Some pastry careers follow a straight line. Chef Romina Peixoto's took her from Buenos Aires to some of the most storied pastry kitchens in America — and now to a historic Midtown Manhattan hotel, where she's channeling decades of chocolate expertise into something bright and citrus-forward: her Lemon Yuzu Bonbons.
A crisp white chocolate shell gives way to a silky lemon yuzu ganache, balanced between sharp citrus acidity and the soft sweetness of white couverture. Bright, clean, and precisely tempered, the bonbon is built to deliver maximum flavor in a single bite.
At the center of the dish is Cacao Noel Blanc 30% white chocolate and cocoa butter, providing the rich, neutral base that lets the lemon and yuzu purées take the lead.
Romina Peixoto's path to pastry began far from a kitchen counter — she started her culinary journey in Argentina before moving to the U.S. at 20, where she first discovered her passion for pastry. From there, she built a résumé most pastry chefs only dream of: Broussard's in New Orleans, Chef Alan Wong's in Honolulu, Eleven Restaurant in Pittsburgh, and Eleven Madison Park, where she also staged at WD-50 with Alex Stupak. She went on to work at Fishtail by David Burke and at Gilt under Pastry Chef David Carmichael.
Romina made history as Le Cirque's first female and first non-French Executive Pastry Chef, overseeing the restaurant's celebrated pastry program — a role that highlighted her exceptional talent and cemented her place in the culinary world. She later returned to the Palace Hotel to open Pomme Palais for Michael Richard, went on to work at Root & Bone, and spent six years as Executive Pastry Chef at The Chocolate Room, where her focus on chocolate work deepened significantly.
Today, as Corporate Pastry Chef for The Hospitality Department, Romina oversees the pastry programs across all locations, with a particular focus on her recent work at Sweet Graffiti inside the historic Martinique Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. It's there, at this landmark property, that bonbons like this one bring together her years of chocolate-focused technique with a lighter, citrus-driven sensibility.
The result is a bonbon that feels both technically precise and immediately craveable — a small format built with a chocolatier's discipline.
Below is a look at the key component that comes together to create Chef Romina Peixoto's Lemon Yuzu Bonbons. Shelf life is 8 weeks when stored at 16°C or below.
Glucose Syrup 120g
Nevuline 80g
Cuisine Tech Sorbitol Powder 140g
Amifruit Lemon Purée 160g
Amifruit Yuzu Purée 260g
Cuisine Tech Citric Acid 4g
Amifruit Lemon Zest 16g
Cacao Noel Blanc 30% Chocolate 1260g
Cacao Noel Cocoa Butter 60g
In a pot, combine the glucose syrup, invert sugar, yuzu purée, lemon juice, sorbitol, and citric acid powder. Warm the mixture to 40°C to dissolve the sugars.
Off heat, mix in the lemon zest and reserve.
Melt the couverture and cocoa butter at 40°C and combine them.
Pour the lemon yuzu mixture over the melted chocolate and cocoa butter. Emulsify well using a hand blender, scraping down the sides of the bowl to fully incorporate the ganache.
Pre-crystallize the ganache to 26–27°C before filling the white chocolate shells.
Fill pre-tempered white chocolate shells with the lemon yuzu ganache, leaving room to cap.
Allow the ganache to set fully before sealing each shell with a thin layer of tempered Cacao Noel Blanc 30% chocolate.
Once fully crystallized, unmold and finish or decorate the bonbons as desired.
Chef Romina Peixoto's Lemon Yuzu Bonbons show how decades spent mastering chocolate can open the door to something lighter and more citrus-driven, without losing any technical rigor. The sharp acidity of lemon and yuzu against a rich white chocolate shell makes for a bonbon that's vibrant without being one-note.
Using Cacao Noel white chocolate and cocoa butter allows the ganache to stay smooth, stable, and precisely tempered — a small-format showcase of the technique Romina has built over a career spanning some of the country's most respected kitchens.
The result is a bonbon that is disciplined in its construction and bright in every bite.
Discover more recipes and inspiration from Cacao Noel and continue exploring the possibilities of modern chocolate pastry.