Then, I met Sarah. This is a girl who hadn't tried a strawberry until she was 21. She wouldn't try anything, because she 'didn't like' [read: had never tried] it, and the worst bit - she didn't like CHEESE. *gasp* But then, somewhere mid-2010, while we were living in Australia, something amazing happened - Sarah started trying different foods! And LIKING them!

Yum?

One of the first new things she tried and liked was a testament to how far she'd come - a full king prawn, which she had to de-head, and shell before eating. She survived an eyeballing from the bowl of prawns as well as my grandparents, with a little help from sweet chili sauce, and is now a pro! Very proud.

I decided that because Sarah was trying and liking so many new things, I should start cooking - after all, she was on a roll! So before I knew it, I was cooking up a storm - baking, and making all sorts of different things!

I don't claim to be an expert (as you can see by the title of this segment) - but I plan to share with the world easy, delicious recipes and useful household tips to help educate the un-domestic and the anti-cleaner (like myself) and turn them into a young (more stylish) Martha Stewart, Betty Crocker or Kitchen Barbie.

With that massive introduction behind us, lets move onto my first delicious dish.

Chocolate Bowls!

What exactly are they? Well, they are pretty self-explanatory - bowls made out of chocolate. We are hosting our first annual 'Thanksmas' dinner this weekend, (click HERE to see what Thanksmas is) and will be making these for dessert. They are easy, fun, and I think would also be a great activity to do with kids - with a sweet reward at the end!

What you need - 

• Chocolate (Milk/dark (your choice) and white) - not just any chocolate will do, though - I recommend cooking chocolate, because it has a high cocao content. You'll need about 4 squares of each chocolate per bowl.
• Balloons - one per bowl you want to make.
• Tape - any sticky tape will do.
• Cups - one per bowl you want to make.

Step 1 - Blow up the balloon and tie it shut. The chocolate will form over the balloon, so make it the size of the bowl you want. Mine was a bit bigger than a grapefruit.

Sarah not following directions

Step 2 - Stick a piece of tape flat to the side of the balloon, near the tied base. This will be useful to help let the air out of your balloon later. Secure the balloon to the cup, tie inside the cup, with tape.

Step 3 - Melt the chocolate in two different bowls - one for white, the other for milk/dark. We melted them in the microwave. Once it is a runny consistency, let it sit to cool, until it is body temperature. Too hot and it will pop the balloon, too cold and it will not coat the balloon the way you want it to.

TIP: You can test to see if the chocolate is body temperature by dabbing some on your lip - if you can't feel it, it's ready to use.

Step 4 - Use a spoon to pour milk/dark chocolate onto the balloon. It should run down the sides, but not too quickly. Try to pour it on the very top in order to start giving it a bowl shape. I recommend using 3 - 4 tablespoons of chocolate each time.

Step 5 - Do the same with the white chocolate - trying to fill in the gaps on the balloon from the milk/dark. Once you've finished with the first layer, put them in the refrigerator to cool, until they harden and are not gooey to the touch. 

TIP: The chocolate will lose its shine when it's ready.

Cooooolin' down

Step 6 - Repeat steps 4 - 6 at least two more times, or until you've run out of chocolate. 

Step 7 - Once the bowl is hard, turn it the right way up (on a clean, flat surface), and remove the cup from the balloon. Gently pierce the middle of the tape you earlier stuck to the side of the balloon. This should help let the air out gently instead of popping, and sending chocolate everywhere! Let the air out of the balloon and remove it. 

Voila, chocolate bowl!

Fill it with whipped cream and strawberries like we plan to on Thanksmas, or ice cream with the bits of chocolate that break off garnishing it. Either way it looks impressive, and tastes delicious!

Hope you've liked my first segment, please leave any comments below. I'd also love to hear your experiences if you make this at home!

Love always, Laura xo