How to Make White Chocolate Ganache

White chocolate ganache is a wonderful multipurpose component in your kitchen. It is amazingly simple to make, yet it can be tricky if you don’t know the basics. In this blog, we’ll cover everything about white chocolate ganache, from its definition and how to make it, to how you can apply this recipe to your creations.

What is white chocolate ganache?

Ganache is a mixture of chocolate and cream. It has multiple purposes in the world of baking, pastry, and confectionery. You can play around with the composition and technique to create different textures and consistencies. You can use it for filling, frosting, glazing, dipping, topping, piping decoration, or as a sauce.

Depending on the type of chocolate you use, there are three main types of ganache: dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate. 

Milk chocolate ganache is made by combining cream with milk chocolate, while dark chocolate ganache is made using cream and dark chocolate. Meanwhile, white chocolate ganache is made using white chocolate and cream. One of the best things about a white chocolate ganache is that you can use food coloring to color your ganache, adding more possibilities for your application.

how to make white chocolate ganache

Making white chocolate ganache is not a difficult task to accomplish. In fact, it's actually similar to the process of making regular chocolate ganache. In this section, let's learn how you can make white chocolate ganache properly.

Ingredients

To make the white chocolate ganache, you only need:

• White chocolate
• Heavy cream

Now the question is, what kind of white chocolate should you choose?

Since there are very few ingredients in this white chocolate ganache recipe, chocolate is the main contributor to flavor, use the best quality white chocolate you can find. We advise you to use cooking chocolate, and not white chocolate baking chips or regular eating chocolate, as they do not melt properly.

Of course, Embassy Chocolate is the best brand of white chocolate for this task! Use Embassy Zen White Chocolate 33% for the best results!

INSTRUCTIONS

In making a ganache, there are 2 methods you can use: the hot method and the cold method. For making a white chocolate ganache, our chefs recommend using the latter.

Here is how to make white chocolate ganache using the cold method:

1. Melt your white chocolate coins, or if you’re using chocolate blocks, chop them up into small, preferably uniform-sized pieces.
2. Melt the chocolate completely. You can use any method to completely melt the chocolate.
3. Heat the cream in a pan until it reaches 40°C.
4. Put the heated cream into the bowl filled with melted chocolate and blend using a hand blender until mixed well.
5. Cool the ganache before using it.

WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE RECIPE: CHOCOLATE TO CREAM RATIO

Because white chocolate contains a lot of milk and is softer than milk and dark chocolate, you need less amount of cream to make a ganache. While dark chocolate ganache simply requires a 1:1 cream to chocolate ratio to create the perfect ganache, you need anywhere from 1:1.25 to 1:1.5 ratio of white chocolate and heavy cream.

For molded pralines, our chefs recommend using a 1:1.5 ratio. Otherwise, it will be too soft and too difficult to handle. To make a firmer ganache such as for cake filling, use a 1:2 to 1:3 ratio.

These ratios depend on the type and brand of the white chocolate you use, as well as the specific consistency you are going for. So, experiment with different ratios and find what works best for you.

Additionally, if you want to make your white chocolate ganache firmer without adding more sweetness to it, you can add cocoa butter instead of adding more white chocolate.

3 tips for the best result

Here are some useful tips to ensure you get the perfect white chocolate ganache.

1. heat your chocolate slowly

White chocolate is more sensitive to heat and has a lower melting point at around 30-31°C, so be careful not to burn your white chocolate. If you use the bain-marie method to melt the chocolate, it is best to not let your water boil and mix constantly.

2. emulsify 

Because of its milk content, white chocolate is prone to splitting when combined with cream. We recommend using a hand blender to fully emulsify the chocolate and cream.

3. store it properly

Cover your ganache with plastic wrap. Kept in the chiller or fridge, white chocolate ganache can last up to 2 weeks. Store it in the freezer and it can last up to a month.

get creative with  your white chocolate ganache

White chocolate ganache is the perfect blank canvas for your creation. You can add color and flavor to elevate your ganache.

For coloring, we recommend using coloring powder to add into your ganache, as using cocoa butter coloring could alter the texture of your ganache. Simply add the coloring powder to your ganache and emulsify using a hand blender.

To add flavors to your ganache, you can either add other ingredients such as extracts or alcohol into your ganache, or infuse ingredients into it. Infusions can include tea (leaves or bags), coffee beans, herbs, vanilla pod, etc. Simply add your ingredient of choice after you heat the cream, then infuse for 15-30 minutes before sifting your cream.

You can also add butter to your ganache, which not only adds flavor and aroma, but also makes your ganache creamier. To a 30°C white chocolate ganache, add room temperature butter and emulsify using a hand blender.

applications for white chocolate ganache

Depending on the consistency of the ganache, you can use white chocolate ganache for a lot of things:

• Use as a filling for cupcakes, pastries, and layers in cakes
• Use as a topping or coating for pastries, cookies, and cakes
• Use as a frosting by whipping your ganache as you would with cream to decorate cakes and cupcakes. We recommend tempering your white chocolate first so it has a firmer texture
• Use as a glaze for cakes. You can also do a drip decoration for cakes. First, place your cake in the fridge or freezer to make sure it is cold enough, then carefully make individual ganache drips using a spoon, a squirt bottle, or a piping bag
• Use as a piping decoration for cakes and cupcakes
• Use as a dipping sauce for churros, as a hot fudge sauce for ice creams, or as a base for chocolate mousse
• Roll it up into a ball to create a white chocolate truffle, or use it as a filling for your pralines

choosing the right white chocolate 

In a recipe where you only have a few ingredients, good quality goes a long way. 

We recommend using our Embassy Zen White Chocolate 33%. Loved by chefs for its well-balanced flavor profile, our Zen 33% has a creamy mouthfeel with just the right amount of sweetness. It comes in coin form and is ideal for various applications such as ganache, mousse, and cakes, and for enrobing, molding, coating, and confectionery applications.

For more information about our products, visit our Products page.