Have you noticed?…. all of the hearts and candy and boxes of chocolates have officially hit the shelves. It’s Valentine season. Ugh… all of those pink hearts are just not my thing. But, chocolate? OK – I like chocolate. So… why not make my kind of Valentine….. oozing, raspberry filled Chocolate Skulls! Now that’s a Valentine treat I can get on board with.
My collection of skulls extends all over my house… even into my kitchen gadgets and baked goods. Last fall I promised myself I’d start utilizing all of those quirky kitchen gadgets that I collect, but never get around to using. You may recall the Sugar Cookies I made with the Skull Stamp & Cutter, or the Spinach Feta Stuffed Skulls I made with the Skull Cakelet Pan…. or even the Shortbread Cookies I made with the Skull Rolling Pin. So, I realized that I have yet another skull gadget that I finally began using somewhat regularly, but have never posted about…. My Skull Ice Cube Molds. Shame on me because I have actually done some pretty cool things with these molds… I promise to share eventually!!
For now… Chocolate. Being that the color red is oh so popular these days…. I chose to fill my chocolate skulls with a homemade raspberry sauce. Besides, it is the natural color to be seeping from a skull cavity after all. I chose do make a combination of dark and white chocolate. The dark chocolate seemed fitting for Valentine’s Day, but man do I like the look of that red raspberry oozing out of the white skull!
And while I took my inspiration from the shelves of Valentines…. these chocolate skulls would obviously make perfect treats for Halloween…. or for any old day for those of you that simply like to surround yourself with skulls 365 days a year (like me!). And you can’t tell me that those white ones would not be freakin amazing at a wedding!! I am working on a Gothic White wedding, and am totally adding these in to the plan!! I cannot wait to bring all of that to you!!!
In the meantime… let’s make these skulls. I’ve been playing with these molds enough to know that it can take a bit of trial and error to get the chocolate skulls right. I’ve included all of my helpful tips, so hopefully you can avoid the mistakes I’ve made in the past, and get nice looking skulls on your first try…. lesson is – follow my advice and don’t take shortcuts, and you won’t be pulling your hair out later!
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What you’ll need (to make 8 Skulls):
- Skull Molds
- Easy Release Mini Ice Cube Tray
- 20 oz Melting Wafers – I used 1 10 oz bag Ghirardelli Dark
and 1 10 oz bag Ghirardelli White
- Raspberry Sauce
- 6 oz frozen raspberry
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp water
and 1 
Make the Raspberry Sauce
- Combine raspberries, sugar, and 1/4 cup water over medium heat until it begins to boil.
- Reduce heat, and add vanilla
- In separate bowl, combine cornstarch and 1 tbsp water
- Add the cornstarch mixture to the raspberry mixture
- Continue to cook while stirring until sauce begins to thicken
- Remove from heat
Fill ice cube tray with raspberry sauce.
Place in freezer (for about an hour or more). Note – raspberry sauce cubes do not need to be completely frozen…. just firm enough to maintain their shape…
While the cubes are freezing, get to work on the chocolate skulls. A word of warning… these take a bit of patience and finesse.
Melt the wafers according to package directions. I work with very small batches at a time, microwaving for 30 seconds, stirring, and then 15 second microwave intervals until melted. Do not overcook. These wafers will burn.
Once melted, add a thin layer to coat the inside of the skull top and bottom. I use my finger for this step to ensure the melted chocolate gets into every nook & cranny. Remember to work quickly because the chocolate will begin to harden immediately (why I work with small batches at a time).
Once you have a layer of chocolate covering the entire skull surface, allow to harden. You can place the trays in the fridge to quicken the process if you choose.
Repeat this step with a second layer of chocolate to ensure you have a thick outer shell that covers the entire surface of the skull.
Allow to harden.
I like to do a bit of clean up at this point…. wiping away any excess chocolate that is outside of the cavity. When you put the two sides together, you want them to be as seamless as possible….
Place a raspberry cube into both the top & bottom skull cavity. Cube should sit just below the edge… if not, gently push the cube into the cavity.
Melt chocolate. Be sure to melt enough chocolate to fill all 8 cavities.
Fill top & bottom skull cavity with chocolate. Chocolate will begin to harden once it hits the frozen raspberry cube, so work fast, filling coordinating top & bottoms. Once all 8 cavities are full, snap the top and bottom tray together.
NOTE – It is critical for the chocolate to remain melted until the top & bottom are snapped together… this allows each side to harden together and form the skull. (If you find that you did not melt enough chocolate for all 8 cavities… you will NOT have time to heat up another batch…. simply remove the raspberry cubes from any unfilled skulls, snap the mold together to allow the filled skulls to harden, and repeat.
Allow to harden.
Remove skulls from mold.
If you find inconsistencies along the seam… you can gently shave off any excess, or rub a bit of melted chocolate into any cracks. Then run your finger in very hot water to smooth out the chocolate. It is very difficult to be completely free of all inconsistencies, but once you bite into the deliciousness, you’ll forget about any imperfections!
For that oozing, bloody raspberry effect…. allow the skulls to sit at room temperature until the raspberry filling has time to melt.
I love your Valentine’s Day boxes, skull chocolates, and Instagram! I just found your website this morning and I’m so inspired! (Super inspired NOT to spend $130 on V Day skull and bone treats which brought me to you. Yours are SO much better and far more beautiful!) Thank you for sharing! ~ Nicole
Thank you so much Nicole!!