Ingredients
Champagne Gelée
• 250 ml Brut Champagne (dry, crisp style)
• 25 ml elderflower liqueur (St-Germain, optional for floral lift)
• 20 g sugar
• 3 g gold leaf (optional for visual luxury)
• 3.5 g gelatin (platinum grade, bloomed in cold water)
Caviar Core
• 40 g Imperial or Baeri caviar (4 g per portion)
• Optional: 1 drop of yuzu juice per quenelle
Lemon Vapor
• 200 ml filtered water
• Zest of 3 lemons
• 2 drops lemon essential oil (food-grade)
• 2 g citric acid
• 1 vaporizer or essential oil diffuser (dedicated for food use)
Presentation Components
Transparent glass pedestal or small clear dome plate
Cracking utensil: silver spoon or glass wand
Optional: dry ice in a hidden cavity below the pedestal for added vapor effect
Method
1. Prepare Champagne Gelée
Warm 50 ml Champagne with sugar until just dissolved (do not boil).
Add bloomed gelatin, whisk to dissolve fully.
Remove from heat; stir in remaining Champagne and elderflower liqueur.
Pass through a fine chinois.
Pour into hemispherical silicone molds (4 cm diameter).
Chill until semi-set (approx. 30–40 min).
2. Form the Caviar Core
Create quenelles of caviar (~4 g each).
Place each quenelle into one half-sphere mold (centered).
Cover with additional Champagne gelée until the mold is full.
Freeze completely for at least 2 hours to allow perfect sealing.
3. Seal the Spheres
Unmold the frozen halves.
Gently warm one side of a metal spoon over steam and fuse two halves together to form a complete
sphere.
Refreeze briefly to reinforce shape, then store at 4°C until service.
(The result: perfectly clear Champagne spheres with a visible dark caviar core.)
4. Prepare the Lemon Vapor
Combine all ingredients in small saucepan; heat to 70°C, steep 10 minutes.
Strain through fine chinois.
Pour into vaporizer reservoir before service.
5. Plating (Service)
Plateware: Transparent glass pedestal or dome dish, pre-chilled.
Place one Champagne gelée orb in the center of the glass pedestal.
Polish surface gently with gloved hands to restore transparency.
Optionally, place a pinch of gold leaf on top.
Just before service, activate lemon vapor — the aromatic mist should drift upward from beneath or
around the plate.
6. Tableside Service
The guest is presented with the orb under a glass cloche.
The server delivers the line:
“A Champagne sphere with a hidden caviar heart — please crack it to release the sea within.”
The cloche is lifted as lemon vapor escapes.
The guest cracks the orb gently with a silver spoon — revealing the caviar suspended inside.
Chef’s Notes
Concept: Luxury as fragility — the ephemeral meeting of Champagne bubbles and caviar salt.
Texture: Cold gelée melts instantly, releasing caviar pearls on the tongue.
Aroma: Lemon vapor provides brightness, evoking effervescence without acidity.
Critical point: Work quickly with gelatin; clarity depends on keeping bubbles out.
Alternative: Replace Champagne with non-alcoholic verjus or sparkling tea.
Wine Pairing
Vintage Blanc de Blancs Champagne — matching minerality and dryness.
Non-alcoholic: Chilled sparkling jasmine tea with lemon mist.
