Hey Sweet Friends! Comin’ at ya with a quick recipe! I use this raspberry chocolate ganache for soooo many things because it’s so quick and delicious!
I first used it when I made myself a birthday treat last year. It was PERFECT for my Chocolate Raspberry Cream Tart! I have a recipe and tutorial for this amazing treat here <<< OMG SO YUMMY!
Since then I have used this decadent raspberry chocolate ganache for cake fillings and French Macaron fillings.
Imagine sweet little bites of vanilla bean macarons with raspberry dark chocolate ganache inside *drooling*
Most recently I have used it for the filling in my Valentine’s treats. I modeled these giant macaron hearts off of the now famous Cream Tart. Making them petite and one serving sized and filling them with raspberry compote, raspberry chocolate ganache and Chantilly cream. They are a huge hit! Tutorial comin’ at ya soon, hang tight!
Of course you can always just drizzle it over a bowl of ice cream if you just can’t wait to indulge.
Let’s talk about Ganache really quick
Ganache is pretty easy but it can be finicky if you don’t know what you are doing. A basic ganache requires primarily just two ingredients- chocolate and cream.
The most important thing you want to keep in mind is don’t overheat the chocolate. Chocolate will seize if it gets too hot.
Ratios
Your cream to chocolate ratio will determine the consistency of your ganache. For a semi-sweet or dark chocolate ganache the standard ratio is 2:1. Meaning you would use 2 parts chocolate to one part heavy cream. Example – 8 ounces of chocolate to 4 ounces of heavy cream. This produces a good medium consistency ganache that is soft enough to drip when very warm and solidifies nicely when cooled. You can also whip it for a nice, pipeable frosting consistency when it is has cooled to about peanut butter consistency.
After a batch of ganache has cooled and become hard your can re-soften it by warming it in the microwave in 10 second bursts. Stirring well in between. It will melt very quickly so be careful!
Ganache can keep for months in the freezer.
Ganache can be flavored with many things including flavor extracts, syrups and compounds. Liquors, coffee, caramel and freeze dried fruits and berries. Just wait until the chocolate cools but is still stir-able to avoid splitting the ganache.
For a good trouble shooting guide to help fix a broken ganache check out my friend Kara’s website she’s got you covered in that department. Her post on her website Kara’s Couture Cakes is here >>> Oh My Gosh, Save My Ganache!
Now let’s walk through the process of Raspberry Chocolate Ganache
For that beautifully tart, fresh raspberry flavor I choose to use freeze dried raspberries. To me this imparts the most true raspberry flavor. You could use a raspberry compound but I have found it doesn’t quite have that fresh raspberry flavor and it pretty pricy!
You can either use the raspberry powder or whole raspberries and powder them yourself. I get mine on Amazon and this is the one I like. Click the photo for the Amazon link.
And of course I am a chocolate snob, so I love using Valrhona. My favorite is the Valrhona Chocolate Pearls. I use them for EVERYTHING. But they are not inexpensive! You can make a good ganache even using Ghirardelli Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
Now you are going to make sure your freeze dried raspberries are a fairly fine powder. I put the whole raspberries in a plastic ziplock bag and crush them with a rolling pin. You can also put them in a food processor. A few bigger chunks are not a problem, just make sure a majority of it is fine powder.
Now heat your cream to the boiling point. You can do this in the microwave or on the stove top. Just make sure not to burn it. Now pour it over the chocolate and let it sit for about 5 minutes
Mixing
Now start stirring the mixture with a whisk and get all the cream incorporated with the milk. The chocolate pieces should all be melted and the ganache smooth. If there are little pieces of solid chocolate still, microwave the mixtuer for 10 seconds to heat a little more.
Now let your ganache sit and cool a bit. You don’t want to add the powdered raspberries when the ganache is still hot. It’s a little bit of a fragile emulsion when it’s hot and can break easily if you add flavorings too soon. I usually give it 10 minutes and it’s good to go.
Next add your powdered raspberries and stir them in well. This will thicken the ganache and it will have a slight texture. I find the texture very pleasing to the palate and it’s pretty to see some of the raspberry pieces in the ganache.
Such a decadent and beautiful ganache with endless uses! If you find something awesome you use it for let me know in the comments so I can try it!
Happy ganaching sweet friends!
Have A Sweet Day!
| Prep Time | 5 minutes |
| Cook Time | 5 minutes |
| Passive Time | 10 minutes |
| Servings |
ounces
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- 12 ounces semi-sweet or dark chocolate cut into small pieces or use chocolate chips or baking drops
- 6 ounces heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons freeze dried raspberry powder
Ingredients
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|
- Crush freeze dried raspberries in to powder
- Heat heavy cream to boiling either in the microwave or on the stove top. be careful not to burn it
- Pour heavy cream into the chocolate and let sit for 5 minutes
- Stir with a whish to incorporate the cream and chocolate. If there are still small pieces of un-melted chocolate you can put in the microwave for 10 seconds to help melt them.
- Let ganache sit and cool for 10 minutes
- Add the raspberry powder and stir to fully incorporate.
Ganache can be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to a week and in the freezer for several months. Just take out and bring to room temperature before heating to soften. This will keep the condensation from breaking the ganache.
Hi Shani,
What ratios would you use for white chocolate?