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Make your own homemade chocolates - Cherry Cordial Chocolates: chocolate-making made easy | Kitchen Cents
Rachel Koller

Homemade Cherry Cordials

4.60 from 10 votes
Rich homemade Cherry Cordials filled with creamy cherry fondant and maraschino cherry chunks.
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Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 20 minutes
Cool Time 2 hours
Total Time 3 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup whipping cream
  • 3 cups white granulated sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons corn syrup
  • 1 Tablespoon butter
  • cherry oil or extract flavoring start with 1/2 teaspoon, add more if desired, the strength of your extract will directly impact the flavor of the center. *SEE NOTES*
  • 1 cup maraschino cherries chopped and well-drained (or whole cherries if hand-dipping, see step 11 for more details)
  • 3-5 cups Chocolate melted

Method
 

  1. In a large heavy saucepan add cream and sugar together. Let soak for a few minutes.
  2. After soaking, bring to a slow boil over medium to medium-high heat. Add corn syrup. Stirring constantly.
  3. Using a pastry brush and water to wash down the sides of the pan several times while boiling.
  4. Using a candy thermometer, cook to 238°F *SEE NOTES regarding calibrating your thermometer.
  5. Pour mixture out onto a damp marble slab, cookie sheet, or chilled mixing bowl (avoid glass as the mixture is very hot). DO NOT scrape pot sides when pouring the mixture. This can cause the fondant to have a gritty sugary texture rather than smooth and creamy.
  6. Place 1 Tablespoon of butter in the center of the batch.
  7. Cool until warm to touch (5-10 minutes) then beat or use bread hook in an electric mixer. Beat until mixture turns creamy and dough-like. Let rest. *SEE NOTES*
  8. When ready to assemble chocolates, add cherry oil or extract flavoring and chopped and DRAINED maraschino cherries. As the cherries mix with the fondant, the mixture will soften as invertase occurs. This is normal.
  9. Once the cherry mixture is ready, scoop or pour into a piping bag or ziplock bag. Clip the end to create a 1/4 inch hole big enough for the cherry chunks to come out.
  10. If HAND-DIPPING, add cherry flavoring or leave fondant unflavored. Form balls of fondant about 1/2 a tablespoon. Flatten into a circle then encase a WHOLE cherry with the fondant. Cover and chill until firm. Once firm, dip in melted chocolate. Please on a sheet of waxed paper or parchment paper until chocolate hardens.
  11. If MOLDING, use a candy chocolate mold. For cleaning and use of chocolate molds, See post on Tips & Tricks for Making Homemade Chocolates. Fill each mold with 1/3 to 1/2 full of melted chocolate. Using a brush, coat sides (paint sides). Raise mold to the light to ensure each mold is fully coated. Place in freezer until hardened (about 5 minutes). Fill each mold with cherry filling. Make sure to leave a small amount at the rim of the mold so the chocolate on the top (bottom of the chocolate) will be able to seal without leaking. If cherry filling is TOO soft, set in freezer for 5-10 minutes to help filling set before adding the final chocolate top. Once ready, cover top with melted chocolate to seal. Place back in the freezer to set (about 5 to 10 minutes). Once set, carefully flip and tap. If chocolates are cold enough, they will just fall out. Do not heat mold or chocolate. This will make the chocolates stick inside the mold.
  12. Store in an airtight container. Best if enjoyed when freshly made but if kept in a cool dry place, these chocolates will keep for 1-2 weeks if not longer.

Video

Notes

  • Cherry flavorings come in oils and extracts. You can find the same kind we use HERE. Oils are usually much stronger than extracts. When flavoring the fondant, start with a small amount of flavoring. Mix cherries into fondant. Taste and adjust. You can always add more flavoring but you can't take it out if there's too much. We have found over the years that adding too much flavoring will make the cream center taste kind of like cherry cough syrup. That's typically not what people enjoy. You are looking for an extra hint of cherry.
  • To calibrate a thermometer, put the thermometer into boiling water. Water boils at 212 degrees at sea level. Look up the boiling point of water for your altitude. Read the temperature of your thermometer when the water at a full boil. If it doesn't match the boiling temperature for your altitude, you will need to adjust your recipe temperature by the difference between the boiling point at your elevation and the temperature your thermometer is reading at a full boil. For example, if my thermometer reads 202 degrees when the water boils at sea level, my thermometer reads 10 degrees less than accurate. This means when I cook a candy that needs to reach 238 degrees, I will have met 238 degrees when my thermometer reaches 228 degrees (more or less assuming the error in the thermometer is constant across all temperatures).
  • The cream center base can be made several days before flavoring and dipping. I recommended making the fondant centers at least the night before or 24 hours before dipping to allow the sugar to soften.

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