1.

For this project you’ll need:

• A chocolate mold, preferably heart shaped
• Chocolate melts – I like dark chocolate for this, the final product looks better than milk chocolate, more shiny
• A microwave safe container or a double boiler
• A candy thermometer
• Fillings of your choice

2.

My mold has 15 little hearts, I figure I’d need about 10g of chocolate per heart, so I measured 150g of chocolate and added to my microwave safe container.

Melt the chocolate in 30 second increments and give it a good stir in between.

Use the candy thermometer to check the temperature. Dark chocolate should be brought to 115°F / 46°C.

3.

For the chocolate turn shiny and crunchy, you’ll need to temper it. This means, letting it cool slightly down to 86°F / 30°C, and then reheating it just a little back to 89°F / 31.5°C.

This extra step is annoying, but necessary, don’t skip it, or your final result will be dull, pale, whitish chocolate.

If using milk chocolate, or white chocolate, the temperature will differ slightly, so consult this post for more tips on how to proper temper chocolate.

5.

Choose your fillings. I went with pecans, walnuts, almonds, maraschino cherries, strawberry and raspberry jams, butterscotch and marshmallows.

6. chocolates

Break the nuts into small pieces and fit them snug into the heart mold. Spoon jams and butterscotch in and the marshmallow could be either cut into small pieces or melted and then spooned in.

Put the tray in the freezer for about 15 minutes so that the jams and caramel harden.

Pour the raiming chocolate over the fillings. It will harden immediately, so do it one heart at a time a smooth the top with a spatula or the back of a knife.

Unmold and arrange the chocolates on a plate or a cute little box.