Chocolate Cups Recipe

Chocolate Cups

The Spruce / Elizabeth LaBau

Prep: 30 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Chill : 10 mins
Total: 40 mins
Servings: 48 servings

Homemade chocolate cups are a beautiful and delicious base for elegant and decadent desserts. Quick and easy to make, these cups are a versatile ingredient that you can customize and fill with your favorite ingredients but also personalize to different events, from birthdays to graduations to baby or bridal showers. You can make these cups as little or as big as you'd like, from cupcake-liner big to tiny candy cup-sized. We recommend either a medium size or small size as they are easier to handle and fill, plus smaller looks more elegant if you're making these for a dessert bar. Use foil cups since they are a little sturdier, but in a pinch, paper cups will also work. If making big cups, cut the wrapper with scissors so they're not as tall.

For this recipe, you will either want to temper your chopped chocolate or use chocolate candy coating. Tempered chocolate will taste better, but chocolate candy coating is faster and more convenient to use. We recommend that you do not simply use melted, untempered chocolate, as it gets soft at warm temperatures and tends "to bloom" or develop grayish-white streaks that are unappetizing. Before you start, have all the ingredients and supplies at hand, and above all, temper your chocolate if not using candy coating.

We present you with two ways of preparing the cups. The first one, fill and invert, is fairly fast if you're doing a large number of cups, since by the time you have filled all the cups, the first ones will be ready to invert over the chocolate bowl. However, it does require enough extra chocolate to fill the cups to the brim, so it's not ideal if you're working with a limited amount of chocolate. The second one requires foil cups and a clean, small paintbrush. If using candy-sized cups, you should get around 48 cups.

Ingredients

  • 12 ounces chocolate candy coating, or chopped chocolate

Steps to Make It

Fill and Invert Method

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. With the help of a spoon, fill each candy cup to the brim with chocolate.

  3. Allow the chocolate to sit for a few minutes, just until it starts to set around the edges.

  4. Then grasp each candy cup by the bottom and invert it over the bowl of chocolate, letting the excess drip out. Once the extra chocolate is gone, you'll be left with a thin, even coating on the sides and bottom of your candy cup.

  5. Allow the chocolate in the cups to solidify by placing all the cups on a baking sheet at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

  6. Once the chocolate has solidified, carefully peel each paper liner until all the cup comes out in one piece. Use your favorite fillings.

  7. Enjoy!

Paint Method

  1. Fill a cup about a quarter of the way full of chocolate, then use a paintbrush to paint the chocolate up the sides of the cup to the top.

  2. Try to create an even layer, and inspect the cups as you finish them to make sure there are no weak, streaky areas.

  3. Allow the chocolate in the cups to solidify by placing all the cups on a baking sheet at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

  4. Once the chocolate has solidified, carefully peel each paper liner until all the cup comes out in one piece. Use your favorite fillings.

  5. Enjoy!

Fillings Ideas

These cups can take on many delicious fillings, as chocolate flavor goes well with so many things. Here are a few ideas:

  • Pudding: Use instant pudding or your favorite recipe and fill the cups just below the brim. Set in the fridge and decorate with whipped cream and fresh berries.
  • Nut butter: Make a mixture of 1 cup of any nut butter of your liking and 8 tablespoons of confectioners' sugar. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and mix well. Use the mixture to fill the cups right below the brim and allow them to set a little in the fridge. Decorate with chocolate chips on top.
  • Cookie dough: Buy or make any safe-to-eat-when-raw cookie dough, make little balls, and squeeze them into the cups. Top with chocolate chips.
  • Dulce de leche: Use thick dulce de leche to fill the cups. If you can't find any at the store, buy caramel sauce and thicken it with confectioners' sugar until you have a malleable but smooth consistency—you don't want runny caramel sauce. Fill the cups right below the brim and allow them to set a little in the fridge. Top with sea salt and a few shaves or unsweetened dark chocolate.
  • Mousse: Use your favorite mousse recipe to fill the cups right below the brim and allow them to set a little in the fridge for a little. Top with fresh fruit and white or dark chocolate chips.
  • Coffee mousse: Fill the cups with coffee mousse, top with crumbled vanilla cookies, and sprinkle some cocoa powder right before serving. Decorate with chocolate-covered coffee beans.
  • Ice cream: Fill the cups with vanilla ice cream and place them in the freezer for at least 1 hour. Use crumbled chocolate cookies and a few fresh berries to top the cups.
  • Pound cake: Crumble 4 to 5 slices of vanilla pound cake and mix with 2 cups whipped cream. Fill the cups right below the brim and decorate with fresh strawberries and mint.

How to Store Chocolate Cups

Once peeled out of the liner, store the cups at room temperature in a clean and dry container with a lid. They will be good for two to three weeks but check occasionally to be sure there is no moisture inside as the cups can get ruined.

How do I temper chocolate?

When tempering chocolate you are, in short, bringing down the melted chocolate's temperature to assure it will remain glossy and solidified at room temperature. This process requires a food thermometer and a lot of practice. However, an easy method for tempering chocolate without a food thermometer, or if you're a novice cook, is to:

  • Melt half of your chocolate.
  • Add the remaining solid chocolate into the melted chocolate.
  • Stir the chocolate mixture constantly, following just one direction, until all is melted.
  • Use as needed.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
38 Calories
2g Fat
4g Carbs
1g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 48
Amount per serving
Calories 38
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 2g 3%
Saturated Fat 1g 7%
Cholesterol 2mg 1%
Sodium 6mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 4g 2%
Dietary Fiber 0g 1%
Total Sugars 4g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 13mg 1%
Iron 0mg 1%
Potassium 26mg 1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)