Whipped Caramelized White Chocolate Ganache can take an ordinary cake, cupcake or cookie and turn it into something very special. If you haven’t tried caramelized white chocolate yet, you are going to want to now!
It’s official, I am obsessed.
Caramelized white chocolate is my new favorite ingredient. It all started with a dessert we ordered at ABC Cocina. We had a rice pudding that could have been ordinary but a touch of caramelized white chocolate made it anything but ordinary. I couldn’t get the flavor out of my head. I remember Kate waxing poetic about it a while back, but truly I didn’t imagine the love affair that I would develop.
Imagine that white chocolate and caramel had a love child. And it’s even better than that because I don’t even like white chocolate. The touch of sea salt added to the rich caramelized white chocolate takes you on a flavor tour. First sweet, then salt, then heaven. If I could come up with better descriptive words I would, but frankly you just need to get in the kitchen and try it yourself. Other than tending to the oven every five to ten minutes, the process is actually quite easy.
If you want to go over-the-top, make these cupcakes. You remember those? If you want to take the caramelized white chocolate and turn it into a pure form of an unadulterated dessert accessory, stay here. It is rich, creamy and light all at the same time.
This Whipped Caramelized White Chocolate Ganache is one of those things than can take an ordinary cake, cupcake or cookie and turn it into something very special. Spread it on a graham cracker or use it to frost chocolate cake. I grabbed some extra cupcakes from my freezer for the photos in this post, but I’m currently dreaming of cookie sandwiches and layered cakes galore. That is if I can stop myself from eating it by the spoonful batch after batch!
- 10 ounces good quality white chocolate (must be real white chocolate, standard supermarket brand white chocolate chips or melts will not work), roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ¾ cup heavy whipping cream
- Pre-heat oven to 250 degrees and place wrack in center of oven
- Spread white chocolate evenly over a clean rimmed baking sheet
- Put in oven for ten minutes; remove pan and use a rubber spatula to stir and spread white chocolate
- Place in oven again and repeat for additional twenty to thirty (stirring every five to ten minutes) minutes or until white chocolate begins to darken into a light brown (as shown in pictures here)
- I recommend reducing the increments to five minutes towards the end of caramelizing to prevent burning
- When caramelized white chocolate is done, stir in sea salt
- Make the ganache; place caramelized white chocolate in a heat-safe bowl
- Place cream in a heavy duty saucepan over medium high heat
- Bring to a boil and allow to bubble for about thirty seconds (surface will be covered with bubbles)
- Remove from heat and pour over caramelized white chocolate; allow to sit for thirty seconds to one minute
- Whisk mixture until smooth and creamy
- Cover and chill for one to two hours (up to twelve hours) or until ganache is firm
- Once ready, place ganache in the large bowl of an electric mixer with paddle attachment
- Beat on medium-high speed for five minutes, scraping sides of bowl with a spatula occasionally
- Ganache is done when it is light, smooth and creamy
- Use immediately to frost cupcakes, cake, cookies etc.; store finished products at room temperature up to two days
For other tips and troubleshooting caramelizing white chocolate I recommend David Lebovitz’s post
Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.
You might also like:
Pumpkin Blondies with Caramelized White Chocolate Swirl
Caramelized White Chocolate Truffle Pumpkin Cupcakes
Gluten-Free Banana Cake with White Chocolate Whipped Cream
