He had never had any money for candy with the Dursleys, and now that he had pockets rattling with gold and silver he was ready to buy as many Mars Bars as he could carry — but the woman didn’t have Mars Bars. What she did have were Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans, Droobles Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other strange things Harry had never seen in his life. […] “What are these?” Harry asked Ron, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs. “They’re not really frogs, are they?” He was starting to feel that nothing would surprise him. “No,” said Ron. “But see what the card is. I’m missing Agrippa.” “What?” “Oh, of course, you wouldn’t know — Chocolate Frogs have cards inside them, you know, to collect — famous witches and wizards. I’ve got about five hundred, but I haven’t got Agrippa or Ptolemy.” – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Chocolate Frogs
Chocolate Frogs are a popular frog-shaped chocolate treat in the wizarding world. They are said to be made of 70% Croakoa, which allows them to jump around like an actual frog, and each box contains a collectible card of a famous witch or wizard through the ages. To Harry’s surprise, he learns that occupants of photos in the wizarding world can move about, often leaving their frames for periods of time. Harry’s first Chocolate Frog collectible card is Albus Dumbledore’s, which details his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald, the discovery of the 12 uses of dragon’s blood, and his work on alchemy with Nicholas Flamel.
Harry and his new friend Ron Weasley bond while eating through the Chocolate Frogs and other wizarding candy on the Hogwarts Express while on their way to their first year at Hogwarts. This is one of my favorite moments from the series because you realize that Harry finally has the opportunity to forge the love and friendship that was lacking in his first 11 years with the Dursleys.
Tools
- Chocolate Mold: In order to make these Chocolate Frogs, I utilized this frog-shaped chocolate mold.
- Chocolate: I generally buy the Sunspire 99% cacao Organic Unsweetened Chocolate Baking Bar from Whole Foods, but I’ve linked another option you can easily find online above. This recipe utilized 6oz of chocolate, so you will need 1 1/2 (4oz) bars.
- Sweetener: I used liquid Stevia drops to sweeten my chocolate, but keep it refined sugar-free. I find that 15 drops is sufficient to get the chocolate to my desired level of sweetness, but you can adjust for your own preference.
- Melting vessels: I don’t have a double-boiler, but tempering chocolate is super easy. Add 2 inches of water to a medium saucepan and place a heat-proof glass bowl over the top. Choose one that is large enough that it does not touch the water, but hovers above. Turning the heat to medium-low, melt the chocolate slowly, stirring occasionally and turning the heat down if the water begins to bubble.
- Thermometer: You’ll want to temper dark chocolate between 118-122 degrees F, then remove from heat and stir until it reaches 87-91 degrees F in order to get a glossy finish on your Chocolate Frogs.
- A spatula: If you’re a super Harry Potter nerd like me you might want to check out these Hogwarts House spatulas from Williams Sonoma – #Ravenclaw. Either way, you will want a good spatula to stir the chocolate as it melts.
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How to store and package Chocolate Frogs
I find that these chocolate treats are best kept cold. Though they aren’t likely to spoil quickly at room temp, chocolate melts and gets messy when handled (I’m looking at you M&Ms!). In order to keep their froggy shape and warty definition, I like to keep these in the fridge or freezer until ready to consume.
I purchased a template on Etsy for my Chocolate Frog boxes and then worked some Photoshop magic on them to swap out the photos and text because I didn’t like the ones that came with the design. Because I altered these so much, I am not going to link them (because they won’t look the same!), but you can easily find a different version of Chocolate Frog boxes using the keyword search on Etsy. The top of the boxes are not super secure, so I suggest grabbing a few of these cute gold stickers to seal the box for sharing.
A note for special diets
These Chocolate Frogs are grain-free, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and friendly for Keto and Low-FODMAP diets. If you use the Sunspire chocolate that I’ve recommended, I estimate that they are 3 net carbs per Chocolate Frog. Please note that other chocolate options may affect the nutrition count differently.
The chocolate that I recommend using has trace amounts of milk in it, making it unsuitable for Paleo diets. However, these can easily be made with a good paleo-friendly dark chocolate too.
I sometimes add a pinch of salt to the melted chocolate to emphasize the flavor in the same way that it helps chocolate chip cookies taste so delicious, but this is totally optional. If you’d like to add some additional texture, chopped nuts are great in these chocolate frogs. If you choose to add them, I would start with 4oz chocolate instead of 6oz if you just want to fill the 8 molds.
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Chocolate Frogs
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 8 frogs 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: British
Ingredients
- 6 oz unsweetened baking chocolate, broken up into chunks (I prefer Sunspire 99% Cacao Organic Unsweetened Chocolate Baking Bars found at Whole Foods)
- ~ 15 drops liquid stevia, adjusted to your own taste
- optional:
- a pinch of salt can be added to the melting chocolate to help emphasize the flavor if you like
- chopped nuts (If you choose to add nuts, I would start with only 4 oz of chocolate rather than 6 if you just want to fill 8 frogs)
Instructions
- Temper chocolate bars. Add 2 inches of water to a medium saucepan and place a heat-proof glass bowl over the top. Choose one that is large enough that it does not touch the water, but hovers above. Turning the heat to medium-low, melt the chocolate in the glass bowl slowly, stirring occasionally with a spatula, turning the heat down if the water begins to bubble. You do not want the water to get too hot or you will risk buring the chocolate.
- Temper dark chocolate between 118-122 degrees F, measuring with a thermometer to get an accurate read, then remove from heat and stir until it reaches 87-91 degrees F in order to get a glossy finish on your Chocolate Frogs.
- Spoon chocolate into the chocolate mold cavities.
- You will want to fill slightly under the top line of the mold as the chocolate will settle and spread. If you fill to the very top, you will likely end up with a skirt around the bottom of your frogs. A gentle tap of the mold should help the chocolate fill the crevices properly.
- If you choose to add nuts or other fillings, you will want to spoon a small amount of chocolate into the bottom of the molds, tap them gently to fill the crevices, add nuts, and then fill the rest of the way with chocolate. If you add nuts last you will certainly have overfilled frog cavities and it will be a right mess.
- Freeze for 10 minutes or until chocolate is fully firm. You can tell that the chocolate is ready by looking at the underside of the chocolate mold. The mold should look slightly foggy rather than clear, which means that the chocolate has solidified and separated from the mold. When the chocolate is firm, they should pop right out of the mold easily.
Notes
Nutritional information on Whip & Wander is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 chocolate frog
- Calories: 120
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Carbohydrates: 6 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 3 g
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