Hot chocolate bombs blowing up this winter for P.E.I. bakers

Hot chocolate bombs are the latest food trend to explode onto the scene from social media, especially TikTok.

Slightly larger than a tennis ball, a bomb can be placed in the bottom of a mug and when hot milk is poured over them, the hard chocolate shell melts, gently exploding with hot cocoa powders and marshmallows. Stir and enjoy!

"It's really delicious," said Kimberly Davey with At Your Service Creations, one of two bakers who joined CBC Radio: Island Morning host Mitch Cormier to talk about the trend.

The trend began last year and came on strong during the Christmas season.

Davey began making them last Valentine's Day and makes them in different sizes and flavours.

She said most people hadn't heard of them earlier this year, so at her pop-up markets she'd show them videos on her phone of how the bombs work. When the trend exploded on social media, she said people began lining up to get them.

"I would be showing up for a market, I'd get there 15 minutes early, but there'd already be a lineup for the hot chocolate bombs," Davey said.

Charisa Lykow from DaBomb Custom Baking in Summerside, P.E.I., saw them on social media and began making them for Christmas to expand her selection.

"It's been insane, my inbox was constantly filled," she said.

Lykow's decided to take a break after Christmas to spend time with her family because she was so busy making bombs before the holiday.

"I don't think it's the product itself, to be completely honest — I think it's the process of using the product, It's exciting," she said. "It makes hot chocolate exciting."

"I'm not even a kid and I get excited very time I test one."

They predict the bombs will be hot sellers this Valentine's and St. Patrick's days.

With people spending more time at home and investing in self-care, the bakers hope this trend remains hot — at least, till the next big trend comes along.

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