Guest Chef Himanshu Taneja
Chocolate Stones Recipe

At Le Cordon Bleu we have welcomed many incredible chefs through our doors to demonstrate their skill and share their knowledge with our students.

This recipe is from Himanshu Taneja, Culinary Director of South Asia for Marriott International. In 2020, Himanshu performed an online guest chef demonstration for Le Cordon Bleu London. Demonstrating this incredible dish of Chocolate Pebbles, Himanshu draws on nature and culture with innovative and original dishes such as this. We are now pleased to share his recipe with you here to try at home.

Chocolate Pebbles:
Serves 4
Preparation time: 15 - 20 minutes (plus 12 hours freezing)
Cooking time: 35 - 45 minutes
Total time: 1 hour - 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

Chocolate Pebbles

300 g dark chocolate (70%)
150 g milk chocolate
1000 g heavy cream
300 ml whole milk (4% fat)
6 g sea salt
100 g organic honey
2 vanilla pods

Chocolate Spray

200 g couverture white chocolate
200 g cocoa butter
Charcoal powder

Chocolate Soil

200 g milk chocolate
100 g caster sugar
40 ml water

Garnish

2 g micro greens
10 g cold glaze
1 gold leaf

Method

Chocolate Pebbles

In a glass bowl measure milk chocolate and dark chocolate and keep aside.

Scrape vanilla pod with a sharp knife and add to a heavy bottomed pan along with pod scraps.

To the same pan add heavy cream, whole milk, maldon salt, honey bring this to a boil and cover for about 15 min to let the vanilla infuse its flavor in it.

Pour the liquid over the measured chocolate and blend to fine mixture. Quick tip: discard your vanilla scraps before you blend.

Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer. Quick tip: ensure no air bubbles remain during this process.

Immediately fill the mixture into pebble molds and freeze over night.

Chocolate Spray

Add measured white chocolate pellets in a bowl and keep aside.

In a heavy bottomed pan, roughly cut cocoa butter and add to the pan, heat till the butter is completely dissolved.

Pour the warm melted cocoa butter over the white chocolate and mix well.

Add activated charcoal powder to attain desired colour.

Blend to a smooth mixture with the help of hand blender, strain through a fine mesh strainer, keep aside.

Fill the mixture into a portable spray gun. Quick tip: ensure the mixture is at 40°c before you spray to get a brittle snap to your product.

Before demolding your pebbles spray the base of stones.

Demold all chocolate stones onto a silpat, spray the stones ensuring covering every corner of the pebble.

Chocolate Soil

In heavy bottom pan add sugar and water cook to a soft ball consistency (112°C).

Add dark chocolate, whisking constantly ensuring you get right into the sides of the pan.

Cook for a couple minutes to make sure all the chocolate is fully incorporated.

Turn out onto a silpat and cool at room temperature.

Assembly

Place chocolate soil in the center of a dessert plate, gently place 4 chocolate pebbles well-spaced out.

With the help of a squeeze pipe droplets onto your stones. Quick tip: these should resemble rain drops on a wet day.

Garnish with micro greens placed randomly, top your stones with edible gold leaf.

Guest Chef Himanshu TanejaChocolate Stones Recipe

Ingredients

Method

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Guest Chef Himanshu Taneja
Chocolate Stones Recipe