Arctic Tundra White Chocolate (Printer-Friendly)

Minimalist dessert with crisp white chocolate sheets and savory parmesan shards on wood.

# What You'll Need:

→ White Chocolate Ice Sheets

01 - 8.8 oz high-quality white chocolate
02 - 1 tsp coconut oil (optional, for extra sheen)

→ Parmesan Shards

03 - 2.1 oz Parmigiano-Reggiano block (not pre-grated)

→ Garnish & Serving

04 - Flaky sea salt, to taste
05 - Light wood serving board or platter

# Method:

01 - Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Melt white chocolate with coconut oil (if using) gently over a double boiler or in short bursts in a microwave, stirring until smooth.
02 - Pour melted chocolate onto the parchment and spread thinly and evenly to a thickness of about 1/16 inch using an offset spatula. Chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes until fully set.
03 - Use a vegetable peeler or sharp knife to shave thin shards from the Parmesan block. Set aside.
04 - Once set, carefully break the chocolate into large, irregular pieces resembling ice sheets.
05 - Arrange the white chocolate sheets artfully on a chilled light wood board. Scatter Parmesan shards over and around the chocolate. Finish with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt and serve immediately.

# Expert Suggestions:

01 -
  • It looks impossibly elegant but requires almost no actual cooking skill, just patience and a good eye for drama.
  • The contrast between brittle white chocolate and salty umami from parmesan creates a flavor moment that surprises every single person who tries it.
  • You can make the chocolate sheets hours ahead, which means last-minute entertaining becomes genuinely relaxed.
02 -
  • Chocolate thickness is everything—go too thick and it becomes a candy bar, too thin and it shatters into confetti before you can plate it, which sounds poetic until you're picking up shards from your counter.
  • The wood board being chilled genuinely changes the game; it keeps the chocolate from beginning to soften during plating and extends that crucial window where this dessert is at peak visual impact.
03 -
  • A vegetable peeler creates better parmesan shards than a knife ever could—it's the difference between rough approximation and actual elegance.
  • If your chocolate cracks or breaks unevenly during the breaking step, you've actually succeeded; jagged edges look more like frozen landscape than anything deliberate ever could.
Return