Hoverchocs

Serve when

Serve them the instant the first one is eaten — in the film that's when the crowd lifts off the cobblestones, which your kitchen sadly cannot guarantee.

In the movie

Theatrical

00:12:01 Young Willy Wonka unveils the Hoverchocs in the town square, and everyone who eats one floats into the air. It's the film's first proof that his chocolate isn't just good — it does the impossible.

The Hoverchoc is Paul King's whole idea for the film: Wonka's magic is really just generosity. The gag — a whole square full of people drifting skyward — is joyful and silly, and the confection under it is real enough that the on-set chocolatier's versions reportedly "tasted every bit as good as they looked." Ours can't defy gravity, but a properly aerated centre in a paper-thin shell is the next best thing.

Ingredients

8 oz good dark chocolate (about 60%)
2 tablespoons neutral oil
The lightest possible fillings — a whipped chocolate ganache or an aerated (mousse-like) chocolate centre
For the aerated centre:
4 oz chocolate
½ cup cream, whipped to soft peaks
Edible gold or silver lustre, to make them look like they might take flight

Method

Make the airy centre: melt the 4 oz chocolate, fold it gently into the softly whipped cream, and chill until just scoopable — you want it light, not dense.
Scoop small domes of the aerated filling and freeze them firm so they hold while you dip.
Temper or gently melt the dark chocolate with the oil until glossy and fluid.
Dip each frozen dome, letting the excess drip so the shell stays thin and delicate, and set on parchment. Dust with lustre while wet.
Serve at cool room temperature so the shell snaps and the centre practically evaporates on the tongue — as close to weightless as chocolate gets.