How to Make Bonbons — Learn Professional Chocolate Techniques in Mijas

There's a reason luxury bonbons cost what they do. Each one is a tiny piece of engineering — a crisp chocolate shell, a perfectly piped filling, a clean seal, and a finish that looks almost too good to eat. Professional chocolatiers train for years to master the process.

But here's the thing: you can learn the basics in 35 minutes. And they'll be delicious.

What Goes Into a Professional Bonbon?

A well-made bonbon has four key elements:

1. The shell: Tempered chocolate poured into a polycarbonate mould — the kind used by professional chocolatiers worldwide. Proper tempering gives the shell its satisfying snap and glossy finish.
2. The filling: A ganache — typically a blend of chocolate, cream, and flavourings. The ratio matters: too thick and it's cloying, too thin and it won't set. Getting it right is where the craft comes in.
3. The seal: A thin layer of chocolate piped over the filling to close the bonbon completely. This is what keeps it fresh and gives it that clean base.
4. The finish: Decoration, colour, lustre — the part that makes each bonbon unique and tells you what's inside before you bite.

At Mayan Monkey in Mijas, you do all four steps yourself.

Our Bonbon Workshops

Bonbons & Bars (40 min, from €34)

Our most popular bonbon experience. You learn the full process — casing the moulds with tempered chocolate, piping ganache fillings, sealing, and demoulding — to create 6 luxury soft-centre bonbons plus 2-3 beautifully decorated chocolate bars. It includes the "Chocolate Rain" encounter (you'll have to come and find out what that means).

This is the one most people choose for a first experience. It's focused, satisfying, and you walk out with bonbons that genuinely look and taste professional.

Classic Chocolatiers (1h 10min, from €49.95)

For those who want to go deeper. In this extended workshop, you create 24 professional-quality bonbons — working with different flavours, colours, and techniques. You also make decorated bars, and you take home reusable moulds so you can practise at home. This is proper chocolatier training condensed into just over an hour.

The MMM Masterclass (2h, from €135)

Our premium experience takes bonbon making to the next level. Advanced techniques with stamps, stencils, and lustre powders. You also get a bean-to-cup hot chocolate journey (roasting and grinding raw cacao), a wine and chocolate pairing, welcome drinks, and over 1kg of chocolate to take home in a gift box. For ages 12+ only.

What Makes Our Bonbons Different

We use organic, ethically-sourced chocolate — real chocolate with proper cacao content, not the compound stuff you find in most workshop settings. The difference is in the taste: richer, more complex, with actual depth. When you temper it correctly, it has a snap and shine that compound chocolate simply can't achieve.

We also use professional-grade polycarbonate moulds — the same type used in high-end chocolate shops. The result is bonbons with a mirror-like finish and clean edges. They look like they came from a boutique, because they were made with the same tools.

Can I Actually Do This?

Yes. We guide you through every step. Our workshops are designed for complete beginners — no experience needed, no artistic talent required. The moulds and techniques do most of the heavy lifting. Your job is to choose flavours, pipe carefully, and enjoy the process.

That said, if you've got experience and want a challenge, the Masterclass will push you. The advanced techniques — multi-colour shells, stamped designs, lustre finishing — have real depth to them.

Take the Skills Home

With the Bonbons Box workshop, you take home the moulds. With any workshop, you take home the knowledge. Tempered chocolate, ganache ratios, and moulding techniques — these are skills you can use in your own kitchen with equipment you probably already have.

We're at Plaza Virgen de la Peña 15, Mijas Pueblo. Open daily 10:30am – 6:00pm (until 9pm in summer). All workshops include everything you need — ingredients, tools, apron, and guidance.

Once you've made your own, shop-bought bonbons never quite taste the same.