White chocolate divides opinion. But Valrhona Ivoire 35% tends to convert even the sceptics. It’s not the cloying, overly sweet white chocolate you might be used to — it’s a refined, technically excellent couverture with real depth and remarkable versatility in patisserie.
What Is Valrhona Ivoire 35%?
Ivoire is Valrhona’s flagship white couverture, made with 35% cocoa butter — significantly higher than most white chocolates. That extra cocoa butter content gives it a cleaner, more rounded flavour and superior working properties.
Flavour profile: Delicate, creamy, and milky with subtle notes of vanilla and fresh cream. It’s sweet but not sickly — the high cocoa butter content keeps it balanced and clean on the palate.
Format: Fèves for precise scaling and even melting.
Why Chefs Choose Ivoire
- High cocoa butter content: At 35% cocoa butter, Ivoire has excellent fluidity and a silky mouthfeel that lower-quality white chocolates can’t match.
- Clean flavour: Subtle enough to let other flavours shine — fruit, floral, and citrus notes come through beautifully alongside Ivoire.
- Colour: Its ivory-white colour makes it ideal for decorative work, coloured cocoa butter applications, and white glazes.
- Infusion base: Ivoire absorbs infused flavours exceptionally well — it’s the go-to base for flavoured white chocolate ganaches.
How to Use Valrhona Ivoire 35%
Ganaches: Use a 2.5:1 chocolate-to-cream ratio for a firm ganache. Infuse the cream with lemon zest, lavender, earl grey, or raspberry for stunning flavoured bonbons.
Mousses: Ivoire makes a beautifully light, creamy mousse — pair with passion fruit or raspberry for a classic combination.
Glazes: Melt with neutral oil for a white mirror glaze. Add oil-based food colouring for dramatic coloured finishes on entremet cakes.
Infusions: Gently warm the cream, steep your flavouring (citrus zest, herbs, spices, tea), strain, then pour over Ivoire. The neutral base lets the infused flavour take centre stage.
Tempering: Melt to 40–45°C, cool to 25–26°C, bring back to 27–28°C. White chocolate is more sensitive to heat than dark — use a thermometer and be precise.
Recipe: Valrhona Ivoire & Lemon Ganache Tart
A bright, elegant tart — the delicate sweetness of Ivoire balanced by sharp lemon zest and juice. A showstopper that’s deceptively simple to make.
Serves: 8–10 | Prep: 35 mins | Chill: 2 hours
For the Pastry (Pâte Sucrée)
- 200g plain flour
- 80g icing sugar
- 25g ground almonds
- Pinch of fine sea salt
- 120g unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tbsp cold water
For the Ivoire Lemon Ganache
- 320g Valrhona Ivoire 35% fèves
- 180ml double cream
- Zest of 2 unwaxed lemons
- 40ml fresh lemon juice
- 25g unsalted butter, room temperature
- Pinch of fleur de sel
Method
1. Make the pastry
- Blitz flour, icing sugar, ground almonds, salt, and butter until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
- Add egg yolk and cold water, pulse until the dough just comes together.
- Chill for 1 hour, roll to 3mm, line a 23cm tart tin, chill 30 minutes.
- Blind bake at 170°C fan for 15 minutes, remove beans, bake 8–10 minutes until pale golden. Cool completely.
2. Make the ganache
- Place Ivoire fèves in a heatproof bowl.
- Heat cream with lemon zest until just below boiling. Remove from heat, cover, and steep for 10 minutes.
- Strain the cream, reheat gently, then pour over the Ivoire in three additions, stirring from the centre until smooth.
- Add lemon juice and butter, stir until fully emulsified and glossy.
- Pour into the cooled tart shell. Tap gently to level.
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours until set.
3. Serve
Remove from the fridge 15 minutes before serving. Finish with thin slices of candied lemon, a few lemon zest curls, and a pinch of fleur de sel. Serve in thin slices — it’s rich.
Tips for the Best Result
- Don’t overheat Ivoire — white chocolate scorches easily. Keep temperatures gentle and use a thermometer.
- Add lemon juice at the end — adding acid too early can cause the ganache to split. Stir in after the cream and chocolate are fully combined.
- Steep the zest properly — 10 minutes in warm cream extracts far more flavour than simply adding zest to the ganache.
Pairing Suggestions
Ivoire’s clean, creamy profile pairs beautifully with: lemon, passion fruit, raspberry, yuzu, lavender, earl grey, pistachio, and vanilla. For a more exotic version, replace lemon with yuzu juice and zest — the result is extraordinary.
Shop Valrhona Ivoire 35%
We stock Valrhona Ivoire 35% fèves at Nut House — the white couverture that changes how you think about white chocolate.