Valentine’s Day Chocolate Box

This Valentine’s Day Chocolate Box is a delicious food gift idea for Valentine’s Day. Can you think of anything sweeter than a homemade chocolate box filled with Valentine’s Day Candy Hearts? It’s as beautiful as it is delicious!

Chocolate box made from scratch filled with chocolates on a cake stand

This is also a fun project to do with the kids because the chocolate can be melted in the microwave, and solidified in the freezer. They get such a kick out of seeing the beautiful chocolate hearts emerge from the molds.

Other sweet treats that make for great Valentine’s Day food gifts include my French Macaron Recipe, Canele Recipe, or my Madeleine Recipe

Watch My Video Demo of the Chocolate Box Below!

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Melting the Chocolate

The process is fairly simple. Basically, it involves melting chocolate in the microwave and filling and freezing the molds.

Chocolate Melting Tips:

  • If chocolate is too thick to pour. You can thin it by adding 1 tsp of vegetable or canola oil to already melted chocolate. Stir until smooth. Keep adding oil in 1 tsp increments until desired consistency is achieved.
  • As the chocolate cools you may need to rewarm the pitcher in the microwave to re-melt and achieve a better pouring consistency
  • Chocolates will keep in the fridge for many days until ready to use. Just store on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

If Your Chocolate Cracks:

If your chocolate box breaks or won’t release from the mold. Allow it to rest at room temp for 1-2 mins and try again. The mold should be completely dry of any water before using it.

A wet mold can be very hard to release (I speak from experience!)  But you can always crack the chocolate, pop back in your pitcher and re-melt and try again!

Selecting the Molds

I think it adds a lot more interest to use at least three molds in various sizes. It also helps if they have different textures and patterns too!

Chocolate Molds on a cutting board

Plastic Mold

A simple plastic mold is the easiest to use and will create a beautifully smooth chocolate heart. They are also inexpensive and easily found in craft and cake decorating stores or online.

Pouring chocolate into a mold

Just pour the chocolate in, and freeze! And transfer to parchment paper. They come out so smooth and beautiful and look so professional too!

Homemade Chocolates setting up on parchment paper

Silicone Mold

The next easiest would be a pliable silicone mold. I love this style because they are deep and so decorative! They create a really beautiful design from the decorative relief.

Homemade Chocolate Box

I like to mix three types of chocolate, in each mold, for a variety of interest. I use white chocolate, milk chocolate, and dark chocolate. The rubbery material helps them pop right out of the mold.

removing chocolates from silicone mold

They do all the work for you and provide a lot of look, without a lot of effort. There’s also something really romantic about their raised design. 

Homemade Chocolates in edible chocolate box

Flat Mold

And finally, a flat mold with a decorative swirl is another great addition to your homemade chocolate box. Simply melt some white chocolate and add some milk or dark chocolate and swirl gently.

swirling dark chocolate into white chocolate

A flat mold with a gentle relief pattern will create beautiful patterns to your swirl. Just be careful to not over-mix the chocolates otherwise you will lose the swirl.

Pouring Marbled Chocolate into chocolate mold

Once set you’ll have another showpiece to add to your collection!

Homemade chocolates on parchment paper

3D Chocolate Box Mold

I’ll be honest, these can be a bit tricky, but the great thing about this project is that if you make a mistake just remelt the chocolate and start again!

You’ll need a 2-piece 3D Mold. One piece will serve as the bottom and the other will serve as the top.

Plastic Chocolate Molds

Fill the mold with the melted chocolate and freeze…

3D chocolate box mold out of freezer

Removing the Chocolate from the Mold

Once you remove it from the freezer, allow it to sit out for 5 minutes before trying to remove it. Otherwise, if you remove it too quickly before the mold has a chance to contract with the room temperature air, it will crack.  

Chocolate Heart Mold Base

Once your chocolate box has been released then you are ready to fill your box with all your chocolates!

Homemade Chocolate Box

I like to add the flat ones on the bottom, and then top with the more decorative ones on top. Then nestle in the plain smooth ones.

Homemade Chocolate Box

The Supplies:

Here is a list of the supplies you will need. If you live near a Trader’s Joe’s you are in luck as they have the best chocolate for this! Much cheaper in the store but if you can’t get there, you can also buy it on Amazon too (who knew?)

Homemade Chocolate Box on a Pink Cake Stand

Valentine's Day Chocolate Box

Yield: 1 Box
Prep Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Additional Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 50 minutes

Delicious Valentine's Day food gift idea, an edible chocolate box filled with Valentine's Day chocolate hearts.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb (450g) Milk Chocolate
  • 1 lb (450g) Dark Chocolate
  • 24 oz (680g) White Chocolate Candy Melts (*Candy melts work better than regular white chocolate which has a tendency of separating in the microwave)
  • Vegetable oil (for thining chocolate if needed)

Instructions

FOR THE SMALL HEARTS:

Melt the milk chocolate in a 1-cup Pyrex pitcher and place in the microwave on high for :30. Repeat the :30 intervals, stirring with a fork to smooth out until chocolate is a thinned pourable consistency.

Pour the milk chocolate into a small plastic heart mold and allow to freeze for 5 minutes or until set. Transfer hearts to a baking tray lined with parchment paper while you make the rest of the chocolate hearts.

FOR THE SILICONE MOLD HEARTS:

Melt the milk, dark and white chocolate in separate 1-cup Pyrex pitchers in the microwave on high for :30. Repeat the :30 intervals, stirring with a fork to smooth out until chocolate is a thinned pourable consistency.

Dedicate 1 row per chocolate to create a variety of flavors. Place the mold in the freezer and allow to freeze for 5 minutes or until set. Transfer the hearts to a baking tray lined with parchment paper while you make the rest of the chocolate molds.

FOR THE FLAT HEARTS:

Melt the white chocolate :30 increments in the microwave until melted. Add 1-2 Tbsp (30ml) of the melted dark chocolate into the melted white chocolate and swirl gently. Pour the swirled chocolate into the flat heart candy molds. Place in the freezer for 5-10 minutes until solid. Stage on the baking sheet with the other chocolates.

FOR THE CHOCOLATE BOX MOLD:

Melt the dark chocolate, as previously done in the microwave. Fill the bottom mold (the cavity side, not the flat side) with the dark chocolate. Once the cavity is full it will be level with the top of the heart mold. Freeze until set. About 5-10 minutes.

For the top of the chocolate box, transfer the candy melts (about 1 cup) into a plastic pastry bag and microwave until melted. Then snip off a small hole at the bottom of the pastry bag. Carefully, fill the relief pattern of the chocolate box with the white chocolate. Then freeze for 5 minutes until set. Then pour the rest of the dark chocolate over the relief pattern to fill the mold. Freeze again until set.

FILLING THE CHOCOLATE BOX:

Allow the bottom side of the chocolate box to rest at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. This will allow the plastic to expand a bit and help to loosen the mold. Then gently rub your hands on the top of the mold before releasing it. The warmth from your hands will also help to release it.

Then fill the chocolate box with the candy hearts, and place the top of the box on top, slightly askew to be able to see the chocolates inside. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving.

Notes

Chocolate Melting Tips:

  • If chocolate is too thick to pour. You can thin it by adding 1 tsp of vegetable or canola oil to already melted chocolate. Stir until smooth. Keep adding oil in 1 tsp increments until desired consistency is achieved.
  • As the chocolate cools you may need to rewarm the pitcher in the microwave to re-melt and achieve a better pouring consistency
  • Chocolates will keep in the fridge for many days until ready to use. Just store on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

If Your Chocolate Cracks:

If your chocolate box breaks or won’t release from the mold. Allow it to rest at room temp for 1-2 mins and try again. The mold should be completely dry of any water before using it.

A wet mold can be very hard to release (I speak from experience!)  But you can always crack the chocolate, pop back in your pitcher and re-melt and try again!

 

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 182Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 7mgSodium: 24mgCarbohydrates: 18gFiber: 1gSugar: 16gProtein: 2g

 

Brownie cake scooped into a mug with ice cream

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9 Comments

  1. Hi Beth,

    I find the chocolate heart mould difficult to take out, almost every time I end up getting small cracks or breaking all of it. Any tips Or tricks on how to get it out? Anything I should avoid?

    When I take it out the freezer should I work on it straight away or should I leave it out for a few minutes then try?

    Also, how long should I keep it in the freezer before taking out?

    1. Yes exactly. Wait a few minutes before trying to release the mold and then try and remove it. The mold will come up to temperature and will naturally start to release the chocolate a bit preventing cracking. As far as how long to leave it in the freezer I would only leave it in there for as long as it takes to freeze. 5-10 minutes. Then take it out to release. Hope that helps!

  2. looks absolutely amazing Beth! I’m loving all your recipes.
    Keep up your great work!!!

    – Fanny Michele

  3. Wondering if you will give the product info for the heart mold that is sold out. Will try to order at a later time. Thanks for this amazing idea. And all your great recipes and tips!

    1. Oh sure it was called flat heart mold #106. But unfortunately I don’t remember the brand. But I think it could have been the same company as the large heart mold. So sorry I don’t have more detail 🙁