Whipped Milk Chocolate Ganache Recipe
- Steph
- 13 hours ago
- 7 min read
The first goal of this recipe is to simplify the overcomplicated whipped ganache recipes I've come across in the course of learning how to perfect my ganache techniques. The other goals? Delivering on taste without feeling the impact of the constant rising cost of chocolate.
With my inexpensive and simplified techniques, you get to skip the additional steps and use only 2 ingredients to prepare your ganache under 3 minutes. Well 3 ingredients if you count the vanilla as well.
Now I've tried many versions of whipped ganache, from the recipes that called for butter, gelatine for stabilisation, adding hot and cold cream at different times, and I've come back to the simplest of them, my recipe and technique.
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Ingredients
Milk Chocolate 500 grams (containing cocoa butter-percentage doesn't matter)
Cooking Cream 230grams (also known as heavy cream or whipping cream)
Vanilla bean paste 1 tbs or 1 pod (not vanilla extract)
Equipment
Heatproof bowl (that is also microwave safe if you will be using the microwave method)
A saucepan/small pot (required if you'd be using the double boiler method)
Silicone spatula
Clear food wrap
Immersion blender (also known as a stick blender)
Electric stand mixer/ Electric hand mixer
Methods of preparing whipped chocolate ganache
MICROWAVE METHOD
Add your chocolate to the heatproof bowl. If you're using snack chocolate bars, break this up into 2 inch squares or smaller to help melt faster. If using couverture chocolate callets, you dont need to break them any further
Add your cream and vanilla bean paste to your chocolate and microwave for 60 seconds
After the first 60 seconds, remove your bowl, give it a rigorous shake to allow the hot cream redistribute
Return your bowl to the microwave for another 60 seconds.
After the second 60 second burst, use your silicone spatula to stir your mixture in a downward press and fold motion. This will help mix the chocolate and cream together and crush whatever chocolate pieces you have left. I like my whipped chocolate ganache with some texture so i often leave bits of undissolved chocolate for a blend of textures when paired with my cake.
You can use an immersion blender at this stage to emulsify this mixture to ensure it is entirely smooth especially if left with chunks of chocolate after mixing by hand. This step is optional.
Scrape down the side of your bowl and place a food wrap tightly over the rim of the bowl.
*while the common step for ganache making requires you to allow the cling film touch the ganache, I'm confident this doesn't affect the taste, consistency or texture of your whipped milk chocolate ganache.
Place your freshly prepared ganache in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours for it to chill.
This will thicken the consistency however it will not harden due to the chocolate to cream ratio.
Transfer the ganache to a stand mixer and using your whisk attachment, whisk until the deep brown ganache mixture turne pale brown and fluffy like a whipped meringue texture.
Stop immediately you see this texture forms to avoid overmixing.
*You can use an electric hand whisk instead however this can take longer. look out for the same textures to know when to stop whisking. It can help to mimic the movement of an electric stand mixer to achieve desired results faster-circular fast and continuous movements.
DOUBLE BOILER METHOD (BAIN-MARIE)
In the absence of a microwave, you can achieve the perfect ganache by following these simple steps:
Add your chocolate to the heatproof bowl. If you're using snack chocolate bars, break this up into 2 inch squares or smaller to help melt faster. If using couverture chocolate callets, you dont need to break them any further
Add your cream and vanilla bean paste to your chocolate
Using a cooker, stove or any other heating element available to you, bring a pot of water to a full boil and turn down the heat to medium-low.
Place the heat proof bowl containing the chocolate and clean over the pot of already boiled water (now simmering) and stir continuously until almost fully melted.
Once you can see the chocolate is about 80% melted, remove the bowl and stir by hand to melt the remaining chocolate and avoid overheating the mixture.
You can use an immersion blender at this stage to emulsify this mixture to ensure it is entirely smooth especially if left with chunks of chocolate after mixing by hand. This step is optional and most likely wont be required for this method of preparation.
Scrape down the side of your bowl and place a food wrap tightly over the rim of the bowl.
*while the common step for ganache making requires you to allow the cling film touch the ganache, I'm confident this doesn't affect the taste, consistency or texture of your whipped milk chocolate ganache.
Place your freshly prepared ganache in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours for it to chill.
This will thicken the consistency however it will not harden due to the chocolate to cream ratio.
Transfer the ganache to a stand mixer and using your whisk attachment, whisk until the deep brown ganache mixture turne pale brown and fluffy like a whipped meringue texture.
Stop immediately you see this texture forms to avoid overmixing and your whipped milk chocolate ganache is ready for use.
*You can use an electric hand whisk instead however this can take longer. look out for the same textures to know when to stop whisking. It can help to mimic the movement of an electric stand mixer to achieve desired results faster-circular fast and continuous movements.
This video shows how the consistency of my whipped milk chocolate ganache changing from a loose to fluffy consistency Notes
My favourite inexpensive chocolate to use is the good old Cadbury dairy milk chocolate. It is intensely rich, tasty and gives a great taste when paired with my signature chocolate fudge recipe. You can use any tasty chocolate bar you would be happy to snack on or go for the more expensive couverture chocolate brands. The only key to choosing the chocolate is your taste preference, and your budget. While some snacking chocolates are termed overly sweet, the high crema to chocolate ratio in this recipe helps to neutralise a lot of sweetness from the chocolate and gives a creamy taste.
*Generally, i aim for affordable tasty chocolates with sugar contents under 60g per 100g
Aim for higher fat percentages in your cream to help your ganache whip up better and hold shape longer. Preferable 28% upwards. regardless of the name its called, from whipping to heavy and even cooking, the key point is a high fat content and good quality cream.
This filling is soft and gives a dessert filling taste, which is more of a melt in your mouth texture. This is much softer than buttercream and the regular ganache used for covering the outside of cakes. If you’d like to make this filling more stable, soak 2 sheets of gelatine in cold water to bloom for at least 15 minutes. Squeeze the gelatine to remove the excess water and add to the hot cream/chocolate mix so it melts. Gelatine can sometimes prove difficult to dissolve completely so it is important to introduce your immersion blender or pass meted mixture through a strainer before setting aside to chill. (check nutritional components of your choice of gelatine to ensure it matches you or your customers requirements)
If using for structured/tall cakes, pipe a border of buttercream or non whipped ganache (with higher choc to cream ratio) as a border before adding filling) or this ganache will seep through the sides of your cake and you may end up with a collapsed cake.
watch how i pipe a border and add soft fillings to my tall and structured cakes here.
*You can use directly for cake slices, dessert pots and treats that do not require structure.
This filling would look aerated and puffy when it comes to room temperature. the colour will also deepen back to its original colour before it was whipped.
Shelf life for this filling is quite limited due to the cream to chocolate ratio and the shipping process. While I personally adhere to a 3 day refrigerated shelf life, this is not a one size fits all. I suggest a personal food test to determine the shelf life of products prepared in your own kitchen especially if they are to be sold.
Whipped milk chocolate ganache also pairs nicely with red velvet cakes, cakes filled with salted caramel or toffee and even pistachio cakes
This milk chocolate ganache can be flavoured beyond a simple vanilla bean paste flavour. Flavours i love to incorporate are
Chocolate orange (gives a home made Terrys chocolate vibe)
Add the zest from 2 large oranges to the chocolate, cream mix and heat up following either methods above. If you dont want the texture from the zest, once your ganache is ready, pass through a strainer to remove before chilling your ganache. A natural food grade orange oil would give great results too. Measurement would be determined by the strength of each brands oil.
Roasted Pistachio oil delivers a nutty fragrance and earthy taste. Measurement would be determined by the strength of each brands oil.
There are many other flavour profiles you can introduce to this whipped milk chocolate ganache. Steer towards natural emulsions, food grade natural oils, extracts and pastes in moderate amounts to explore your own preferences and build your own favourites.
PS. This is my first blog post and I've written all of it while kneeling beside my bed to ensure I stop procrastinating. Considering the header was drafted in 2023, I've now run out of excuses to not get it done. Let me know how you found the information in this recipe, the video, or even how it turned out and this may be all the motivation i need to become the latest blogger in town dishing out amazing recipes more often lol.
Happy Ganaching!
Steph xx
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