Contents

INTRODUCTION 05
INGREDIENTS 08
BASIC FRENCH MACARON SHELL 16
TYPES OF GANACHE 23
ADAPTING GANACHE 29
SECONDARY FILLINGS & TOPPINGS 33
BASIC GANACHE RECIPES 38
Classic White Chocolate Ganache p. 39

Pastry Cream Style White Chocolate Ganache p. 45

Basic Whipped Ganache p. 53

INFUSING CREAM ADAPTATIONS 61

Thai Tea Ganache p. 65

Cardamom Vanilla Ganache p. 72

REPLACING CREAM ADAPTATIONS 80

Passion Fruit Orange Ganache p. 84

Blueberry Cheesecake Ganache p. 91

ADDING TO THE RECIPE ADAPTATIONS 99

Cookies and Cream Ganache p. 105

Lemon Basil Ganache p. 113

Vanilla Latte Whipped Ganache p. 120

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 Contents
REPLACING THE CHOCOLATE ADAPTATIONS 128
Ruby Strawberry Ganache p. 132

Golden Milk Ganache p. 140

White Chocolate Ferrero Rocher Ganache p. 147

REPLACING THE BUTTER ADAPTATIONS 155

Granola Butter Ganache p. 158

REPLACING THE GELATIN ADAPTATIONS 164

Peach Gummy Ganache p. 167

USE WITH CAUTION 175

CALCULATING MACARON FILLINGS 179
STORING AND REUSING GANACHE 182
SERVING AND STORING MACARONS 185
ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS 190
INDEX: GANACHE STYLE 199
LOOKING FOR MORE? 201
ABOUT MADDIE 203

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 Introduction
Recipe development is one of my favorite parts about being a chef!
Taking one recipe and altering it until you have something with a
completely different flavor is something I find absolutely magical.

Macaron filling recipes - like macaron shells - have a lot of

variables. In some ways this is fantastic, because it means there are
lots of things you can change and play around with. However it also
means that there are a lot of things that can go awry if you aren’t
paying close attention or understand each element of the recipe.

Through this book we are going to explore white chocolate ganache

together. White chocolate ganache is probably my favorite filling to
use for macarons since it has the ability to act as a blank canvas.
With even one simple change you can drastically alter the taste,
texture and appearance of a white chocolate ganache and end up
with a new recipe to use as a macaron filling!

Step-by-step we will take a closer look at three basic styles of white

chocolate ganache, and then focus on one variable at a time over the
course of 12 other recipes to see what can happen when different
elements of a white chocolate ganache recipe is adapted.

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 Navigating the Recipes
This book begins with the basics you need to know and understand
before you can start making ganache for macarons - explanations of
important ingredients, my basic French meringue macaron shell recipe,
a discussion about ganache and methods for making adaptations.

The remainder of the book is broken down into sections - first focusing
on the basic types of white chocolate ganache and then sections for
each method of adapting ganache recipes. There is a brief outline of the
methods and techniques for adapting ganaches at the beginning of the
book, but a further explanation and detailed advice will come along
with each of the sections later in the book.

As with all of my recipes, each recipe in this book (except for the three
basic recipes) comes with a NOTES section. In this section you will find
any additional information about how you could continue to adapt that
specific recipe and my recommendations for the style or color of
macaron shell to pair it with.

After all of the recipes, the book concludes with sections to discuss
reusing ganache, storing macarons, calculating macaron fillings, and a
Q&A section with questions submitted from followers on social media -
so make sure to scroll through everything!

If you are planning to try adapting the basic ganache recipes into your
own creations (which I highly recommend you do!) make sure to
carefully read through all of the adaptation sections - even if you don’t
try out every single one of the recipes. My goal is to guide you through
the adaptation process so you can try out new things in your kitchen
without panicking over whether or not your idea will turn out, and give
you confidence to try something new without needing to follow an exact
recipe.

Before we go any further, I want to note that ganache can be used in

many different ways and in many different desserts. This book will focus
exclusively on ganache as a macaron filling, though most - if not all - of
the techniques and recipes can be applied to ganache meant for other
desserts such as cakes, tarts, cookies, etc. By all means please
experiment with these recipes in any dessert you like! But for the sake
of this book, I will be focusing on macarons - as it is my specialty and
already quite a lot of information to explore.

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 Ingredients
The following is a list of some of the important ingredients you will find in
this book. You do not need to use exactly the brands I use for the recipes in
this book to work - though I recommend always using the best quality of any
ingredient you have available to you when possible for the best flavor and
texture results. For more of the ingredients and tools I use, check out my
Amazon storefront page: click here.

WHITE CHOCOLATE
White chocolate is basically a combination of
sugar, milk and cocoa butter. Depending on the
variety and brand this ratio might change and
there might be a few more ingredients thrown in
there. In general, higher quality and professional
brands of white chocolate use less sugar and more
cocoa butter, leading to a white chocolate that is
not quite as overwhelmingly sweet and has a very
lovely, silky texture.

BAKING BRANDS

For regular white chocolate, I typically use

Callebaut 28% White Chocolate or Valrhona 35%
White Chocolate. For professional quality
chocolates like these, it is more cost effective if
you buy them in larger bulk quantities. Yes it
requires more of an investment in the chocolates
up front, but I promise it is worth it in the end to
use good quality chocolates like these - and better
in the long run than continuously purchasing
small quantities of them.

GROCERY STORE BRANDS

If you only use ganache every once in awhile, and

are not ready to invest in a chocolate like
Callebaut or Vahrhona, that is okay too! If you are
buying from the grocery store, I recommend
looking for brands like Guittard or Ghirardelli
over something like Hershey. Additionally, check
the ingredient labels - many cheaper white
chocolates use palm oil along with or instead of
cocoa butter, as well as a higher sugar content!

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VALRHONA INSPIRATION CHOCOLATE

Valrhona’s line of inspiration chocolates are my

favorite splurge chocolates to use in my
kitchen. The flavors are all incredible, and a
little bit goes a long way. Though these
chocolates can be hard to find in person, they
are readily available online in flavors like
strawberry, raspberry, yuzu, passion fruit and
almond. These are chocolates you might want to
buy only a small quantity of, though they are
available to buy in bulk as well.

RUBY CHOCOLATE

Ruby chocolate is relatively new to the

chocolate scene - coming to the market as the
fourth variety of chocolate available in 2017.
It is naturally pink and has it’s own unique
flavor profile - though is similar enough to
white chocolate that it can nearly always be
used in a 1:1 swap in any recipe that calls for
white chocolate - making it perfect for
adaptations.

CARAMELIZED WHITE CHOCOLATE

Caramelized chocolate, such as the Callebaut

Gold I often use, are created using
caramelized sugar or by baking white
chocolate until the sugars caramelize. The
caramelized aspect of these types of chocolate
overpower the typical white chocolate flavor,
which leads to ganaches that pipe like ganache
but taste like caramel - which is very useful in
a pastry kitchen!

You can actually make caramelized white

chocolate yourself by baking white chocolate
in your own oven if you are interested! There
are many tutorials that can show you exactly
what to do if you want to give it a try, though
personally I find it much more convenient to
purchase already caramelized chocolate
myself.

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VANILLA & EXTRACTS
Vanilla is a staple in any pastry kitchen. It is
expensive, but luckily a little bit goes a long
way! I recommend investing in a good quality
vanilla bean paste, particularly for simpler
flavors when you really want the vanilla flavor
to shine.

Extracts of all kinds are great for baking, and

especially for creating unique flavors for your
macaron fillings! Make sure to invest in high
quality extracts and test them before you add
them to your macarons, as some brands and
flavors can end up smelling and tasting more
like alcohol or bubble gum rather than
whatever they are supposed to taste like!

FRUIT PUREES
Fruit purees used in ganache or pastry recipes
in general can be store-bought or homemade.
Personally I prefer to purchase purees that are
harder for me to create such as passion fruit,
mango, guava, etc, and make my own purees
out of fruits readily available to me such as
strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, etc. If you
are making your own puree, I recommend using
frozen fruit or very ripe fruit to create the
puree. If you use underripe or lackluster fruit
for your puree, you will end up with a
lackluster flavor in your final dessert as well.
For purchasing premade purees, I generally
recommend Boiron and Funkin Pro for most
fruits.

SPICES
Spices are fantastic for adding to a ganache or
infusing into a ganache. Though it might be
obvious - make sure your spices are fresh! It is
easy for spices to hang out in a drawer in your
kitchen for potentially years, and those spices
will lose a lot of their original flavor over
time. If you are interested in making easy
changes to your ganaches, checking out a local
spice shop and investing in some interesting
new spices or spice mixes is a great way to
begin your dessert adaptation journey - and
they are a great investment as most spices can
be multi-purposed into so many other dishes as
well.

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BUTTER
Room temperature, unsalted. Do not fight me
on this. Even if you want to add salt into
your recipe, from the depths of my soul I
implore you to use unsalted butter and
separately add in the quantity of salt you
want. If you use salted butter you have no
control over the amount of salt that is being
added alongside it! You might also want to
experiment with different brands and styles
of butter - as you might find that you prefer
one over another, particularly in a ganache
recipe where the butter is providing an
important portion of the final texture and
mouth feel - as well as flavor.

GELATIN
Personally I like to use gelatin sheets
(specifically gold bloom) in my pastry
recipes. They are easy to store and use, and I
find that sheet gelatin tastes a lot less like
gelatin than the powdered kind you find in a
lot of grocery stores. Before using, all you
need to do is place the sheet gelatin in ice
cold water for a few minutes to allow it to
bloom, and it is ready! If you prefer to use
powdered gelatin, make sure to bloom it at a
ratio of 1g gelatin to 6g liquid, and if you are
using gelatin mass remember to divide the
weight of your gelatin mass by 7 to find the
original weight of gelatin for the best
results.

HONEY, INVERTED SUGAR & GLUCOSE

Ingredients like honey, inverted sugar and

glucose are often used in pastry recipes -
particularly ganache recipes - to provide
stability and a smooth texture for piping and
eating. In many recipes, honey and inverted
sugar can be interchanged without an issue
and glucose can be swapped for corn syrup.
Just be careful when swapping honey in or
out of a recipe, as the addition or removal
can change the final taste of the recipe -
particularly if it is being used in a large
quantity!

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CANDY BARS & CHOCOLATE BARS
Many candy bars can be used in ganache
recipes! As you begin making your own
adaptations and recipes, there are a few
things you should be on the lookout for if
you are picking a candy bar or chocolate bar.
First, either avoid things with a soft or
creamy filling or remember to adjust your
recipe accordingly. Second, as with all
chocolate - the better the quality you begin
with, the better the ganache result in the
end. Lastly, don’t be scared if the candy bar
has pieces of things in it, but understand
that as the chocolate is melted down those
pieces might alter the final ganache texture
if they are not emulsified in or strained out.
Two of the recipes in this book use chocolate
bars in the recipe so make sure to check
those out for more information!

COOKIE CRUMBS
Cookies might be the one time where you do not
need to worry about having the highest possible
quality of a certain ingredient! In fact, if you
are going for an easily identifiable cookie
flavor, the better it is to just use that exact
cookie instead of attempting to create or find a
“better quality” dupe for it.

Cookie crumbs can be added into ganache and

onto macaron shells. Though there is a bit more
wiggle room for the cookies added into the
ganache than there is for the cookie crumbs you
add onto the top of a macaron shell, it is
generally best to look for cookies that are crisp
(rather than soft and chewy) and cookies that
either don’t have a frosting or filling, or have a
filling that is easily removed (like the cream in
an Oreo).

For the most part, anything that reminds you of

a graham cracker, Biscoff cookie, or the cookie
portion of an Oreo should work just fine in a
macaron shell or ganache recipe.

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CITRUS ZEST
While many fruits are easy to incorporate into
pastry recipes - specifically ganaches - in
puree form, most citrus are best added in the
form of zest. If you are hoping to add lemon,
lime, grapefruit, orange, yuzu, etc. flavor into
your ganache and want to make sure that the
ganache is both flavorful and retains it’s
intended texture, I highly recommend zest as
the way to go.

Some pastry brands that sell purees and such

things also sell frozen citrus zests. If you use
ginormous quantities of zest, this might be
something you are interested in, though in
general I recommend using fresh zest - and
zesting your citrus just before you add it into
your recipe - for the best flavor results.

Citrus juice can be used in ganache, but it can

cause complications - so particularly if you are
newer to ganache I recommend sticking to zest
for citrus flavor - at least for now.

HERBS
Fresh and dried herbs are a fantastic way to
add a lot of flavor into your ganache without
needing to worry about adapting anything that
could possibly change the structure of your
ganache. Some fresh herbs like basil, mint and
thyme are things you might want to add into
your ganache and simply leave them in as they
won’t negatively effect the final texture. Other
herbs such as sage or rosemary are perhaps
best infused into the cream of your ganache as
they are a bit more challenging (though it is
not impossible!) to smoothly emulsify them
into a ganache.

Just like with the spices we discussed before,

if you choose to use dried herbs, make sure
you are using fresh and good quality dried
herbs. It would be disappointing to go to the
work of adding the herbs into your ganache
recipe only to find the flavor is much more
mild and lacking due to the herbs being too
old and having lost much of their original
flavor.

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TEA & COFFEE
Tea and coffee are some of my favorite ways to
incorporate flavors into my ganache recipes!
There are so many varieties and flavors of tea
it makes the potential flavors of your ganaches
nearly endless, and coffee is easily added into
ganache in several different ways which makes
it very fun to use. Using tea and coffee in your
macarons also provides the perfect opportunity
to use local ingredient or partner with a local
tea shop or coffee roaster to create some
unique macaron and drink pairings.

As with most ingredients, using fresh, high

quality coffee and tea will help you achieve the
best possible results in your finished ganache.
Make sure you are storing your tea and coffee
well, keep an eye on the expiration date for
your tea leaves, and if you are using coffee
beans it is ideal to grind them just before you
add them into your recipe.

NUT BUTTER, NUTELLA, COOKIE

BUTTER & GRANOLA BUTTER
One incredibly easy way to add flavor into a
ganache recipe is by using some sort of butter -
and don’t worry there is an entire chapter on
this concept later on! Any sort of nut that can
be made into a paste and labeled as a butter
can be thrown into a ganache with ease -
peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter,
etc.

This also goes for anything that has a similar

thick and spreadable texture, such as Nutella
or any chocolate hazelnut spread. Nutella is
likely more suited to a darker chocolate
ganache, but it can be added into white
chocolate ganache as well!

Cookie butter or Biscoff spread is another very

common addition to ganache recipes (for good
reason, it is delicious) though most cookie
butters do contain gluten. Many macaron
makers try to remain gluten free, since macaron
shells are naturally gluten free - so I want to
make sure you know that granola butter is not
only an option but a delicious one that you can
use in place of cookie butter if you have GF
customers or friends.
- 14 -
Basic Macaron
Shell Recipe
 Basic French Meringue
Macaron Recipe
INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

Whites 100g (room 1.Start by weighing all the ingredients.

temperature recommended) The almond flour and powdered sugar
can immediately be combined, and the
Sugar 90g
cream of tartar (if using) can
Cream of Tartar ⅛ teaspoon, immediately be combined with the
optional
granulated sugar.

Almond Flour 130g

2. For very smooth macaron shells, it is
Powdered Sugar 130g
a good idea to sift and/or food process
the almond flour and powdered sugar.
TOOLS If you do not want to sift the dry
ingredients, I recommend placing them
Piping Tip (803-804)
in a bowl and using a whisk to aerate
Piping Bag (16"-24")
them and to help break up any clumps
Mixer with Whisk
that might have formed in the
Attachment (Hand mixer
packages.
or stand mixer)
Spatula
3. Prepare your baking sheets, template
Large Bowl
(if using) and baking pans, and set
Baking Sheet
aside while preparing the macaron
Template (optional)
batter.
Food Processor or Fine
Mesh Sieve
Oven

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BASIC MACARON RECIPE DIRECTIONS - CONT.

4. On low speed, begin whipping the egg whites with your mixer.
After about one minute of mixing, the egg whites will begin looking
frothy and white. At this point increase the speed of the mixer to a
medium low speed, and begin streaming in the granulated sugar (and
cream of tartar, if using) a little at a time. Add in all of the sugar by
the time the meringue reaches a medium stiff peak to ensure it
incorporates thoroughly into the meringue.

5. Continue whipping on a medium speed until very stiff peaks have

formed. It is better to check the texture rather than to go by a set
amount of time, so if you are new to macarons please make sure to
focus on the consistency of the meringue instead of sticking to a
strict time table. When you pull the whisk attachment out of the
meringue, you should feel some resistance from the meringue as you
lift, and the meringue itself should immediately form a sharp point
that sticks straight up in the air. You should be able to shake your
whisk attachment without the point of meringue tipping or
collapsing to one side.

6. After the meringue is finished, it is time to add in the dry

ingredients. There are two methods for adding the dry ingredients:
by hand or with a mixer.
BASIC MACARON RECIPE DIRECTIONS - CONT.

7. By Hand: If you add the dry ingredients by hand, I recommend

transferring the meringue to a larger, wider bowl. This will help you
visualize everything in the bowl. In 2-4 additions, add the almond
flour and powdered sugar mixture into the meringue, folding it in
with your spatula after each addition. Add in the next amount of dry
ingredients once you no longer see the previously added dry
ingredients in the meringue. You do not need to be especially careful
at this stage, but it is a good idea to not go too fast (you might end
up with pockets of dry ingredients or large air bubbles) or too slow
(you might accidentally over mix or remove too much air from the
meringue).

8. With a Mixer: If you add the dry ingredients with a mixer, switch to
a paddle attachment for the best results. Before adding in the dry
ingredients, use your spatula to scrape around the outsides of the
bowl to make sure all the meringue is in the center of the bowl. Add
in about half of the dry ingredients and on the lowest speed, carefully
mix in the almond flour and powdered sugar until just combined.
Pause to scrape the sides of the bowl one more time then add in the
remaining dry ingredients and mix on low speed one more time.

9. After the dry ingredients are incorporated, it is time for the

macaronage or mixing of the macaron batter. Use your spatula, or
continue with your paddle attachment on low speed, to press the
batter into the sides of your bowl, then scrape the batter back onto
itself. Continue folding and mixing the batter until you reach the
consistency you are looking for.

10. For most macarons, I macaronage until I reach a “ribbon” stage,

where the batter flows like a ribbon or lava from my spatula and back
down into my mixing bowl. For some shapes or designs it is best to
macaronage less, however it is never a good idea to macaronage more!
Over mixing or over macaronaging can lead to macarons that don’t
bake properly and end up with wrinkled, wet looking tops. If you are
unsure or are feeling nervous about your macaron batter consistency,
it is always a better idea to under mix rather than over mix!

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BASIC MACARON RECIPE DIRECTIONS - CONT.

11. When the batter is completely mixed, transfer the batter to a

piping bag fitted with the piping tip of your choosing.

12. For the best results, pipe straight down (with your piping bag
perpendicular to your baking mat). Pipe for a few seconds, then
using the strength and pressure of your hand and wrist, stop the
downward motion of the batter through your piping bag. Make a
small swirling motion with your wrist to help cut off the batter. If
you pull straight up, the batter will likely create a little peak or
point, which unless you use a scribe or toothpick to get rid of might
remain on the surface of your macarons throughout the baking
process.

13. After piping an entire sheet of macarons, you can tap the bottom
of the tray to release any large air bubbles that might be hiding
inside. If you see any air bubbles near the surface and would like to
have perfectly smooth macaron shells, you can use a scribe tool or a
toothpick to gently tease out the air bubble and smooth over the top
of the shell again.

14. I leave my piped macarons to rest on my counter while I preheat

my oven. Once a skin has formed and you can touch the macaron
shell without batter sticking to your finger, the macarons are ready
to bake! Depending on where you live, the climate, the temperature
of your kitchen, the oven you are using etc, you may want to or need
to rest your macaron shells for a very different amount of time.
Typically I rest my macaron shells for about 20-30 minutes, and in
certain locations I have rested even my basic circle shells for about
45 minutes.(However, If you need to rest your circle macaron shells
for more than one hour, something is probably going wrong!)

15. Bake your macaron shells. I typically bake my macaron shells at

300 degrees Fahrenheit or 148 degrees Celsius for 16-18 minutes.
Depending on the size of your macaron shells, the kind of baking
sheet and baking pan you are using, the oven you have, the climate
you live in, etc, you may need to use a different time or temperature.

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BASIC MACARON RECIPE DIRECTIONS - CONT.

16. In home kitchens, it is usually possible to bake two trays at once!

However if you are new to making macarons, I recommend starting
with just one tray at a time and baking exactly in the center of your
oven. The more macarons / trays of macarons are in your oven at
once, the higher the risk there is for humidity–which can cause
macarons to become tiny volcanoes. If you are baking with multiple
trays in your oven, it might be a good idea to open your oven door
half way through and even rotate your baking pan to release any
potential humidity and to get an even bake.

17. The macarons are finished baking when the foot of the macaron is
fully developed, the top of the shell is strong and doesn’t squish or
break when gently pressing down on it, and if the macaron barely
moves if you try to move it side-to-side where the top part of the
shell meets the foot of the shell.

18. Remove the tray(s) of macarons from the oven and let them cool
completely on the baking mat before removing the shells. If you
remove the shells immediately, you run the risk of even a well baked
macaron shell gently sticking to the baking sheet.

19. Pair up the macaron shells, then decorate, fill, or store the
macaron shells accordingly.

- 10 -
Types of Ganache
 Types of Ganache
There are three basic styles of white chocolate ganache for macaron fillings -
and while I love them all, there are different times and situations better
suited to using one over another. Let me explain the basic differences before
getting into my opinion and recommendations for when and how to approach
each type.

CLASSIC GANACHE

A classic ganache really only needs cream and white chocolate - usually
around the ratio of one part cream to two parts chocolate. Most classic
ganaches will also include butter and/or inverted sugar to help with the
texture and stability of the ganache - which is very important for piping and
storage of macarons. Though you can make a classic ganache without vanilla,
most white chocolate ganaches include vanilla extract, paste or bean.

PASTRY CREAM STYLE GANACHE

A pastry cream style ganache combines a pastry cream, white chocolate and
butter to create a very thick and creamy ganache. This style of ganache is on
the spectrum between classic ganache and whipped ganache, as it has a higher
ratio of cream like a whipped ganache and pipes more like a classic ganache.
The ratio of cream to chocolate in this style of ganache is about two parts
cream to one part chocolate, along with a generous amount of butter. The
butter and cornstarch in this style of ganache help create a stable texture
that allows for this much cream in the recipe without it becoming a whipped
ganache.

WHIPPED GANACHE

A whipped ganache is a ganache with a high ratio of cream that is prepared

in advance and whipped to a medium stiff or stiff peak before being used.
Typically a whipped ganache has a ratio of around three parts cream to one
part chocolate. Beyond using the whipping process to create a ganache that
can be spread or piped, this style of ganache uses gelatin (or something
similar) as well as a sweetener such as glucose to help create a stable
ganache.

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 Types of Ganache:
Maddie's Opinion
There are pros and cons to all three styles of ganache - and while I genuinely
enjoy using all three methods, I use them strategically for different reasons
and at different times.

Classic white chocolate ganache is fantastic because it is so easy to make.

Seriously, it is nearly impossible to mess up! This makes the ganache perfect
for beginners, great for any moment when you are short on time, and for
experimenting with new ganache flavors. However this style of ganache uses
quite a lot of chocolate - which can be frustrating as good quality white
chocolate is quite expensive, and it also means that the flavor of the white
chocolate will be quite dominant.

Pastry cream style ganache is my personal favorite ganache to use for regular
sized macarons. Since it is quite stable, you can use it without worrying that
your macarons will mature too quickly or have an abnormally short shelf life.
As the ratio of chocolate is quite low, this allows you the opportunity to
splurge on other ingredients for the recipe without worrying as much about
the price, and it also means it is easier to create flavors that are not white
chocolate dominant. However, this style of ganache is much more technically
challenging - which makes it much more difficult for beginners in pastry and
riskier for creating adaptations.

Whipped white chocolate ganache is one of my favorite fillings for petit

gateau sized and large format macarons - as well as for topping all other
manner of pastries such as tarts, choux, and cut cakes. Whipped ganache uses
a classic ganache style base with additional cream, making it very easy for
beginners in pastry to create and adapt. However, since the ratio of cream is
so high, regular macarons mature quite quickly with this style of ganache -
which changes the timeline with which to make and eat them. Though whipped
ganache is only lightly sweet, has an incredible texture and is easy to work
with, it is not my first choice for using in small macarons.

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 Types of Ganache:
Maddie's Recommendation
I recommend trying all three methods for making ganache, beginning
with the basic method!

If you are absolutely new to making ganache, I recommend first trying

the classic ganache, then moving on to the whipped ganache followed
by the pastry cream style ganache. As you work your way through this
book and as you begin making your own adaptations, I recommend
following a similar process. Unless you have previous pastry
experience, begin with the classic ganache recipes, then proceed to
the whipped ganache and then the pastry cream style ganache recipes.

As you test the basic three versions of these styles of ganache and
then go on to try various flavors and adaptations, keep a mental or
physical note on which style of ganache feels the most comfortable for
you in your kitchen. As with any macaron (or other style of pastry)
there are so many variables that go into choosing which method and
type of recipe that works best for you - and depending on your reasons
for baking, the kitchen you are in, your budget, the tools you have
available to you, and where you are at in your pastry journey, you
might prefer different methods and styles at different points in your
baking career.

Even if you end up being a die hard fan of classic ganache or you end
up exclusively working with whipped ganache - keep an open mind and
make sure to give different recipes and methods a fair shot before you
decide what works best for you or which style suits your taste
preferences.
 Tips:
TRY A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING

No matter where you are in your baking journey, don’t lock yourself into
a baking box! Make sure to give a variety of styles and recipes a fair
chance, even if you do prefer one method over another. Even if you are
an experienced baker, give different styles of ganache another try if it
has been a year or more since you last tried them - it is normal for your
tastes and abilities to change over time.

START SIMPLE AND FOCUS ON QUALITY

Particularly if you are newer to baking, don’t worry about the entire
journey of trying out all kinds of recipes and even creating your own.
Focus on one step, one recipe, at a time and give it your best shot. If
you are using a decent or good quality chocolate, even the most basic
white chocolate ganache recipe on its own without any other flavors is
absolutely incredible!

SCALE UP AND DOWN AS YOU LIKE - WITH CAUTION

The primary thing I want to caution you about is going too SMALL! It is
actually harder to make a very tiny batch than it is to make a very large
batch - particularly because immersion or hand blenders help create the
smoothest ganaches, and it is hard to use an immersion blender in a
microscopic batch of ganache. You can scale up or down any recipe in
this book - and any ganache recipe you come across - but be careful that
you aren’t making such a small amount that you can’t properly mix it.

KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR TIMELINE AND SCHEDULE

As mentioned, the different styles of ganache will mature macarons at a

different rate - particularly whipped ganache filled macarons.
Depending on your kitchen and storage situation though, macarons
mature on slightly different timelines anyway! Especially if you are
newer to making macarons or ganache filled macarons, make sure to take
note of the state of your macarons - for each type of ganache - over
time. Monitor what the macarons are like 12, 24, 48 and 72 hours after
you fill them, what they are like after one week in the refrigerator, and
what they are like if you freeze them right after filling and transfer
them to the refrigerator a couple weeks later. This might influence the
style of ganache you use in your kitchen!

- 27 -
 Adapting Ganache
Most of the time when a baker wants to create a new recipe, they don’t
start from square one and randomly throw out quantities for their new
bake. If you had to reinvent the wheel every single time you went to
make something new, the process would be absolutely exhausting and
completely stressful!

Typically when working with recipe development, you begin with an

idea and a basic recipe - or better yet, a foundation of basic recipes. As
you think through how to create the flavor and/or texture you want in
your new recipe, you can start adapting your basic recipe until it
reflects the idea you had. Though this can seem quite intimidating if
you have never adjusted a recipe before, it is quite easy once you know
how to go about it.

White chocolate ganache recipes, like any recipe, have several

variables. These variables can be adjusted in different ways as you
create your new recipe. In this book we are focusing on three basic
recipes as we go about making adaptations - classic, pastry cream style
and whipped ganache. In all three of these base recipes, the cream and
chocolate can be adapted in similar ways. In addition, there are some
adaptation methods that will work for particular base recipes and not
for others - particularly for the whipped ganache base.

Let’s look at an overview of the primary methods for making adaptations

to basic ganache recipes!

- 29 -
 INFUSING THE CREAM

You can infuse the cream in a ganache in two ways - a hot infusion or cold
infusion. Both methods of infusion allow you to flavor the cream in your recipe
without making a change to the structure of the ganache or actually making any
swaps to any of the ingredients.

REPLACING THE CREAM

The cream in a ganache recipe can be partially or entirely replaced with things
such as coconut cream, fruit puree and coffee. This liquid replacement is an easy
change to make and is particularly great when layering flavors into a recipe.

ADDING TO THE RECIPE WITHOUT REPLACEMENT

Many ingredients can be added into a ganache without swapping anything or

making any changes to the recipe. Some such ingredients are quite obvious -
things such as extracts and spices - and other ingredients are more unexpected
but still easy to work with - such as cookie crumbs and freeze dried fruit.

REPLACING THE CHOCOLATE

Even though we are focusing on white chocolate in this book, there are many
chocolates with a white chocolate base - such as caramelized or gold chocolate -
and chocolates that pair well with white chocolate - such as ruby chocolate. These
chocolates can be swapped with white chocolate at a 1:1 ratio, making them
perfect for adapting basic white chocolate ganache recipes.

REPLACING THE BUTTER

Classic and pastry cream style ganache recipes that include butter can be adapted
to easily incorporate creamier, spreadable ingredients with high fat contents -
such as nut and cookie butters. This is a great way to add a lot of flavor without
altering a large part of the recipe, and can typically be done with easy to find
ingredients.

REPLACING THE GELATIN

Whipped white chocolate ganache is stabilized with gelatin. And while you can
substitute the gelatin for some obvious and very similar ingredients such as agar,
you can also swap gelatin for gummy candies that contain high amounts of gelatin
or similar gelling agents!

- 30 -
 Tips:
GIVE EVERYTHING A TRY AT LEAST ONCE

As always, don’t pigeonhole yourself into only one method of making

adaptations. Even if you decide infusing cream is the perfect method for
you - make sure you try out all the different methods for adapting
different variables. Additionally, try out adaptations with different base
recipes - you might find that you prefer one method for one particular
style of ganache over another.

DON’T BE SCARED TO CHANGE MORE THAN ONE VARIABLE

Layering adaptations is the ultimate way to create a flavorful ganache!

Even as we focus on specific adaptations throughout each chapter in
this book, you will find that I nearly always adapt more than one
variable at once. It is absolutely possible to only focus on one
adaptation at a time - and that is okay if you want to start small! But
don’t be scared to make a few different adaptations in the same recipe.

BE EXTRA CAUTIOUS OF SOME INGREDIENTS

While most ingredients can easily find their way into a ganache recipe
one way or another, there are a few that are particularly challenging -
especially things like alcohols and highly acidic fruits. If you are
nervous about your potential additions, make sure to check out the Use
with Caution chapter at the end of the book!

USE SECONDARY FILLINGS TO ENHANCE FLAVORS

Not every flavor needs to be added in the same recipe! If you are
working with an idea that has several different flavor components,
consider keeping some of the flavors out of the ganache and adding
them through a secondary filling or topping instead. You can also use
secondary fillings and toppings to boost flavors - particularly more
subtle flavors - that are in your ganache recipe.

- 90 -
 Secondary Fillings
& Toppings
While I often enjoy packing flavor into a ganache by using layering
techniques, and then using only that ganache to fill my macarons, that
is not always the best way to go.

Using secondary fillings and toppings can help in several ways:

1. They can provide a new flavor to go alongside your ganache

2. They can help enhance one or more of the flavors in your ganache,
particularly if you are working with a light or subtle flavor, or you are
working with an ingredient that is more challenging to incorporate into
a ganache

3. They can provide an additional texture to help balance the

creaminess of the ganache

Though this book and the recipes that follow focus exclusively on white
chocolate ganache, as you make either these recipes or adaptations of
your own, keep in mind that you can always pair a ganache recipe with a
secondary filling or topping! Just because a recipe or cookbook shows a
macaron filled only with ganache it does not mean you can’t decide to
pair that ganache with something new!

Let’s look at a brief overview of some of the most common secondary

fillings and toppings, and when you might want to use them with your
ganache filled macaron recipes.

- 33 -
Types of Secondary Fillings & Toppings

CURDS

Though lemon curd is an obvious choice (and it is a delicious one!) any

citrus can be used as a curd - lime, key lime, grapefruit, orange, yuzu, etc -
and other fruits can be added in to create even more flavorful and layered
curds - strawberry lemon, lemon basil, etc. Since citrus fruits are so acidic,
they are more challenging to incorporate into ganache recipes than many
other ingredients. If you are hoping for an intensely citrus macaron, pairing
a ganache with notes of citrus with a flavorful citrus curd is a great way to
achieve such a flavor.

MILK JAM

Milk jam is caramel’s milder cousin - making it not so sweet and perfect for
adding in flavors that can be added to or infused into cream! Though I
commonly use milk jam to balance the texture of buttercream, a flavorful
milk jam is a great way to add a new flavor into a ganache filled macaron

CARAMEL

Though you can create a caramel ganache, adding caramel as a secondary

filling is a fantastic way to create a macaron that has caramel as one of two
dominant flavors. For example, it is more challenging for all of the flavors
to come through properly if you make a passion fruit caramel ganache - but
if you make an intensely passion fruit ganache and pair it with a salted
caramel canter, you can easily have both flavors at the forefront.

JAMS, GELS & COMPOTES

It is relatively easy to add fruit components into ganache recipes -

swapping the cream, using fruit chocolate, adding freeze dried fruit, etc -
but unless you layer the fruit flavors it can be challenging to overcome the
intensity of the white chocolate and cream. By using a fruit based secondary
filling, you can ensure that your fruit forward macaron genuinely tastes like
the fruit you are using. You can also use fruit based secondary fillings to
add a new fruit flavor - and one that can balance whatever flavor or flavors
you picked for your ganache.

- 34 -
 GELEE

A gelee - being water based - is the best way to introduce things like
alcohol into your macaron and actually taste it. Gelee is the secondary
filling I use when making things like champagne ganache, mojito ganache,
bellini ganache, etc. If you are using a moist secondary filling - particularly
something like a gelee - and are worried about how it will effect your
macaron shell, just use a thin layer of white chocolate as a barrier to help
seal in the moisture.

CHOCOLATE DIP OR DRIZZLE

Adding a layer or even a drizzle of chocolate is a fantastic way to add

decoration as well as another layer of flavor to your macarons. While the
white chocolate dip or drizzle is still wet, you can also use it like glue to
stick other ingredients - freeze dried or candied fruit, sprinkles, cookie
crumbs, dried flowers, etc - to the top or sides of your shell.

ROYAL ICING

Royal icing, like chocolate, is a great multi-purpose topping that can be

used for decoration and flavor. Though most basic royal icing recipes just
taste like sugar, you can add in any spice or extract to enhance the flavor of
your macarons. Royal icing also provides a nice crunch layer that does not
interfere in any way with how your macarons mature!

NUTS & CRUMBS

Nuts and crumbs can be added to your macaron shells before baking, around
the sides of your macaron just after the ganache is piped, or onto the top or
sides of the macaron with the assistance of chocolate or royal icing. These
ingredients are fantastic for providing a layer of texture in addition to
enhancing or complimenting whatever flavor you have filling your
macarons. You will see later how I use Oreo crumbs on top of the macaron
shells I filled with Oreo ganache - to really double down on the flavor - as
well as chopped hazelnuts on top of my Ferrero Rocher ganache macarons.
 Tips:
BE CAREFUL NOT TO ADD TOO MUCH MOISTURE

Since ganache already has quite a bit of moisture, you want to be just a
bit cautious as you add secondary fillings such as curds, milk jams,
caramels, jams, gelees etc. If you are worried about it or feel like you
are adding a lot of moisture to your macaron, spread a thin layer of
white chocolate across your macaron shells as a barrier to prevent them
from becoming too moist too quickly.

EXPERIMENT EVEN WITHIN THE SAME BATCH

Even if you use the same ganache for all of the macarons you are making,
you might want to think about trying out some different secondary
fillings and toppings - especially if you are experimenting with
something new! Try a curd in half of your batch or dip half of your
macarons in chocolate. Not every single experiment turns out exactly
how you want it to, and it is very challenging to make only a handful of
macarons - so take advantage of your batch and try out several things at
once!

MULTI-PURPOSE YOUR SECONDARY FILLINGS

It can be easier to make many secondary fillings in larger batch sizes
than you need. Instead of trying to make exactly the amount of a
secondary filling I need, I try to multipurpose the fillings into either
other bakes or just for myself. Except for gelee - which is more
challenging to multipurpose - nearly every secondary filling can be used
as a cake or cookie filling, spread on toast or on a scone, used in
overnight oats, or added to a leftover scraps trifle.

- 90 -
Basic Ganache Recipes

CLASSIC WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE

PASTRY CREAM STYLE GANACHE

BASIC WHIPPED GANACHE

- 38 -
 Classic White
Chocolate Ganache
A classic white chocolate ganache is about as basic as you can get for

a macaron filling - all it really needs is cream, white chocolate and a

touch of butter. With few ingredients, a quick process and simple steps,

classic white chocolate ganache is perfect for anyone new to ganache

or even macaron making or pastries in general. The downside to this

style of ganache is that it uses such a high ratio of chocolate, and that

white chocolate is quite sweet - so in a large amount this ganache runs

on the sweeter side.

All of that said, by using good quality chocolate alongside some vanilla,

even this basic ganache is quite delicious! It also makes the perfect

canvas for building new flavor profiles and making adaptations, so it is

a fantastic recipe to have in your repertoire.

- 39 -
 Classic White
Chocolate Ganache
INGREDIENTS NOTE

100g Cream Technically the most basic classic white

chocolate ganache wouldn’t even have
200g White Chocolate
vanilla extract. I have an incredibly
20g Butter (room hard time making a white chocolate

temperature, unsalted) ganache without adding in vanilla - in

extract or paste form - which is why I
Vanilla Extract (about 1
have included it in this recipe.
teaspoon, or to taste)

If you want your classic white

Yield: 24-40 macarons chocolate ganache to taste solely of

white chocolate, you can remove the
(please read the Calculating
vanilla without any issues or
Macaron Fillings chapter)
replacements.
DIRECTIONS

1.Combine the cream and vanilla in a small saucepan and place on

medium heat.

2. Stir the cream occasionally and heat it until it reaches a scald. At

this point, you will see steam rising from the cream. If you notice any
bubbles - if the cream begins to simmer or boil - you have gone too
far. With a simple ganache like this, it wouldn’t be the end of the
world, but overheating the cream is the #1 problem when creating a
ganache - so do be careful during this step.

3. While the cream is heating, place the white chocolate in a small

bowl and partially melt it using a microwave or double boiler. The
chocolate does not need to be completely melted - the goal is to warm
it up enough so that the cream will not need to work so hard to finish
melting it later.
DIRECTIONS

4. When the cream reaches a scald, immediately pour it over the

partially melted chocolate.

5. Let the cream and chocolate sit for a minute or two before stirring
them together with a spoon or spatula.

6. After the ganache begins to look homogenous, switch from your

spoon or spatula to an immersion blender and emulsify the ganache.

7. Emulsify in the butter one piece at a time. If your butter is not at

room temperature, it might be challenging to properly emulsify it into
the ganache - so please make sure the butter is soft enough that you
can squish it between your fingers before you begin the recipe.
DIRECTIONS

8. Pour the finished ganache into a new container and cover the
surface on contact with plastic wrap. Personally I like to use a
plastic wrap lined sheet pan, since it provides a lot of surface area
for the ganache - which in turn allows the ganache to cool quite
quickly. You can use whatever dish or container you prefer as long
as the surface is covered on contact with plastic wrap.

9. Leave the ganache at room temperature to cool and set up. A

classic style ganache will usually be ready to use in 2-6 hours,
depending on how thick the layer of ganache is, the temperature of
your kitchen, etc. If you are ready to use the ganache and it is still a
bit soft, you can place it in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes (up to
overnight) before transferring it into your piping bag to use.
Pastry Cream Style White
Chocolate Ganache
The first time I made pastry cream style white chocolate ganache I was

incredibly skeptical - so I don’t blame you if you are checking out the

ingredient list for this recipe and feeling confused as well. Though I

must admit that the first time I saw this style of ganache recipe it was

a photo of a photocopied paper of a torn recipe from a book or

magazine - so in general I thought my chef at the time was losing his

mind!

After you taste this ganache , there is simply no going back. It is so

incredibly creamy, it pipes like a dream, it holds up quite well in

macarons, and compared to a classic ganache, it uses less than half the

amount of chocolate! It is more technically challenging - so make sure

to pay close attention - but once you get the hang of it, I am sure this

ganache will become a favorite of yours in no time as well.

- 45 -
Pastry Cream Style White
Chocolate Ganache
INGREDIENTS NOTE

130g + 60g Cream

As with the Classic White Chocolate
45g Sugar Ganache recipe, the vanilla paste in this

16g Cornstarch recipe is technically optional - and can

be removed or swapped for vanilla
100g White Chocolate
extract as you prefer. The sugar and
55g Butter (room
cornstarch, however, are not optional. I
temperature, unsalted) know it might seem strange to add

Vanilla Paste (1 teaspoon cornstarch into a ganache, and to add

sugar into a recipe that already uses
or to taste)
white chocolate - but these ingredients
are necessary to create a sturdy and
Yield: 32-50 macarons
smooth pastry cream, which is the
(please read the
foundation of the recipe.
Calculating Macaron
Fillings chapter for more
information)

- 46 -
DIRECTIONS

1.Begin by adding 130g of cream, the sugar and vanilla (if using) into a
small saucepan.

2. Add the remaining 60g of cream and cornstarch into a small bowl,
and separately place the white chocolate in another small bowl.

3. Before you begin the pastry cream portion of the recipe, partially
melt the white chocolate using a microwave or a double boiler.

4. Place the saucepan on the stove on medium low heat and whisk well
to combine the sugar and cream.
DIRECTIONS

5. Once the sugar dissolves and the cream mixture becomes hot,
temper a portion of the cream into the cornstarch mixture and whisk
well to combine.

6. Transfer everything back into the saucepan and whisk continuously

over medium low or low heat until the mixture thickens. DO NOT turn
up the heat, even if it feels like this process is taking a long time, and
DO NOT walk away from the pastry cream mixture or it can over cook
or burn at the bottom of the pan.

7. Once the mixture thickens (see photo below) and your whisk leaves
distinct tracts as you stir, the pastry cream is ready. It is okay if the
mixture begins to bubble - but after you notice a few bubbles, remove
the pan from the heat immediately. The number one issue folks have
with making this ganache is over cooking or over heating the pastry
cream mixture, so please keep an eye on this step in the process!
DIRECTIONS

8. Pour the thickened pastry cream mixture over the top of the
partially melted white chocolate. Let these ingredients rest for a
minute or two before using a spoon or spatula to stir them together.

9. Stir the chocolate and cream until they become homogenous, then
let the ganache rest at room temperature for around 15-20 minutes so
it can cool to just above room temperature. You want the ganache to
be slightly warm when you add the butter, but if the ganache is too
hot it can split as you add in the butter.

10. After the ganache has had some time to cool, use an immersion
blender to emulsify the chocolate and cream mixture. Though you can
try making this ganache with only a whisk, it is very challenging to
achieve the proper results without an immersion blender!
DIRECTIONS

11. Add in the butter (room temperature, of course!) one piece at a

time, emulsifying in after each addition with your immersion blender.

12. After all of the butter has been added in, and the ganache is
looking smooth and homogenous, transfer the ganache into a new
container and cover the surface on contact with plastic wrap.
Remember that the greater the surface area your ganache has as it
cools, the faster it will cool and set up. I recommend using a plastic
wrap lined sheet pan to make both the cooling process and storage as
it cools very fast and easy (the sheet pan method of cooling is used
quite often in professional kitchens - for everything from ganache to
jam to gels etc).

13. Usually a pastry cream style ganache will cool and set up within
about 3-6 hours, though it will depend on the thickness of your layer
of ganache as it cools as well as the temperature of your kitchen. If
you are ready to fill your macarons and the ganache has not set up yet,
you can place it in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes (up to
overnight) before transferring the ganache into your piping bag.

14. Fill your macarons, sandwich them and get them into the
refrigerator to mature. Pastry cream style ganache filled macarons
have a higher ratio of cream to chocolate than a classic ganache, and
some folks find that this style of ganache matures their macarons more
quickly - so if it is new to you, I recommend keeping an eye on how
your macarons are maturing over the next 72 hours for reference.

- 50 -
NOTES

This style of ganache is going to be a bit softer - particularly at room

temperature, especially the day it is made - than a classic ganache. If
you have never made a pastry cream style of ganache before, you might
be expecting it to continue to set up or harden as it cools at room
temperature.

When it is ready, you should be able to pull a spoon or spatula

through the ganache and leave tracks and ridges that remain even
several minutes later (see photo above). If you pull your spoon
through the ganache and the tracks and ridges fall rather quickly, the
ganache has not set up enough. If your ganache does not set up even
after being in the refrigerator overnight, chances are the pastry cream
portion of the recipe was not cooked long enough and therefore did
not thicken properly!
Vanilla Whipped Ganache
Whipped ganache is one of my favorite pastry recipes - and while I

typically use it in large format macarons or in pastries other than

macarons, it makes a great macaron filling as well! For some reason

whipped ganache has been having it’s moment in the sun on social

media, so if you are making macarons to share, sell, or just as content

for your channels, it is definitely going to be a crowd favorite. The

nearly 3:1 ratio of cream to chocolate also make this a preferred recipe

for anyone who enjoys macarons that are not overly sweet.

Whipped ganaches use gelatin for stability, which means the ganache

needs to rest in the refrigerator to set up before it can be used. If you

are newer to making whipped ganaches, make sure to read through the

entire recipe to make sure you plan your baking schedule accordingly!

- 53 -
Vanilla Whipped Ganache
INGREDIENTS NOTES

100g White Chocolate As with the previous two basic recipes,

the vanilla paste in this ganache is
20g Glucose or Corn
technically optional, and can be removed
Syrup
or substituted for vanilla extract.
100g + 180g Cream However particularly in this ganache,

4g Gelatin with such a high ratio of cream, without

the vanilla the ganache will end up
Vanilla Paste (1 teaspoon
primarily tasting like cream - which is
or to taste)
still great, but not an intense flavor.

Yield: 36-50 macarons If you do not consume gelatin, you can

(please read the swap the gelatin for another gelling
Calculating Macaron agent such as agar - just make sure to
Fillings chapter for more determine the appropriate quantity to
information) exchange before you do so!
DIRECTIONS

1.Begin by blooming your gelatin. I prefer using sheet gelatin in my

home kitchen - if you are using sheet gelatin as well, all you need to
do is soak it in some ice cold water for a few minutes, then pull it out
and squeeze it to remove any excess water. You can also use powdered
gelatin (bloomed in 6x the weight of the gelatin) or gelatin mass
(which has already been cooked and does not need to be bloomed).

2. Place the 100g of cream, glucose or corn syrup and vanilla (if using)
into a small saucepan, and place on medium low heat.

3. While the cream is heating, partially melt the chocolate in a small

bowl in the microwave or using a double boiler.
DIRECTIONS

4. When the cream in the saucepan comes to a scald and the glucose /
corn syrup has melted into the cream, remove it from the heat and
immediately add in the bloomed gelatin.

5. Stir the cream until the gelatin has melted, then immediately pour
the cream mixture over the partially melted chocolate.

6. As with any ganache, let the cream and chocolate sit for a minute or
two before stirring them together until they are homogenous with a
spoon or spatula.

7. Switch from your spoon or spatula to an immersion blender, and

emulsify the ganache base.
DIRECTIONS

8. While emulsifying with your immersion blender, slowly but steadily

pour in the remaining 180g cream. Mix just until all of the cream is
incorporated into the ganache base.

9. Transfer the whipped ganache into a new container and cover the
surface on contact with plastic wrap. The ganache should immediately
go into the refrigerator and be left to refrigerate for a minimum of 4-6
hours, or overnight. Since I prefer to let my whipped ganaches chill
overnight, I do not worry about the surface are or cooling this
ganache quickly - as I do with classic and pastry cream style ganaches.

10. After the ganache has cooled and set up, transfer it into a medium
sized bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer. I often use a hand mixer
for my whipped ganaches, since when I prepare them in my home
kitchen I use a relatively small batch size.
DIRECTIONS

11. First use a low speed on your mixer to break the bonds the gelatin
formed as it cooled. In the beginning the whipped ganache will look
quite thick - though it should be easy to scoop out of the container.

12. Increase the speed of your mixer once the ganache begins to look
smooth, and whip the ganache for about 1-3 minutes. Ideally you should
whip a whipped ganache to a medium stiff or stiff peak. This ganache is
quite forgiving, and it is actually quite hard to over-whip, which is why
it is one of my favorite basic ganache recipes! That said, it is hard to
come back from an over-whipped ganache, so I recommend stopping
your mixer once you reach a medium stiff peak just to be safe.

13. When you pull the whisk attachment out of the ganache, you should
notice peaks that stand up with just a slight curve to the very tip.
DIRECTIONS

14. Transfer the whipped ganache into your piping bag and fill your
macarons immediately. Whipped ganache is best when piped within 10-
20 minutes of whipping it - so if you are not ready to fill your
macarons, I do not recommend whipping your ganache yet.

15. Sandwich the filled macarons and refrigerate to mature. Whipped

ganache filled macarons will mature much more quickly than classic
ganache or pastry cream style ganache filled macarons - and these will
likely be ready to eat even within 6 hours after filling.

Note: Whipped ganache filled macarons also have a shorter shelf life
than other styles of macarons. I recommend freezing the macarons
right away if you do not plan to eat them within the next 48 hours, and
mature whipped ganache filled macarons left in the refrigerator
should be consumed within 72 hours, or the shells will likely become
overly moist and soggy.
Infusing Cream Adaptations

THAI TEA GANACHE

CARDAMOM VANILLA GANACHE

- 61 -
Infusing Cream Adaptations
Infusing the cream (or whatever liquid) you are using for a ganache is
one of the best ways to incorporate a new flavor profile into the recipe.
In particular, it is one of the best methods of adaptation to begin with
as infusing the cream does not run the risk of changing the texture or
structure of the final ganache - so it is a very safe change to make. It is
also a method that works equally well for all three basic types of
ganache: classic, pastry cream style and whipped ganache.

There are two primary methods of infusing an ingredient into cream:

cold and hot infusion. The cold infusion method requires a longer
period of time - as you begin 8-12 hours before you want to use the
cream, and let the cream and new ingredient sit overnight in an airtight
container in the refrigerator. If you have planned your bake in advance,
this is a great method to choose. Since the infusion is relatively slow
and no heat is applied, it can also prevent bitter flavors from
developing.

The hot infusion method combines the cream and new ingredient and
heats them together before allowing them to steep - just like you would
if you made tea or coffee in a French press. This method is much faster -
as you can usually steep the cream and new ingredient for as little as
five minutes after warming them. However, depending on the ingredient
you can occasionally end up with bitter flavors from whatever
ingredient you choose to use.

Depending on your preference, schedule and ingredient, you can pick

whichever method of infusion is best for your bake! As always, I
recommend trying out both before you pick which you prefer going
forward with in future bakes.
 Common Ingredients to
Infuse into Cream:
Anything solid that won’t completely disintegrate into cream and can be
strained and removed after infusing can be used to infuse a cream for
ganache - so as you might imagine the options are nearly endless.

Some of the easiest ingredients include whole spices (cinnamon, star anise,
cloves, etc) loose leaf tea (Earl Grey, jasmine, etc) coffee (whole beans or
grounds) and fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, sage, etc).

Just make sure to begin with more cream than your recipe calls for, as when
you strain out your new ingredient, that ingredient will have soaked up
some of the cream in the infusion process! If you do not begin with extra
cream, you will likely not have enough infused cream for your ganache
recipe.

Quantities for Infusions:

There is a lot of wiggle room in determining the ratio of ingredients you are
using to infuse a cream, as the cream both before and after will remain
cream and the added flavor will not do anything to change the structure or
texture of the final ganache. As you go about your infusions, think about
the strength of flavor you are looking for, the quantity of ingredients you
have available to you, and the amount of time you want to put towards the
infusion.

If I had to give you a general outline, I would recommend using between 1

teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of your chosen ingredient per 150g of cream. You
can of course use more or less than this - but this is a fairly good place to
start.

Remember that the more of your infusion ingredient you use, the faster and
more intensely the flavor will infuse into the cream. For example, let’s say
you infuse one teaspoon of Earl Grey tea into 150g of cream using the hot
infusion method and steep the tea in the cream for five minutes. You will
likely end up with a cream that tastes and smells like Earl Grey and can
proceed with your recipe, and if the cream doesn’t seem infused enough you
can add a few more minutes on to the infusion time. However if you were to
use one tablespoon of tea in the same quantity of cream, your cream will
infuse more intensely and more quickly!

Depending on the amount of a particular ingredient you have, the strength

of flavor you are interested in, and the amount of time you have to dedicate
to the infusion process, you can adjust the method of infusion and the ratio
of ingredients to suit your recipe and situation.

- 63 -
 Tips:
DON’T BE SHY WITH WHAT YOU INFUSE
Try out all manner of ingredients that can be strained out of cream with a
sieve! You can also double up on various ingredients - there is nothing
stopping you from using only one element in your infusion. If you want to
combine eight different spices and tea to create your own chai infusion - go
for it. But also, if you want to keep things simple and just infuse one thing
at a time in the beginning, that is perfectly fine too!

TRY BOTH WARM AND COLD INFUSION METHODS

I frequently use the warm infusion method in my kitchen, but there are
times when I really prefer the style or taste of a cold infusion! You will
never know which style you prefer unless you try them both, so whether you
are new to ganache or an experienced baker, I really recommend you
experiment with both methods in your kitchen to see which style suits your
current experiments and current kitchen the best.

BROWSE YOUR LOCAL TEA OR SPICE SHOP FOR INSPIRATION

If you are ever feeling a lack of inspiration for a new ganache recipe,
seriously just go to a tea or spice shop. Most tea shops have dozens if not
hundreds of teas available - and every single one of them can be
transformed into an infused ganache. The same goes for spice shops - I too
get stuck in ruts of using the same spices I keep on hand at home, so it
really helps me think outside my baking box to see and smell new things and
new combinations of things to get my creative juices flowing.

YOU DO NOT NEED TO INFUSE CREAM TO INFUSE A GANACHE

Yes, you should be infusing something into the liquid of your ganache.
However, you can layer adaptation techniques on top of each other in the
same recipe! If you want to use coconut milk, espresso or a fruit puree in
your recipe - those are all things you could infuse an ingredient into as
well.

That said, personally I think it is easier to infuse most ingredients into

regular dairy cream, but it is not mandatory! There are also some
ingredients that take better to particular forms of infusion. For example,
coconut cream is so thick that if you try to cold infuse it, you will likely get
little to no result from your efforts - so I would put coconut cream in the
hot infusion category. Something like cold brew, on the other hand, is a
perfect candidate for an overnight infusion in the refrigerator - which
might be a strategy you want to apply in the fall when PSL season rolls
around again.

- 64 -
 Thai Tea Macarons
I am a huge fan of Thai tea - both hot and iced - in it’s original

beverage form, and since the flavor is so intense and distinctive, this tea

is a fantastic addition to many pastry recipes and is very easy to work

with using the infusion method. Thai tea is often prepared with

sweetened condensed milk, and though this ganache recipe does not use

condensed milk, the white chocolate provides a similar creamy sweetness

that allows the ganache to taste very similar to the original drink!

If you have never tried Thai tea before or if for some reason this flavor

is not for you, you can use this exact recipe and the same infusion

technique and apply it to any other tea. Tea infused ganaches are

perfect for bakers who are new to making various flavors of ganache or

adapting recipes for the first time, since it is such a simple process.

- 65 -
 Thai Tea Ganache
INGREDIENTS ADAPTATION NOTES

130g Cream As you can see from the ingredients, the

1 tablespoon Thai Tea only additional element in this recipe (as

compared to the classic white chocolate
200g White Chocolate
ganache recipe) is the Thai tea. Since I
20g Butter (room will be infusing the tea into the cream

temperature, unsalted) and the tea will absorb some of the cream
in the process, I am beginning with 130g
of cream even though I only need 100g of
Note:
cream for the ganache. If you begin with

I used tea from Yin Tea the 100g of cream needed for the recipe,
you will likely be short on cream when
Co, though there are
you prepare the ganache - meaning you
numerous brands of Thai
will need to supplement it with non-
tea and you can pick infused cream or your ganache runs the
risk of being too thick.
whichever one is your

favorite or most
I did omit the vanilla extract from the
conveniently available to original ganache recipe, though if you

you want to keep it in the new Thai tea recipe

that is okay as well.
DIRECTIONS

1.Prepare the cream the night or day before you want to use it using
the cold infusion method. Place the cream and Thai tea into a small
airtight container and stir to combine. If the tea is simply floating on
top of the cream when you put it into the refrigerator, the cream will
not properly become infused.

2. The following day, strain the tea leaves out of the cream using a
fine mesh sieve and/or cheese cloth and measure out 100g of infused
cream. If you only use a sieve, you may end up with little particles of
tea leaves in your ganache. This does not bother me - in fact I quite
like it - but if you want to be sure to remove every speck of tea leaf,
make sure to use cheese cloth as well!
DIRECTIONS

3. Place 100g of Thai tea cream into a small saucepan and place it on
medium low heat.

4. Meanwhile, place the white chocolate in a small bowl and use a

microwave or double boiler to partially melt the white chocolate.

5. When the cream comes to a scald - make sure it does not over heat
and come to a simmer! - remove it from the heat and pour it over the
partially melted chocolate.

6. Let the chocolate and cream sit without touching it for a minute or
two before using a spoon or spatula to stir everything together.

7. Switch to an immersion blender and emulsify the butter into the

ganache one piece at a time.
DIRECTIONS

8. After all of the butter has been incorporated and the ganache is
smooth, transfer it into a new container and cover the surface on
contact with plastic wrap. Remember: the more surface area your
ganache has, the faster it will cool down and be ready to use!

9. Leave the ganache at room temperature to set up before transferring

it into your piping bag to fill your macarons. A classic style ganache
like this one will generally set up within 2-6 hours, though if you are
ready to fill and the ganache still seems soft, you can place the
ganache in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes to help it solidify.

10. If you are not going to fill your macarons the same day, store the
ganache in the refrigerator overnight. The ganache can be stored in an
airtight container in the refrigerator for about one week or in the
freezer for about two months, though it is best to use the ganache
within one day of preparing it.
 Notes on the Macaron
For the Macaron Shell:

Sometimes when I make tea flavored macarons, I like to add some of the
ground up tea powder into the dry ingredients of the macaron or sprinkled
on top as decoration. While that is an option here, since the Thai tea
flavor is so intense in this ganache I decided to stick with basic French
meringue macaron shells - colored with a bit of Apricot gel colorant.

About the Filling:

Again, if you want to swap the Thai tea for any other tea - Earl Grey,
darjeeling, English breakfast, jasmine, rooibos, etc. - you absolutely can.
If you want to continue adapting this recipe, Thai tea and caramel are also
a great flavor pairing! You could swap some of the regular white chocolate
for a caramelized white chocolate for a bit of added depth of flavor. I
also once had a Thai tea matcha latte that was absolutely incredible (and
maybe the most caffeine I have consumed in one sitting) that might be
worth experimenting with as well.

- 70 -
 Cardamom
Vanilla Ganache
Cardamom is one of my favorite spices, and it is a great spice to infuse

into cream in its pod form. Though I am always tempted to start

throwing in all manner of warm spices as soon as I pull out the

cardamom pods in my kitchen, I did stop myself at just cardamom and

vanilla bean for this recipe. Cardamom and vanilla bean are both

delicious on their own - and independently they can fall into ‘simple

classic’ and ‘simple warm and cozy’ flavor categories. Together though,

they are really something special, even as a very basic ganache!

To help keep the focus on the spices in this recipe, I chose to use a

pastry cream style ganache recipe - which has less of a white chocolate

flavor than a classic ganache, and will therefore let the cardamom and

vanilla shine a bit more easily.

- 72 -
Cardamom Vanilla Ganache

INGREDIENTS ADAPTATION NOTES

140g + 60g Cream If you take a look at the recipe, you

will notice that in addition to the new
45g Sugar
flavor element - the cardamom pods -
12 Cardamom Pods
this recipe has 10g more cream than the
1x Vanilla Bean original pastry cream style ganache

16g Cornstarch recipe. Cardamom pods and vanilla

beans do not absorb a lot of cream
100g White Chocolate
during the infusion process, but they
55g Butter (room
will absorb a little! For the actual
temperature, unsalted) ganache recipe, I want to use 130g +
60g, so I am counting on losing about

Note: 10g of cream during the infusion

process. For a pastry cream style
You can replace the
ganache you can either infuse all of the
vanilla bean with vanilla
cream or you can infuse just the greater
paste or extract. If you do
portion. Depending on how much of the
so, you can add the vanilla
cream you infuse the spices into, you
in with the cream and
can adjust the strength of the spice
sugar after infusing the
flavor in the ganache.
cream with the cardamom.
DIRECTIONS

1.Begin by crushing the cardamom pods. I just use the bottom of a cup
to do this - they have a firm outer shell but they are fairly easy to
crack open.

2. If you are using a vanilla bean, slice it lengthwise and use the back
of a knife to scrape out all of the seeds from both sides.

3. Place the cream (at least the 140g but you can infuse the 140g + 60g
if you prefer), the crushed cardamom, vanilla bean seeds and the
vanilla pod into a small saucepan and bring the mixture to a scald on
medium low heat.

4. Pull the cream off the heat as soon as it is hot and cover the entire
pan in plastic wrap. Let the cream and spices infuse off the heat for 6-
10 minutes before proceeding with the recipe.
DIRECTIONS

5. Strain the vanilla and cardamom

through a fine mesh sieve and weigh
out the cream again. You should have
130g of cream to place back into your
saucepan, and 60g of cream that can
be placed in a small bowl. If you are
short on cream, you can add cream to
reach those weights.

6. Add the sugar into the saucepan

with the infused cream and separately
mix the cornstarch into the remaining
60g cream in a small bowl.

7. Place the white chocolate into a

small bowl and partially melt it using
a microwave or double boiler.

8. When everything is prepared, place

the saucepan of cream on medium low
heat and whisk to combine the sugar
and cream.

9. After the sugar dissolves and the

cream becomes hot, temper some of
the hot cream mixture into the bowl
with the cornstarch and whisk well to
combine.

10. Transfer everything back into the

saucepan and cook, whisking
continuously, on medium low or low
heat.
DIRECTIONS

11. Continue whisking the pastry cream mixture until it thickens. When
it is thick enough, you will see clear tracks forming in the cream and
it will just barely reach a boil. If the cream is very thick (see photo
below) but has not reached a boil yet, it is likely ready anyway and
you can remove it from the heat.

12. Pour the thickened cream over the top of the partially melted
chocolate. Let that sit for one or two minutes before stirring the
cream and chocolate together with a spoon or spatula.

13. After the preliminary ganache forms a homogenous mixture, let it

rest at room temperature for about 15-20 minutes. The ganache mixture
needs to cool down to just above room temperature before you
emulsify in the butter.
DIRECTIONS

14. Once the ganache has cooled slightly, emulsify it with an

immersion blender until it looks silky smooth.

15. Emulsify in the butter (please make sure it is room temperature, or

it will be hard to incorporate!) one piece at a time.

16. After all of the butter has been incorporated, transfer the ganache
into a new container and cover the surface on contact with plastic
wrap.

17. Once the ganache cools and sets up completely, transfer it into a
piping bag and fill your waiting macaron shells. Typically a pastry
cream style ganache will take 3-6 hours to cool and set up completely,
but if you are ready to go and the ganache still seems soft, you can
place it in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes (up to overnight) before
using it.
 Notes on the Macaron
For the Macaron Shell:

Despite having complete faith that the cardamom vanilla infusion into the
ganache would be quite strong, I also added about 1/8 teaspoon of ground
cardamom into the dry ingredients of my French meringue macaron shell. To
color the shells, I decided to use a Taupe gel food colorant, as I thought it
encompassed the colors of ground cardamom and vanilla quite nicely.

About the Filling:

I could eat cardamom vanilla ganache every day and never get bored. That
said, if you wanted to follow this exact recipe and also toss in some other
warm spices like a cinnamon stick, star anise, cloves, peppercorns, etc. you
could also end up with a very tasty spiced ganache. If you want to go in a
cardamom bun direction (and I mean, who doesn’t?) you could also add a
bit of cinnamon into your infusion, swap some white chocolate for a bit of
caramelized white chocolate, and add in a bit of cake mix (see the Adding
to the Recipe chapter) to take this relatively basic ganache to the next
level of flavor.

- 78 -
Replacing Cream Adaptations

PASSION FRUIT ORANGE GANACHE

BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE GANACHE

- 80 -
 Replacing the
Cream Adaptations
As we know, ganache is formed by combining (at the very least) cream and
chocolate. Though to be honest the cream does not necessarily need to be
actual dairy cream - it can be all manner of liquid.

For the most part, cream can be replaced in ganache recipes at a 1:1 ratio.
So if you remove 50g of cream, you should add in 50g of your new liquid.
Occasionally, if you are using a liquid with a different consistency - say
something thinner like cold brew - you might want to add just a little bit
less - say 45g instead of 50g. If you are replacing the cream with something
very thick - for example cream cheese or coconut cream - you might actually
want to add just a tiny bit more - for example 55g instead of 50g.

Though you technically can replace 100% of the cream in a ganache recipe -
particularly for classic ganache and pastry cream style ganache recipes - I
personally tend to prefer ganache recipes that replace 50-80% of the cream
with something new, and keep at least a tiny amount of cream in the recipe.
This is especially true for when I use fruit purees as a cream replacement,
as the texture of a fruit puree is quite different from cream and I like to
help the ganache retain as much of it’s original creamy texture as possible.

When you are replacing the cream in a whipped ganache, I recommend

replacing up to 100% of the cream used for the first portion of the recipe
that is heated with the sugar and used to melt the gelatin. If you begin
replacing some or all of the second portion of cream, you will likely run
into challenges when you go to whip and pipe the ganache later on.

There are a few liquids you want to be cautious of, so before we look at
which ingredients I absolutely recommend you try out, I want to be clear
that alcohol and very acidic fruits like lemon and lime are not going to fall
into the 1:1 cream replacement ratio. Very occasionally, with a creamy
alcohol like Kahlua, you can sneak it into a recipe as a cream replacement
in a similar way to how you would add a bit of espresso. Other times you can
replace cream with an alcohol if you first reduce it into a thicker syrup -
such as when you make a champagne ganache. Most of the time though, an
alcohol addition is best tossed in at the end of a ganache recipe - while also
slightly reducing the amount of cream used in the recipe. Make sure to
check out the Use with Caution section for additional information about
approaching alcohol and acidic citrus in ganache recipes.

- 81 -
 Ingredients to Use
as a Cream Replacement:
There are several obvious choices for a cream replacement as well as a few
that you might not expect, so let’s take a look at a few!

First, coconut cream or any non-dairy cream replacement can typically be

swapped into a ganache recipe with ease, and most of the time these
ingredients maintain the original texture of a cream based ganache. These
ingredients are things I would swap 60-100% of the cream in my recipe for,
since they have such similar textures.

Next, you have fruit purees. Fruit purees can lead to a slightly different
texture, but they are a fantastic way to add both flavor and color into your
ganaches. Fruits like strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, cassis, peach, passion
fruit, mango, pineapple, orange juice concentrate and apple juice
concentrate are perfect for adding into a ganache. All of these ingredients
fall into the 50-80% swap category for me, since you want to retain a strong
flavor, but the texture can be hard to control if you go up to a complete 100%
swap.

Additionally things like espresso, cold brew (particularly cold brew

concentrate), and chai tea concentrate can be used as cream replacements.
With these ingredients in particular, I recommend not replacing 100% of the
cream in your recipe. Partially because these ingredients are relatively thin
in comparison to cream and partially because the flavors of these ingredients
are so intense, you might want to stay in the 30-50% range with your
replacement plans.

Lastly, I want to make sure to mention that some ingredients may not
immediately seem like they could be a cream replacement, but they definitely
are. Specifically: soft cheeses. Cream cheese, mascarpone cheese, ricotta, and
any other thick cream or soft cheese that you can think of can actually be
used as a cream replacement! I recommend swapping 30-80% of your cream for
thickened cream and cheeses like these, since they are mild enough that you
can use quite a bit of them without them becoming overpowering, and yet
they are so thick that it is a good idea to retain at least a small amount of
regular cream for the sake of texture. Many people - experienced bakers
included - tend to view many of these ingredients (especially cream cheese)
as a butter replacement since they are thick and spreadable the way butter is
thick and spreadable. Now there are a few times when these ingredients can
be viewed in the butter category, but overall bakes are the most successful
when you view them as a liquid and melt them down!

This section will demonstrate two different methods for replacing cream -
with fruit puree and with cream cheese - but this technique is also used later
in the Ruby Strawberry Ganache in the replacing chocolate chapter of the
book, so make sure to check that recipe out as well.

- 82 -
 Tips:
YOU MIGHT NOT WANT TO REPLACE ALL OF THE CREAM

Though you CAN replace 100% of the cream in a ganache recipe, doing so
can bring the final texture away from the original ganache texture -
particularly when using fruit purees. Especially when you are just
beginning your cream replacement adaptations, I recommend only going
up to 80% in your cream swapping.

REPLACE THE CREAM AS A WAY TO LAYER FLAVORS

It is perfectly fine to replace the cream in a ganache recipe and make

absolutely no other changes. That said, my favorite ganache recipes pack
in the flavor by adding several layers of that flavor into the ganache. If
you only swap the cream for something else, you will likely end up with
a lovely yet mild flavor. If you swap the cream for a new ingredient, and
add a similar ingredient in the form of an addition, chocolate, butter
replacement, etc. you have the opportunity to build on a flavor to help
give it a boost against the strong flavor of the white chocolate in the
recipe.

START WITH EASY SWAPS AND WORK YOUR WAY UP TO MORE

CHALLENGING ONES

Coconut cream is probably the easiest cream replacement you can make,
so if you have never adapted a ganache recipe by replacing the cream
before I would recommend that as a good place to start. After you feel
comfortable with that kind of swap, I recommend using flavorful fruits
that are easy to find in puree form such as mango and passion fruit, and
trying out things like cream cheese. The more you practice making these
changes, the easier it will be to pick a liquid or fruit puree at random
and adding one or more of them into your ganache recipe!

YOU CAN REPLACE THE CREAM WITH MORE THAN ONE NEW
INGREDIENT

Though I do recommend starting simple and working your way up, there
is no reason you can’t add two or more new ingredients when you are
swapping out cream in a ganache recipe! Mixing fruit purees together
for any number of flavor pairings, cream cheese and a fruit to make a
cheesecake ganache, or mixing espresso with mascarpone to create your
own tiramisu ganache are only a few ways to begin replacing cream with
a few ingredients to create the base for a very flavorful ganache recipe.

- 83 -
 Passion Fruit
Orange Macarons
I think passion fruit might be in the top three most requested macaron

flavors. Any time I ask for suggestions, recommendations or do a flavor

poll, passion fruit - by itself or combined with other ingredients - is

always submitted so many times and voted into the finals. As such, I

know a lot of you are going to love this recipe - and anyone you make it

for is probably going to love it too!

This recipe uses my classic white chocolate ganache recipe as a base,

and primarily uses the replacing cream method for making the

adaptations. Luckily for us, a little bit of both passion fruit and orange

go a long way! So even with just a little bit of those ingredients, you

can end up with a bright and vibrant ganache that is absolutely

delicious.

- 84 -
 Passion Fruit
Orange Ganache
INGREDIENTS ADAPTATION NOTES

40g Orange Juice I am using both orange concentrate and

passion fruit puree at a 1:1 replacement
Concentrate*
with the cream in the original recipe.
40g Passion Fruit Puree
Since these are both bold flavors, a little
20g Cream bit will go a long way! To make sure the

150g White Chocolate ganache is creamy though, I did retain

20% of the original cream in the recipe. If
50g Passion Fruit
you want to make an only orange or only
Inspiration Chocolate passion fruit ganache, all you need to do

25g Butter is swap the opposite ingredient for more

of the first - and end up with 80g of the

*Please use orange juice same fruit puree.

concentrate and not

orange juice! Orange juice Additionally I swapped 50g of white

will contain additional chocolate for passion fruit chocolate.

water that we do not need This is not necessary, and you can keep

or want in the ganache. all of the chocolate white chocolate

without any problems!
DIRECTIONS

1.Place the orange juice concentrate, passion fruit puree and cream
into a small saucepan. It is okay if the concentrate and puree are still
partially or completely frozen.

2. Heat the cream and fruit purees on medium low heat, stirring
occasionally, until they come to a scald and you see steam rising from
the saucepan. Do not let the cream mixture come to a simmer, or you
risk over heating the mixture - which can lead to issues in creating
the ganache later on. Preventing the mixture from over heating is also
why I recommend heating the cream and purees on the stove and not in
the microwave. Though you can technically microwave the liquids at
this step, it is much harder to keep an eye on them and monitor the
temperature that way.

3. Meanwhile, place the chocolates into a small bowl and use a

microwave or double boiler to partially melt them.
DIRECTIONS

4. When the cream mixture comes to a

scald, immediately pour it over the
partially melted chocolates.

5. Let the cream and chocolates sit

without touching them for about one or
two minutes. This will allow the heat
from the cream and fruit purees to seep
down into the chocolates and finish
melting them, and make them easier to
combine.

6. Use a spoon or spatula to combine the

cream and chocolates until everything
looks homogenous.

7. Switch over to an immersion blender

and emulsify the ganache. Classic
ganache recipes can technically be made
without the use of an immersion blender
- and you can switch to a whisk at this
stage if you have to (though it is not
recommended).

8. One piece at a time, emulsify in the

butter. Make sure the butter is room
temperature, or you will have a
challenging time fully incorporating the
butter without over mixing or leaving
tiny lumps of butter throughout the
ganache.
DIRECTIONS

9. Transfer the ganache into a new container and cover the surface on
contact with plastic wrap. As always, I prefer using a plastic wrap
lined sheet pan, as it is fast, easy, quick to clean, and provides a large
surface area.

10. Let the ganache sit at room temperature to cool and set up, and
within 2-6 hours it should be ready to use to fill your macarons. If you
are ready to fill your macarons and the ganache still seems a bit soft,
place the ganache into your refrigerator for 30-60 minutes (or up to
overnight) before transferring into your piping bag.

11. Extra ganache can be stored in an airtight container in the

refrigerator or freezer, though I recommend reading through the
Calculating Macaron Fillings and Storing and Reusing Ganache
chapters before making this or any recipe to try to end up with as
little excess as possible
 Notes on the Macaron
For the Macaron Shell:

I used a mixture of Apricot (orange) gel colorant and Autumn Gold (a deep
yellow) powdered gel colorant to create this orange French meringue
macaron shell. After piping the macarons and tapping the trays, I sprinkled
the tops of the shells with white nonpareils before baking.

About the Filling:

I did layer in two adaptation techniques for this recipe - the cream
replacement and the chocolate replacement. If you do not want to replace
a portion of the chocolate with passion fruit chocolate, I recommend
layering in another element of flavor such as fresh orange zest at the very
end after you emulsify in the butter. This classic ganache recipe with an
80% fruit puree and 20% cream liquid addition is a good basic adaptation
ratio to use as you begin experimenting with cream replacements that are
fruit centric. And just like you see in this recipe - you can add two fruits
(or more) into the same ganache! You can use this as a base to make
passion fruit mango ganache, orange coconut ganache, strawberry
raspberry ganache, etc. - the possibilities are nearly endless!

- 89 -
 Blueberry Cheesecake
Macarons
Learning that cream cheese can - and often should - be treated like a

liquid ingredient and melted down was game changing knowledge for

me. I love cream cheese, but so many cream cheese desserts and

frostings end up so sweet that even a dessert lover like myself can’t

always enjoy them. For macaron fillings, the addition of cream cheese

can be so challenging - since most recipes use buckets of powdered

sugar in order to absorb the moisture and stabilize the filling.

Don’t worry - you don’t ever need to worry about using excessive

amounts of powdered sugar in your cream cheese treats ever again! This

pastry cream style ganache swaps cream for cream cheese - with a

little blueberry thrown in for excitement - and the result is a ganache

that you will want to start making on repeat for the rest of the year.

- 91 -
 Blueberry
Cheesecake Ganache
INGREDIENTS ADAPTATION NOTES

95g Cream Cheese I replaced 50% of the weight of cream in

35g + 60g Cream the original pastry cream style ganache

recipe with cream cheese as the main
50g Sugar
adaptation for this recipe. To help
Vanilla Paste (to taste) stabilize the ganache, I decided to

18g Cornstarch increase the sugar by 5g and the

cornstarch by 2g - these changes are just
100g White Chocolate
to ensure the ganache sets up nicely and
55g Butter (room
is easy to pipe later on!
temperature, unsalted)

10-15g Freeze Dried I added the freeze dried blueberries to

turn this ganache into a blueberry
Blueberries
cheesecake ganache - but if you simply
leave them out you are left with a
delicious vanilla cheesecake ganache as
well - so make sure to give that a try!
DIRECTIONS

1.Add the 35g cream, cream cheese, sugar and vanilla paste into a small
saucepan and place on medium low or low heat.

2. Combine the remaining 60g cream and cornstarch in a small bowl

and stir to combine.

3. As the cream cheese mixture begins to melt and warm, place the
chocolate into a small bowl and partially melt the chocolate using a
microwave or double boiler.

4. Keep a close eye on the cream cheese mixture and stir it frequently
to make sure the cream cheese melts and the sugar dissolves.
DIRECTIONS

5. After the cream cheese completely melts, temper some of it into the
cornstarch mixture and mix to combine.

6. Transfer everything back into the saucepan and whisk continuously

on medium low or low heat until it thickens and looks like a pastry
cream or custard. As soon as it thickens completely remove the cream
from the heat and pour it over the partially melted chocolate.

7. Use a spoon or spatula to stir the cream cheese mixture and

chocolate together until it looks homogenous. Let the mixture rest for
about 15-20 minutes at room temperature so it can cool down a bit.

8. After the ganache has cooled to just above room temperature,

emulsify it with an immersion blender until it becomes smooth and
glossy.
DIRECTIONS

9. Using the immersion blender, emulsify in the butter (room

temperature of course) one piece at a time until it is completely
incorporated. At this point you have achieved a vanilla cheesecake
ganache - and you can end here if that is what you wanted to create!

10. To create the blueberry cheesecake ganache, fold in freeze dried

blueberry powder using a spoon or spatula until it is completely
combined.

11. Transfer the ganache into a new container and cover the surface on
contact with plastic wrap. I prefer using a plastic wrap lined sheet
pan, though if you want to use another type of dish or bowl that is
okay too. Just make sure to press the plastic wrap down against the
surface of the ganache so a skin doesn’t form as it cools and sets up.
DIRECTIONS

12. If the ganache still seems soft when you are ready to use it,
refrigerate it from 30-60 minutes (or overnight) before transferring it
into a piping bag to fill your macarons. Since this ganache contains
cream cheese, it is a good idea to refrigerate the ganache if you are
not going to use it within four hours of finishing the ganache for food
safety reasons.

13. Fill your macarons, sandwich them and get them into your
refrigerator to mature or your freezer for longer term storage.

Note:

Cream cheese based fillings tend to be quite moist, and as such

macarons filled with a cream cheese filling can mature more quickly
than macarons filling recipes without cream cheese. Since this recipe
is both a pastry cream style ganache and contains cream cheese, it will
likely lead to macarons that mature on the faster end of the spectrum!

That said, there are many variables that go into how quickly a macaron
matures, including how baked your macaron shell is, if you use a
chocolate barrier on your macaron shells, if you use a secondary
filling, how you store your macarons, etc. If a cream cheese filling or
pastry cream ganache are new to you, I recommend keeping an eye on
your macarons for the first 72 hours after you make them, so you can
keep note for the timeline in your personal kitchen for these macarons
for the sake of future bakes.
 Notes on the Macaron
For the Macaron Shell:

I used a mix of Wedgewood and Royal Blue gel food colorants to color
these blueberry cheesecake macaron shells. After piping the macarons and
tapping the trays, I sprinkled the shells with crushed graham cracker
pieces. If you want to keep the cheesecake vibe but are seeking an
alternate ingredient, any GF version of graham crackers, Biscoff cookies or
anything with a similar texture that could be used as a cheesecake base
will work just as well!

About the Filling:

You can use this recipe as the basis for nearly any “XYZ Cheesecake
Ganache” recipe! Without the freeze dried blueberries (which I simply
couldn’t help myself from adding) you have the perfect cheesecake
ganache that is ready for any adaptation you can think of. The cheesecake
ganache can simply be paired with a secondary filling such as a curd, jam
or compote to create nearly any variety of fruit cheesecake macaron you
can think of. If you want to adapt the ganache further, particularly with
cream adaptations, you can replace more of the cream or more of the
cream along with a portion of the cream cheese replacement with another
liquid ingredient for even more flavor layering options.

- 97 -
Adding to the Recipe
Adaptations
COOKIES AND CREAM GANACHE

LEMON BASIL GANACHE

VANILLA LATTE WHIPPED GANACHE

- 99 -
Adding to the Recipe Adaptations
Most of the time when you adapt a recipe in the pastry world, you need to
maintain a particular balance or things will go awry. This means making
swaps and removing some or all of one ingredient when you add in another.
However some of the time you can add in new ingredients without worrying
about subtracting anything from the original recipe.

If you are trying to figure out if a potential ingredient could be added into
a ganache recipe without making substitutions, consider flavors that are
usually added in teaspoon measurements or an ingredient that can dissolve
in or easily be mixed into cream or another liquid.

Extracts & Spices

Any sort of extract or liquid flavoring can be added into a ganache since
these flavors are so concentrated you can usually add quite a small amount
in comparison to the rest of the liquid in the recipe. Because of this, there
is no need to worry about adjusting the weight of the cream or liquid you
are using. Extracts like vanilla, almond, lemon, cake batter, etc. and liquid
flavors like rose water and orange blossom water can be added to a basic
white chocolate ganache recipe - even on their own without any other
changes - and result in a very simple and very flavorful ganache.

While I recommend using the infusion method if you are using whole spices
in your ganache, any time you use a ground or powdered spice you can mix
it in without worrying about the infusion process or removing anything
else. Ground spices are generally quite strong, so even a tiny amount can
result in a rich and flavorful ganache! Individual spices like ground
cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and nutmeg or premade spice mixes like
pumpkin pie spice are great for quickly adding into any white chocolate
ganache recipe to drastically change the original flavor.

Cookies
Cookie crumbs are surprisingly easy to add into a ganache recipe. Though
they might seem like an ingredient that would require more adaptations,
most of the time you can add quite a lot of cookie pieces into any ganache
recipe (particularly classic and pastry cream styles) without needing to
make additional changes. When you are looking for a cookie to use, I
recommend looking for something crisp without chunks of things (nuts,
chocolate chips, etc) and without creamy centers. If you want to use a
sandwich cookie - like an Oreo - you can! Just make sure to scrape the
creamy center away and use the outer cookie part. Other cookies that are
ideal for this method are graham crackers, speculoos or Biscoff cookies,
gingersnaps, digestive biscuits, and anything that resembles an Oreo.

- 100 -
Adding to the Recipe Adaptations
Cake, Cookie & Other Baking Mixes
Any type of box baking mix you can find in the grocery store to quickly
make cake, cookies, muffins, pancakes, etc. can actually be used in a
ganache recipe to replicate those flavors! While using these mixes in a large
quantity would require further adaptations to achieve the right texture for
a ganache, a small quantity of a baking mix can easily slip right in to a
ganache recipe - especially pastry cream style ganache recipes - without
adjusting any of the other ingredients. Since the flavors in a box baking mix
are often supplemented with artificial flavors, even a little bit of them in a
recipe can help you create all manner of cake, cookie and muffin inspired
ganache recipes in your kitchen.

Freeze Dried Fruit

Freeze dried fruit is one of my favorite types of ingredient to throw into
both ganache and buttercream to enhance the flavor. Since freeze dried
fruit contains all of the original fruit flavor without any of the moisture or
any added sugar, it is the perfect fruit addition to a recipe without the fear
of adding too much sugar or liquid.

Instant Coffee & Water Soluble Powders

Though I don’t drink a lot of instant espresso I always have it in my kitchen.
Instant coffee or espresso is the easiest way to incorporate a coffee flavor
into your ganache without needing to make any further changes to the
recipe. In addition to instant coffee, any flavoring powder or liquid that is
intended to turn plain water into a delicious flavored beverage can be used
for this method of adaptation as well. This is especially good to keep in
mind for more challenging flavors to achieve naturally like blue raspberry
or watermelon.

Fresh Herbs & Citrus Zest

Some herbs like rosemary or sage can be easier to infuse into a cream, but
herbs like basil, thyme, mint and tarragon can be easily emulsified into a
ganache. Adding herbs into a ganache recipe is one of my favorite ways to
add a bright flavor and combat the sweetness of white chocolate! Citrus zest
is also a fantastic balance to white chocolate, and while it can be
challenging to incorporate acidic fruits like lemons and limes into ganache
in other formats, adding zest into ganache is both simple and flavorful.

- 101 -
 How Much to Add
Most ingredients that you add in to a ganache recipe without making further
adaptations are going to be things that you can measure in teaspoons (or
fractions of teaspoons) or in only a few grams.

Extracts like vanilla, almond and lemon are honestly ingredients that I
eyeball, and I nearly never properly measure. That said, most extracts like
these could be added into your ganache at a ratio of about 1 teaspoon per
100g cream. Liquid flavorings like rose water and orange blossom water are
usually much more intense, and I would recommend beginning at 1/4
teaspoon per 100g of cream and adjusting from there to your personal taste.

Powdered spices are other ingredients I generally don’t measure properly

either, and there will be a lot of variation with the amount you want to add
of any given spice depending on how many spices you plan to add to your
recipe and the strength of spice you prefer. That said, I would generally
recommend beginning with 1/4 teaspoon of spice per 100g of cream.

Ingredients like cookie crumbs, baking mixes and freeze dried fruit powders
can usually be added to the recipe in greater quantities than extracts and
spices. Though it will depend on the exact taste and texture you are aiming
for, I would recommend beginning at a ratio of 1 tablespoon to 100g cream
for any of the ingredients that fall into these categories.

Instant espresso or any water soluble flavors can usually be added in at

about 1 teaspoon per 100g of cream. Make sure to read the label for the
ingredient you are using though - you may want to begin with what is
recommended for one serving of the ingredient! If your drink flavoring is a
powder, you can add quite a lot of it if you are looking for a very intense
flavor - even a tablespoon or more will work just fine. However be careful if
you are working with a liquid drink flavoring! Like extracts, adding in one
teaspoon or two in a ganache with 100g cream should not cause any issues,
but if you start adding even more than that you may want to think about
reducing the amount of the liquid in your recipe to help balance all of the
new liquid being incorporated.

Fresh herbs and citrus zest can truly be added to suit your personal taste. If
you are not sure what strength of flavor you might prefer, I would
recommend beginning with around 6 basil or mint leaves and the leaves of 1-
2 thyme or tarragon stems per 100g cream to begin with. As far as citrus zest
goes, with a small citrus fruit like a lime or lemon I wouldn’t hesitate to use
the zest of the entire fruit per 100g cream. For something larger like an
orange or grapefruit, you might want to begin with the zest of half of the
fruit and adjust from there.

Of course, all quantities of flavoring ingredients are subject to personal

taste. If you want to add far more or far less than any of the quantities I
have recommended here, that is okay too!

- 102 -
When to Add Additional Ingredients
Most additions to a ganache recipe can either be mixed with the cream at
the beginning of the recipe or incorporated at the end of the recipe after
the butter is added.

Ingredients to Add with the Cream:

Extracts, spices, instant espresso and any water soluble flavoring are
generally ingredients that are best suited to being incorporated into a
ganache with the cream. By adding these ingredients into the cream at the
beginning of the ganache recipe, you can ensure that the flavor is fully
incorporated and evenly distributed throughout the ganache. It also allows
you the chance to adjust the recipe further as you go.

Any kind of cake, cookie or other baking mix should always be incorporated
into the cream at the beginning of the recipe to make sure the powders all
fully dissolve into the cream. For food safety reasons, you should always
heat treat any baking mix that uses flour since the ganache will not be
cooked beyond a scald. If you add a baking mix at the end of the recipe or
forget to add it with the cream at the beginning, you run the risk of having
a grainy ganache - which is not ideal.

Cookie crumbs can be added into the cream or after the butter, depending
on your personal preference. By adding the cookie crumbs in with the
cream, you can ensure that they dissolve as much as possible, which will
lead to a smoother ganache texture in the end. If you don’t mind a bit of
texture or if you are hoping for some texture from the crumbs, it is a good
idea to add the crumbs after the butter.

Ingredients to Add After the Butter:

The most important ingredients to add after the butter in a ganache are the
freeze dried fruits, herbs and citrus zests. Acidic ingredients like citrus can
cause problems in the ganache structure if they are added in any earlier,
and heating fresh ingredients like herbs can also change the flavor profile.
For the best taste and texture results, these ingredients are best left to the
last minute.

After taste testing your ganache - just before you set aside the ganache to
cool and set up - you can also add in additional flavors. The easiest things
to incorporate at the very end of the recipe (besides the aforementioned
fruits and herbs) are spices and cookie crumbs. With thorough enough
mixing, extracts and liquid flavors can also be incorporated at the very end
as well! The things to avoid adding at the end are baking mixes (as they
would likely lead to grainy ganache) and things like instant espresso (that
might not dissolve in a finished ganache).

- 103 -
 Tips:
NEARLY ANYTHING THAT CAN BE GROUND INTO A POWDER
AND DISSOLVED CAN BE ADDED TO A GANACHE
There are so many ingredients that can simply be added into ganache
recipes without making any additional changes!If you have an ingredient
you have never added into a ganache before and are wondering how to
incorporate it, consider whether it is a concentrated liquid (like an
extract), something that can be turned into a fine powder, or something
that is water soluble. If your new ingredient falls into one of these
categories, don’t hesitate to try adding it into your ganache - either with
the cream at the beginning of the recipe or with the butter at the end of the
recipe.

TEST NEW ADDITIONS BY ADDING THEM AT THE END TO A

BASIC VANILLA GANACHE
If you are not sure whether an ingredient could be added into a ganache
recipe or in what quantity you want to add it in, the best thing to do is to
make a basic vanilla ganache recipe. For the easiest recipe testing, I would
recommend using a classic ganache, though you can use a pastry cream style
ganache or whipped ganache if you prefer. At the very end of the recipe,
emulsify or fold in your new ingredient into one portion of the finished
vanilla white chocolate ganache. You can split your vanilla ganache recipe
into several portions to test several new ingredient additions at the same
time, to save you time on your recipe trials too!

CHECK OUT SPICE STORES AND THE COOKIE AISLE OF YOUR

GROCERY STORE FOR INSPIRATION

If you are feeling stuck with your ganache recipes and are having a hard
time thinking of new flavors to try out, I recommend going to your local
grocery store and/or a spice shop. Even if you don’t buy anything, looking
around at different flavor options on the market and varieties of spices and
spice combinations is a great way to gather inspiration. You might also find
an ingredient or two that are new to you. I find that trying to incorporate
an ingredient that I haven’t used before into one of my bakes is one of the
best ways to force myself to try some new things! Specifically in terms of
spices and cookies though, since you know you can easily add these
ingredients into a ganache recipe with great success - they are fairly safe
ingredients to play around with, even if they are new to you.

- 104 -
 Cookies and Cream
Macarons
Cookies and cream or Oreo macarons are not macarons you will find in

any traditional French patisserie, but I am quite sure they are a top

selling flavor from most vendors in the US! The combination of a simple,

nostalgic cookie flavor and a complex, delicate macaron create a

dessert sure to be enjoyed by people of all ages.

Another fantastic thing about cookies and cream macarons is that they

can fit into any sort of menu at any time of the year. Whether you are

planning a casual summer menu, back to school treats, Halloween

flavors, holiday cookie tray, or fancy Valentine’s Day spread, a cookies

and cream macaron would be an ideal - and very popular - addition.

- 105 -
 Cookies and Cream
Ganache
INGREDIENTS ADAPTATION NOTES
Since Oreos are quite sweet, I removed the
135g + 60g Cream
sugar from this pastry cream style ganache
25g Oreo Crumbs
recipe. The sugar in the Oreos will help
Vanilla Paste (to taste) form the structure the pastry cream needs

16g Cornstarch to thicken properly, which makes this

elimination possible.
100g White Chocolate

55g Butter (room

In addition, I added just 5g more cream
temperature, unsalted) than in the basic recipe, since I wanted to
add as many cookie crumbs as possible. If
you have an addition that will thicken the
ganache texture, you can typically add in
3-10% more cream to help balance the
thickening effect. Any more cream than
that though and you can throw off the
cream to chocolate ratio!
DIRECTIONS

1.Begin by preparing your Oreos or similar cookies. Separate the

cookies and use a butter knife to scrape off the creamy filling.

2. Place only the cookie parts into a food processor or blender, and
pulse until the cookies are broken down into fine crumbs.

Note: If you are planning to use cookie crumbs in or on your macaron

shells, I recommend blending up more cookies than you need for the
ganache so you only need to do this step once.

3. Place the 135g cream, vanilla paste and Oreo crumbs into a small
saucepan and place on medium low heat.

4. Combine the remaining 60g cream and cornstarch in a small bowl

and set aside.

5. Place the white chocolate into a small bowl and partially melt in the
microwave or using a double boiler.
DIRECTIONS

6. Once the cream in the saucepan has

warmed and the cookie crumbs have
dissolved into the cream, temper a small
portion into the cornstarch mixture and
whisk to combine.

7. Transfer everything back into the

saucepan and whisk continuously on medium
low or low heat until the mixture thickens
and resembles a pastry cream.

Note: This is the most technically

challenging portion of making a pastry cream
style ganache. If the cream mixture over
heats or over cooks, it can ruin the final
texture of the ganache. Even if it feels like
it is taking a long time to thicken, do not
increase the temperature!

8. Once the cream thickens and has the

appearance of a pastry cream or custard,
remove it from the heat. The addition of the
cookie crumbs will help to thicken the the
cream, so while usually you can cook this
pastry cream mixture until you see a few
bubbles rising up from the bottom of the
pan, you will likely not need to cook the
cookie cream so long that it begins to
bubble.

9. Pour the thickened cookie cream over the

top of the partially melted chocolate and let
it sit for a minute or two before stirring to
combine.
DIRECTIONS

10. Use a spoon or spatula to stir the cookie cream and chocolate until
it looks smooth and homogenous. After everything is combined, set it
aside and leave it at room temperature for around 15-20 minutes to
cool down before incorporating the butter.

11. After the ganache has cooled to just above room temperature, use
an immersion blender to emulsify the ganache.

12. Use your immersion blender to emulsify in the butter (room

temperature, of course) one piece at a time until it is all incorporated.

13. Transfer the cookies and cream ganache into a new container and
cover the surface on contact with plastic wrap. I prefer using a plastic
wrap lined sheet pan, since it provides a lot of surface area - which
allows the ganache to cool down and set up more quickly - but you can
use whatever container you prefer.
DIRECTIONS

14. After the ganache has cooled and set up - usually around 3-6 hours
depending on the thickness of your ganache and the temperature of
your kitchen - transfer the ganache into a piping bag and fill your
macarons.

15. Sandwich the macarons and get them into the refrigerator to
mature or into the freezer to store for later.

Note: Many bakers like to make really thick macarons when working
with cookies such as Oreos! Though it is most common with
buttercream filled macarons, you can pipe a small amount of your
cookies and cream ganache onto your shell, then place an entire Oreo
or a piece of an Oreo onto the ganache. After that, you can pipe an
additional small amount of ganache on top of the Oreo to use as glue
to sandwich the macarons together. It is most common to use an Oreo
Thin to make this type of macaron easier to bite into, but you can use
whatever kind of Oreo or cookie you prefer if you are interested in
this style of filling!
 Notes on the Macaron
For the Macaron Shell:

Whenever I make a cookie based ganache filling, I try to always mirror that
flavor in my macaron shell. You can either grind the cookies into a powder
and replace some of your dry ingredients with the cookie crumbs, or you
can use the method I did and add the crushed cookie crumbs or pieces to
the top of your macaron shell. Make sure you add the crumbs to your
macarons after piping and tapping your trays, and before resting or baking
to make sure they don’t fly off everywhere and stick properly to the shells.

About the Filling:

One of the greatest things about using Oreos or a similar cookie in a

ganache is that there are so many slight adaptations you can make to it to
completely change the flavor profile! You can use one of the many
varieties of Oreo - vanilla, lemon, mint, etc. - or you can use those flavors
as inspiration and add in things like mint chocolate chips or espresso
powder to create a flavored Oreo / cookies and cream macaron without
needing any fancy cookie flavors.

- 111 -
 Lemon Basil Macarons

Lemon and basil are both ingredients that positively scream summer.

Lemon is such a popular dessert and drink ingredient throughout the

spring and summer, and is quite popular in macaron form during these

seasons even just by itself. Basil, while it is more commonly associated

with savory dishes, has such a vibrant, fresh flavor that it is ideal for

recipes in the summer season as well. While some folks might not expect

to fall in love with a basil flavored dessert - I think this macaron might

just change their minds!

This macaron is also perfect any time of the year for anyone who tends

to prefer savory flavors over sweet ones, or for people who tend not to

like white chocolate based desserts. The fresh flavors of lemon and

basil punch through the sweetness of the white chocolate and lead to a

perfectly balanced, not too sweet macaron.

- 113 -
 Lemon Basil Ganache
INGREDIENTS ADAPTATION NOTES

100g Cream
I swapped the vanilla extract in the
200g White Chocolate original classic ganache recipe for lemon

20g Butter (room extract. This switch is optional, but even a

tiny amount of lemon extract goes a long
temperature, unsalted)
way in helping to enhance the flavor of the
1/4 teaspoon Lemon lemon zest, so I do recommend it.

Extract (or to taste)

The amount of fresh basil and lemon zest
10 large (or 15 small)
you use is up to you. This is a flavor
Basil Leaves
pairing I love, the quantity listed in this
Zest of One Lemon recipe will lead you to quite an intense
ganache flavor! If you want a more mild
flavor, feel free to reduce the quantity of
basil and lemon to suit your personal
preference.
DIRECTIONS

1.Begin by placing the cream into a small saucepan. You can either add
the lemon extract (if you are using it) into the cream at this point, or
you can wait and add the lemon extract into the cream and chocolate
after the cream has heated.

2. While the cream is heating, place the chocolate into a small bowl
and partially melt it using a microwave or a double boiler.

3. Once the cream comes to a scald (you will see steam rising from the
pan but you should not see any bubbles and the cream should not
come to a boil) remove it from the heat and pour it immediately over
the partially melted chocolate.

4. Let the hot cream and chocolate sit for a minute or two before using
a spoon or spatula to stir them together.

5. Switch to an immersion blender and emulsify the chocolate and

cream together.
DIRECTIONS

6. Add in the butter one piece at a time and

use your immersion blender to ensure the
ganache is completely homogenous.

7. Add in the fresh basil leaves and use

your immersion blender one last time to
tear the basil into shreds and emulsify the
basil into the ganache. Personally I find
that if you chop or tear the basil before
you emulsify it into the ganache, it is
actually more challenging to incorporate it
as thoroughly as you can if you leave the
basil leaves whole!

8. Lastly, zest the lemon directly into the

basil ganache. If you zest the lemon in
advance, the zest can dry out and lose some
of the bright flavor, so if possible try to
zest the lemon only at this point and not
prior.

9. Use a spoon or spatula to fold the lemon

zest throughout the ganache.

10. Make sure to taste test the ganache at

this point. If you are unsure how much
basil and lemon you want to add you can
also start with a smaller amount and taste
test as you go to increase the flavor to suit
your preferences.

11. Once you are satisfied with the strength

of flavors, transfer the lemon basil ganache
into a new container.
DIRECTIONS

12. Cover the surface of the lemon basil ganache with plastic wrap to
prevent a skin from forming, and leave it to cool and set up at room
temperature. Depending on the thickness of the ganache and the
temperature of your kitchen, this will likely take around 2-4 hours.

13. After the ganache has set up, transfer it into a piping bag and use
the ganache to fill your macarons. If you are ready to fill your
macaron shells and the ganache still seems a bit soft, move the
ganache into the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes (and as long as
overnight) before filling your macarons.

14. Sandwich your filled macarons and refrigerate them for 24-48 hours
before enjoying. Any macarons that you don’t plan to eat, sell or serve
within the next 5-7 days should be transferred into an airtight
container in the freezer to make sure they stay as fresh as possible.
 Notes on the Macaron
For the Macaron Shell:

To color these macaron shells I used a Lemon Yellow gel food colorant,
added into the meringue of my French meringue macaron shell recipe. I
wanted to keep these macarons quite simple, but if you are interested in a
decorated shell it is relatively easy to use royal icing to create a sliced
citrus pattern or gel colorants to paint a lemon or lemon slice on your
macaron shells!

About the Filling:

You can follow this exact recipe using just about any citrus + herb
combination you like! My favorite herbs to blend into a ganache with citrus
are basil and mint, but you can use just about any combination of herbs
and citrus you like. This is also a great recipe to use as a base for other
fruity + herby ganache flavors. Combinations like strawberry basil or
raspberry mint would only require a few simple cream and/or chocolate
adaptations from here. Additionally, if you are only interested in one of
these flavors, there is nothing wrong with having a simply lemon macaron,
mint macaron, grapefruit macaron, etc.

- 118 -
 Vanilla Latte Macarons
My path to becoming a coffee drinker began in middle school, at which

point I did not like or enjoy anything resembling actual coffee, but I did

copy my older brother and order (decaf) mint mochas whenever he

picked me up from one of my many after school activities and hit up the

local coffee shop where some of his friends worked. It wasn’t until my

university days when I had an internship in an ESL classroom in a local

high school where I had to be in the classroom by 7am that I realized

how vital straight black coffee was for survival.

Since those days I typically prefer something between the sugary

chocolate overload types of coffee and regular drip coffee, so at many

cafes my go-to order is a vanilla latte. It feels just exciting enough to

be a special treat, and yet it is not too sweet and won’t be

overwhelming. This whipped ganache is meant to follow that logic:

special yet simple. It has just enough flavor to be delicious and

interesting, and not so many flavors or sweeteners to become cloying or

overly complex.

- 120 -
 Vanilla Latte
Whipped Ganache
INGREDIENTS ADAPTATION NOTES

50g White Chocolate The most notable adaptation to my basic

whipped ganache recipe is the addition
50g Gold Chocolate
of two teaspoons of espresso powder.
20g Glucose or Corn
Depending on how intense you like your
Syrup coffee, you can adjust the amount of
espresso or coffee powder up or down to
Vanilla Paste (to taste)
suit your tastes.
2 teaspoons Espresso

Powder I also replaced 50% of the white

100g + 180g Cream chocolate with a caramelized white

chocolate (the gold chocolate from
4g Gelatin (gold bloom
Callebaut). This is not a necessary swap,
sheet gelatin)
but I think it helps create a rich, smooth
flavor that I associate with a well made
latte! You can replace the gold chocolate
with white chocolate or any other blonde
or caramelized chocolate if you prefer.
DIRECTIONS

1.Begin by blooming the gelatin. If you are using sheet gelatin like I
am, simply place the gelatin into a glass of ice cold water and leave it
for a few minutes. Then remove the gelatin and give it a good squeeze
to remove any excess moisture.

2. Place the 100g of cream into a small saucepan along with the instant
espresso, glucose and vanilla. If you would prefer to leave out the
vanilla paste or use a vanilla extract or vanilla bean instead, you can.

3. Heat the cream mixture on medium low or low heat, whisking

occasionally. Make sure the espresso powder and glucose dissolve and
distribute throughout the cream. At this point the cream will have an
incredibly intense coffee flavor and aroma. Remember that you will be
adding a lot more cream as well as chocolate before this ganache is
finished, so at this point it is good if the flavor is on the strong side.
DIRECTIONS

4. While the cream is heating, partially

melt the white chocolate in a small bowl
using a microwave or a double boiler.

5. When the cream mixture comes to a

scald (you will see steam rising from the
saucepan but you should not see any
bubbles indicating that the cream is
coming to a simmer) remove it from the
heat.

6. Ideally, add the bloomed gelatin

immediately into the hot cream. As you
can see from my photo, I was distracted by
filming and forgot this step.

7. Whisk the bloomed gelatin into the

cream, then immediately pour the cream
over the partially melted chocolate.

8. Let the chocolate and cream rest for a

minute or two before stirring them
together with a spoon or spatula. If you
have forgotten to add in your bloomed
gelatin, don’t worry - you can still add it
in at this point! Just make sure to stir
until everything is thoroughly
incorporated.

9. Switch over to an immersion blender

and emulsify the ganache.

10. Stream in the remaining 180g cream

while you emulsify the ganache until
everything is incorporated and
homogenous.
DIRECTIONS

11. Transfer the vanilla latte ganache into an airtight container and
cover the surface on contact with plastic wrap.

12. Refrigerate the ganache for at least 6 hours or overnight before

whipping to allow the gelatin to fully set up.

13. When you are ready to fill your macarons, scoop the cooled
ganache into a bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer.

14. Whip the ganache on low speed at first to break down the bonds
the gelatin formed, then increase the speed to medium or medium high
and continue whipping the ganache until you achieve a medium stiff to
stiff peak.

15. In general, it is best to avoid over whipping a ganache, which is

why whipped ganaches are generally best when whipped to a medium
stiff peak. However this ganache is quite resilient, so going up to a
stiff peak should work out just fine as well.
DIRECTIONS

16. When you finish whipping the ganache, immediately transfer the
ganache into your piping bag and fill your macaron shells. For
whipped ganaches, I recommend taking advantage of the texture and
use a star or French star tip when filling your macarons.

17. Sandwich the macarons and transfer them into your refrigerator to
mature or freezer to store for a future date.

Notes:

Remember that whipped ganache filled macarons will mature more

quickly than regular macarons! These might mature in as little as 6
hours and are best consumed within 48-72 hours.

It is best to whip only the portion of whipped ganache that you plan to
use in your macarons. Whipped ganache does not like to be rewhipped,
but it can be stored for several days unwhipped in the refrigerator. If
you are not sure how much you need for your macarons, I recommend
beginning with a small portion and whip more if you need it.

Whipped ganache should be used to fill macarons as soon as it is

whipped, so make sure your macaron shells are ready to go before you
begin whipping the ganache!

- 125 -
 Notes on the Macaron
For the Macaron Shell:

I used an Espresso gel food colorant to color my French meringue macaron

shells. Whenever I am making a strong coffee or espresso macaron filling, I
like to top the shells with fresh coffee grounds. This helps intensify the
coffee flavor of the filling and provides some nice decoration and texture
to the macaron shell.

About the Filling:

You can use any brand or variety of instant coffee to create this whipped
ganache. Between changing up the brand or flavor of instant coffee and
playing with the variety of extract used, you can create just about any
coffee drink in ganache form! The slightest variation can lead you to
caramel, French vanilla, hazelnut, Irish cream, white chocolate raspberry or
mint mocha inspired coffee ganaches. If you are not a coffee person, there
are also any number of instant tea powders and tea latte powders that can
be incorporated in exactly the same way to create a tea latte whipped
ganache instead!

- 126 -
Replacing the Chocolate
Adaptations
RUBY STRAWBERRY GANACHE

GOLDEN MILK GANACHE

FERRERO ROCHER GANACHE

- 128 -
 Replacing the Chocolate Adaptations
Replacing the white chocolate in a white chocolate ganache recipe is not only
quite easy to do, but one of the best ways to add a new flavor to your ganache
recipe without risking a change to the structure and texture of your ganache.
There are three main methods for replacing the chocolate in a ganache recipe,
including using a flavored chocolate replacement, using a different variety of
chocolate, and using a chocolate or candy bar. Though these categories are very
similar, there are slight differences that are important to think about before you
add any of them into your recipe.

Flavored Chocolates
There are many different kinds of flavored chocolates on the market, ranging in
flavor, texture and quality. Many grocery stores (at least in the US) carry small
bags of flavored chocolate chips, such as butterscotch, peanut butter, mint and
occasionally others such as cinnamon, etc. Most of these types of chocolate chips
are relatively low quality chocolate, and as such will generally have a higher ratio
of sugar and often use something like palm oil in addition to or instead of cocoa
butter. Between the types of chocolates these are and the strength of flavor, you
can typically replace 25-50% of the original weight of chocolate in your recipe
with one of these chocolates and have a very flavorful ganache. Using more than
50% of these chocolates may lead to too intense of a flavor, an overly sweet
ganache, or a slightly less ideal texture if you remove all of the white chocolate
(particularly if you are beginning with a good quality white chocolate) in your
recipe.

Higher quality chocolate brands, such as Valrhona, also carry lines of flavored
chocolates. Valrhona’s Inspiration line includes strawberry, raspberry, passion
fruit, yuzu and almond flavored chocolates - all of which are intense in flavor,
delicious, and also very expensive. A little bit of these chocolates goes a long
way, so even though you could replace all of your white chocolate with one of
these chocolates, you can still retain the flavor if you swap around 25-50% of the
chocolate in your recipe.

Different Varieties of Chocolate

In addition to making flavored chocolate swaps, you can also add other kinds of
chocolate into your white chocolate ganache recipe. While there are certain times
when you might want to add a tiny portion of dark chocolate into your white
chocolate ganache, I generally recommend adaptations using chocolates that are
more similar in either flavor or texture to a white chocolate. Such chocolates
include caramelized or gold chocolate, dulcey or blond chocolate, caramelized
milk chocolate, and ruby chocolate. Depending on the strength of flavor you are
interested in, I would recommend swapping 25-75% of the original weight of white
chocolate in your recipe with one of these chocolates for the best results.

- 129 -
 Chocolate Bars & Candy Bars
Another option for replacing the chocolate in your
ganache recipe is to use a chocolate or candy bar. When
you are picking out a chocolate or candy bar to
incorporate into your ganache recipe, there are a few
things to watch out for.

1) Stick to white chocolate bars or maybe milk chocolate

bars if you are using a white chocolate ganache recipe as
the base. Fun white chocolate bars are a bit harder to
find than fun dark or milk chocolate bars, so it might
take a little bit of searching to find one you want to
bake with!

2) Avoid chocolate bars where the flavor is coming

entirely from large pieces of ingredients that will have
trouble breaking down into the ganache. Many specialty
chocolate bars have a base of chocolate, with the flavor
ingredient providing a layer of texture on top of the
chocolate as well as the flavor. If you find a white
chocolate bar that is topped with freeze dried berries or
one that is topped with whole roasted hazelnuts, it
would probably be better to add powdered freeze dried
fruit or a hazelnut paste to your white chocolate instead
of attempting to break down those large pieces into your
ganache.

3) Be careful with chocolate bars that have soft fillings.

The more filling a chocolate or candy bar has, the less
chocolate it contains. If you swap in a chocolate with a
large amount of a non-chocolate filling, you will need to
reflect that in your ganache ratio and change the amount
of chocolate, cream and/or butter to balance it out.
Some filled chocolates are manageable - take a look at
the Ferrero Rocher Ganache recipe - but there are also
some fillings that are a lot harder to work with. In
particular I would avoid caramel, marshmallow and jam
fillings, as they will be both sweet and soften your
ganache quite a bit.

4) Consider how much of the chocolate you will need to

have a strong flavor in your ganache. If the chocolate
has an intense flavor and you can swap 25-50% of the
white chocolate in your recipe, it is probably going to
turn out great! If it is a very mild flavored chocolate
though and you would need to swap 50-100% of the white
chocolate to retain the flavor, you might want to think
about other ways you could recreate that flavor in your
ganache, or if it is worth the price of the chocolate bar
to layer similar flavors together to create a stronger
flavor.
 Tips:
IT IS OKAY TO REPLACE ONLY A PORTION OF THE
CHOCOLATE IN A GANACHE RECIPE

Yes! You never need to replace 100% of the chocolate in your ganache if you
want to make a change to the chocolate portion of your recipe. I generally
recommend replacing at least 25% of the chocolate in your recipe, otherwise
the white chocolate is much more likely to overwhelm the new variety of
chocolate - making its addition redundant. If you are ever unsure about how
much of a new chocolate to incorporate into your ganache, I recommend
beginning with a 50% replacement - then after your first trial recipe you
can adjust the ratio up or down to suit your flavor preferences for the next
attempt.

YOU DO NOT NEED THE FANCIEST FLAVORED CHOCOLATES

(THOUGH THEY ARE AMAZING) TO SWAP CHOCOLATE IN A
GANACHE RECIPE

You can often find flavored chocolate chips and flavored white chocolate
bars in grocery stores, and while I don’t recommend using such chocolates
for 100% of the chocolate in your recipe or for every single recipe you
make, they are perfect for making unique recipes and simple adjustments.
Flavored chocolates such as butterscotch chips, mint chocolate chips and
peanut butter chips are particularly flavorful and easy additions into white
chocolate ganache recipes that are not fancy and (compared to other
chocolates) not that expensive!

BUYING FLAVORED CHOCOLATE IN SMALL QUANTITIES IS GREAT

FOR TESTING, BUT IT IS BETTER TO BUY IN BULK

Since chocolate is so expensive, it can be a bit uncomfortable to buy bulk

bags of chocolate for your kitchen. If you only bake occasionally or if you
are in the process of discovering which brands and styles of chocolate you
like - absolutely buy chocolate in small quantities. For such bakers, buying
one bag of chocolate chips, a few chocolate bars or one small 200g bag of
Valrhona Inspiration chocolate at a time will get you through whatever
bakes you have on the horizon. However, if you know which chocolates you
like to work with, and know which specialty chocolates you use with regular
frequency, I highly recommend investing in buying chocolate in large
quantities. In the long run, it is much cheaper to buy 5 kilograms of white
chocolate or 3 kilograms of caramelized gold chocolate, store it well, and
use it slowly over the next three months than it is to continuously purchase
chocolate in smaller quantities. Just make sure you have a large, airtight
storage container for each variety of chocolate you purchase, and keep all
of your chocolates in a cool, dark place to make sure your chocolate stays
in the best condition possible.

- 131 -
 Ruby Strawberry
Macarons
Strawberry is a classic macaron flavor. That said, it does not need to

be basic or simple!

Strawberry - or any berry - flavored macarons are also a perfect

opportunity to use ruby chocolate. Ruby chocolate is naturally pink and

has a slightly fruity undertone to it, making the perfect backdrop to red

berry macaron fillings.

This ganache could be used as a classic flavor any time of the year,

though I think with the intensity of flavor and with so many layers of

strawberry, it is particularly great for spring and summer!

- 132 -
Ruby Strawberry Ganache
INGREDIENTS ADAPTATION NOTES

100g Strawberry Puree I actually used three methods of adaptation

in this ganache - as I find that is the best
30g + 60g Cream
way to end up with an intensely fruit
40g Sugar
forward ganache recipe. I replaced 100% of
18g Cornstarch the white chocolate, 50% with ruby and

50g Ruby Chocolate 50% with strawberry inspiration. To add to

the strawberry flavor, I replaced about 50%
50g Strawberry
of the cream with strawberry puree (made
Inspiration Chocolate by blending frozen strawberries). Since
55g Butter (room fruit purees can be a bit watery, I also
increased the cornstarch by 2g to
temperature, unsalted)
compensate for this change. Lastly, I added
10g Freeze Dried
freeze dried strawberry powder at the very
Strawberry Powder end to layer in as much strawberry flavor
as possible. This step in particular is
optional, and you can adjust the amount
you add if you choose to add it in.
DIRECTIONS

1.Place the strawberry puree, 30g of cream and sugar into a small
saucepan. I did not use any colorant for this ganache since so many
elements carry a pink color, but if you would like to intensify the
color of the ganache you can add a tiny amount of gel or powdered gel
colorant into the saucepan as well.

2. Combine the remaining 60g cream and cornstarch in a small bowl

and set aside.

3. Combine the chocolates in a small bowl and partially melt them

using a microwave or a double boiler. Overheating any element of this
ganache, including the chocolate, can cause problems for the final
consistency. Make sure you are microwaving in short bursts or using a
double boiler to ensure the chocolate does not burn or overheat.

4. Place the saucepan on medium low or low heat and stir occasionally
until the sugar dissolves and the mixture heats.

- 134 -
DIRECTIONS

5. Once the strawberry cream is hot, temper

a small portion of it into the cornstarch
mixture and whisk well to combine.

6. Transfer everything back into the

saucepan and cook on medium low or low
heat, whisking continuously, until the
mixture thickens. Even if this takes some
time, do not walk away from the cream and
do not increase the temperature. Without
whisking continuously, the cream can
overcook and stick to the bottom of the
pan, and if the cream overheats it can
negatively effect the final ganache texture.

7. Once the strawberry cream thickens and

begins to look like a pastry cream or
custard, remove it from the heat. You may
notice one or two bubbles coming up from
the bottom of the mixture, and that is okay.
If the mixture is already quite thick and
you have yet to see any bubbles, that is
fine too - as soon as it is thick and glossy
it can be removed from the heat.

8. Immediately pour the strawberry cream

over the top of the partially melted
chocolates, and leave them to sit for one or
two minutes before stirring them together.
By letting the cream and chocolates sit
first, the heat from the cream has the time
to finish melting the chocolates, and they
will be easier to stir together.
DIRECTIONS

9. Use a spoon or spatula to stir the cream and chocolates until

everything looks homogenous.

10. Set aside the ganache and let it cool at room temperature for
around 15-20 minutes.

11. Once the ganache is warm but no longer hot - just above room
temperature - use an immersion blender to emulsify it.

12. Use the immersion blender to emulsify in the butter (room

temperature of course) one piece at a time until everything is
incorporated.

13. At the very end, add in the freeze dried strawberry powder, and use
a spoon or spatula to fold it through the ganache. This will likely add
texture to your ganache - especially if you do not sift out the seeds! I
like the slight texture it adds to my ganaches, but if you want a
smoother ganache, you may want to leave this ingredient out.
DIRECTIONS

14. Transfer the strawberry ganache into a new container and cover
the surface on contact with plastic wrap. I always prefer using a
plastic wrap lined sheet pan for the surface area and easy clean up it
provides, but you can use whatever container you prefer.

15. After the ganache has had a chance to cool and set up at room
temperature - usually around 2-4 hours - transfer the ganache into a
piping bag and use it to fill your macarons. If you are ready to fill
your macarons and the ganache still seems a bit soft, you can place it
in the refrigerator for around 30-60 minutes (up to overnight) before
filling your macaron shells.

16. Sandwich your macarons and transfer them into the refrigerator to
mature or into the freezer to store for a longer period of time.

Note: Fruit based ganaches like this one are particularly delicious
when paired with a fruit based secondary filling to intensify the fruit
flavor. Pastry cream style ganaches like this one will mature normally
or on the faster side as far as macarons go, and if you do add a fruit
based secondary filling, they will likely mature even more quickly!
Keep this in mind as you plan your bake and the length of time you
want the macarons to be in your refrigerator before enjoying, serving
or selling them.

- 137 -
 Notes on the Macaron
For the Macaron Shell:

I used Sugar Rose powdered gel colorant added into the meringue of my
French meringue macaron shells to achieve these strawberry pink colored
macarons. To decorate the shells, I sprinkled white nonpareils over the
macarons after piping and tapping the trays and before baking. These small
white sprinkles are perfect for so many macaron designs and themes, so if
you don’t have any yet in your kitchen, I highly recommend getting some!

About the Filling:

You can easily transform this ruby strawberry ganache into a ruby
blueberry, ruby raspberry, ruby cassis (black currant) or ruby blackberry
ganache by simply changing which purees, chocolates and freeze dried
fruit you use. If you are using a flavor that doesn’t readily have a flavored
chocolate in the same flavor, such as cassis, I recommend increasing the
ruby chocolate quantity (maybe 60-75% of the original weight) and use a
small portion of strawberry or raspberry inspiration chocolate to help
maintain a general berry flavor throughout the ganache.

- 138 -
 Golden Milk Macarons
Golden milk, for anyone who is new to it, is a turmeric based milk drink.

Typically the turmeric is mixed with warm spices such as cinnamon and

ginger, and since there are already several spices in the mix you can

also find golden milk chai - which includes black tea as well.

I think golden milk pairs perfectly with white chocolate ganache - since

the cream and white chocolate mimic the large quantity of milk the

spices are generally mixed with. Recently I went to a specialty

chocolate store (called The Meadow in Portland, OR if you are ever in

the area!) and discovered a white chocolate bar that was already

infused with golden milk! I hadn’t made a turmeric macaron in quite a

while, so this felt like the perfect excuse to use it and try out the

chocolate bar I found at the same time.

- 140 -
 Golden Milk Ganache
INGREDIENTS ADAPTATION NOTES

100g Cream The main adaptation for this recipe is the

50g Golden Milk White substitution of 25% of the original white

chocolate in the classic ganache recipe for
Chocolate
the golden milk chocolate bar I found. To
150g White Chocolate strengthen the flavor, I supplemented it with

25g Butter (room a little bit of golden milk latte powder.

temperature, unsalted)
If you are interested in making this macaron
1/2 teaspoon Golden Milk
and can’t find a golden milk chocolate bar,
Latte Powder that is okay! All you need to do is think of
this recipe as an addition to the recipe
adaptation. You can keep all of the
chocolate white chocolate, and double or
even triple the quantity of golden milk latte
powder.

Depending on what flavor profile you are

looking for, you can use a golden milk chai
latte or just a simple golden milk latte
powder.
DIRECTIONS

1.Begin by breaking up your chocolate bar into small pieces and adding
them to a small bowl along with your white chocolate. I am using the
Golden Milk White Chocolate Bar from Bixby Co. if you are interested
in using the same chocolate.

2. Partially melt the chocolates together using a microwave or double

boiler.

3. Combine the cream and golden milk latte powder in a small

saucepan. I chose to use the Golden Masala Chai powder from Blue
Lotus Chai since I like the addition of black tea and the strong spice
flavor, though you can use a more turmeric dominant powder without
the addition of tea or caffeine if you prefer.

4. Whisk the cream and golden milk powder to help the powder
incorporate into the cream, and heat it on medium low until it reaches
a scald. When the cream is hot enough, you should see steam rising up
from the saucepan - but you should not cook it long enough to see any
bubbles and the cream should not come to a simmer.
DIRECTIONS

5. Pour the hot cream over the partially melted chocolates and let
them sit together for a minute or two before stirring them together
with a spoon or spatula. By letting the cream and chocolates rest you
are giving the cream the opportunity to finish melting the chocolates,
which will make everything easier to combine later.

6. Switch to an immersion blender and emulsify the ganache.

7. Add in the butter one piece at a time, emulsifying in with the

immersion blender after each addition.

8. Taste test the ganache before moving on to the next step. It is quite
easy to incorporate more of the golden milk latte or golden chai spice
powder at this point in the recipe if you feel it is not as strong as you
would prefer.

9. Transfer the golden milk ganache into a new container, and cover
the surface on contact with plastic wrap.
DIRECTIONS

10. Let the ganache cool at room temperature before transferring it

into a piping bag to fill your macarons. It usually takes anywhere from
2-6 hours for a classic ganache to completely cool and finish setting
up, though it will depend on the thickness of the ganache as it cools
and the temperature of your kitchen. If you are ready to fill your
macarons and the ganache still feels too soft, you can refrigerate it
for 30-60 minutes (up to overnight) before transferring it into your
piping bag.

11. Fill your macarons, sandwich them together, and transfer the
macarons into the refrigerator to mature or get them into an airtight
container in your freezer to store them for a longer period of time.
 Notes on the Macaron
For the Macaron Shell:

I used an Autumn Gold powdered gel food colorant to color my French

meringue macaron shells. For decoration and additional flavor, I sprinkled
the macaron shells with a pinch of golden milk chai latte powder after
piping and tapping the trays. To make the powder easier to sprinkle onto
the shells in a small quantity, I mixed about 1/4 teaspoon of powder with
1/2 teaspoon of granulated sugar.

About the Filling:

Golden milk white chocolate bars might not be incredibly common, but you
can use this recipe as a base for many other spiced white chocolate bars!
Swap 25-50% of the white chocolate for your flavored white chocolate bar,
and add an additional flavor, extract or spice to help boost the flavor in
your chocolate bar. Depending on the white chocolate bar you find, you
might also want to swap an additional portion of the chocolate for another
chocolate such as a blonde or caramelized white chocolate.

- 145 -
Ferrero Rocher Macarons
I only realized recently that you can buy Ferrero Rocher in chocolate

bar form - and that discovery was a blessing and a curse because they

are delicious to eat, fun to bake with, and altogether too easy to snack

on! Using filled or stuffed chocolate bars as a chocolate replacement in

ganache can be a bit risky, but luckily for us the creamy filling in

Ferrero Rocher bars is quite stable and easy to add into a ganache

without changing the texture too much.

If you are a Ferrero Rocher or hazelnut lover - and honestly, how could

you not be? - you are going to love this ganache. Though I would make

and eat this recipe any time of the year, I think the hazelnut flavor

would be an especially nice addition to fall and winter menus, and the

specialty chocolate feeling of this ganache makes it a perfect addition

to holidays or special events such as Valentine’s Day, birthdays and

anniversaries.

- 147 -
Ferrero Rocher Ganache
INGREDIENTS ADAPTATION NOTES

95g Cream The primary adaptation for this recipe is

100g Ferrero Rocher the chocolate swaps. I used a Ferrero

White Chocolate Bar Rocher chocolate bar for 50% the weight of

50g Gold Chocolate the original amount of chocolate, and

50g White Chocolate swapped another 25% of the original white

25g Hazelnut Paste chocolate for a gold caramelized chocolate.

10g Butter (room Just to be cautious, I reduced the cream by

temperature, unsalted) 5% to compensate for the creamy filling in

1/4 teaspoon salt the Ferrero Rocher chocolate bar.

To make your own In addition to the changes in the

Hazelnut Paste: chocolate, I added hazelnut paste to

enhance the flavor - and subsequently

100g Hazelnuts reduced the butter to compensate.

10g Grapeseed Oil

Since I was worried the Ferrero Rocher bar
was bringing extra sweetness from the
creamy filling, I also added a bit of salt to
the recipe to help balance the flavor a bit.
DIRECTIONS

1.If you are making your own hazelnut paste, begin here with the
hazelnuts and grapeseed oil. If you are going to purchase your
hazelnut paste already made, skip ahead to step 8.

2. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (176 Celsius) while you
spread out the hazelnuts on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

3. Bake the hazelnuts for about 12-15 minutes, or until the insides turn
a rich golden brown color.

4. Remove the hazelnuts from the oven and transfer them off of the
pan and onto a kitchen towel.

5. Use the kitchen towel to help rub any remaining skin off of the
hazelnuts. Removing the skin will help prevent the paste from
becoming too bitter, so do not skip this step even if it feels a bit
tedious.

6. Transfer the hazelnuts (while they are warm or once they have
cooled) into a food processor and blend.
DIRECTIONS

7. Add the grapeseed oil into the hazelnuts and continue blending
until a smooth paste forms. Transfer the paste into an airtight
container, measuring out only the weight you need for this recipe and
reserving the remaining for another future use.

8. Chop up the Ferrero Rocher (or any similar hazelnut white

chocolate bar) into small pieces and add them to a bowl with the other
chocolates.

9. Partially melt the chocolate using a microwave or double boiler,

then set them aside.

10. Heat the cream to a scald in a small saucepan, then pour the hot
cream over the partially melted chocolates.

11. Let the chocolates and cream sit for a minute or two before using a
spoon or spatula to stir everything together.
DIRECTIONS

12. Switch over to an immersion blender and

emulsify the ganache until it becomes
smooth and homogenous.

13. Add in the salt and butter and emulsify

to combine.

14. After everything else has been

thoroughly incorporated, add in the
hazelnut paste. You can use your immersion
blender or a spatula to incorporate the
paste, just make sure it is completely
combined before you continue on to the
next step.

15. Taste test the ganache to check the

flavor. If you are interested in a stronger
hazelnut flavor, I recommend adding in a
hazelnut paste or praline as a secondary
filling. If you think the ganache needs more
salt, you can either add it now or you can
wait and sprinkle the ganache with flaky
sea salt as you fill your macarons.

16. Transfer the finished ganache into a new

container and cover the surface on contact
with plastic wrap. As always, I used a
plastic wrap lined sheet pan, though you
can use whatever dish or container you
prefer.

17. Let the ganache cool and set up at room

temperature before using to fill your
macarons.
DIRECTIONS

18. Classic style ganaches like this one will typically set up within 2-6
hours. Since the Ferrero Rocher chocolate bar contains a creamy
center, it might naturally take this ganache a bit longer to completely
set up, so do not be surprised if at two or even four hours it still feels
too soft to pipe. If the ganache is still a bit soft and you are ready to
fill your macarons, you can transfer the ganache into the refrigerator
for 30-60 minutes (up to overnight) before filling.

19. Sandwich your macarons and transfer them into the refrigerator to
mature or into an airtight container in the freezer for longer term
storage.

Note:

Similarly to adding an actual Oreo sandwiched into the middle of

cookies and cream macarons, if you want to make a larger, more
decadent Ferrero Rocher macaron you can also add either a square of a
Ferrero Rocher chocolate bar or a half of a white chocolate Ferrero
Rocher chocolate sphere into these macarons. You can also use a
chocolate bar or sphere that is hazelnut white chocolate flavored -
there is no pressure to stick to the name brand here.
 Notes on the Macaron
For the Macaron Shell:

To add an additional layer of hazelnut flavor, add some decoration to the

macaron shells, and a bit of a crunchy texture, I sprinkled my macaron
shells with chopped hazelnuts after piping and tapping my trays and before
baking. I wanted to keep the shells looking very natural, so I did not add
any colorant. However, you can add a bit of white gel or powdered gel
food colorant if you want the macaron shells to remain white throughout
the baking process.

About the Filling:

Depending on which flavor direction you want to go in, you can adjust the
white and caramelized gold chocolate to suit your personal taste. If you
want to increase the hazelnut flavor, you can also pair this ganache with a
hazelnut praline or even simply more hazelnut paste as a secondary filling
to pipe into the center of the ganache as you fill your macarons. Though
this is a white chocolate ganache recipe, if you want to swap the hazelnut
paste for Nutella or another chocolate hazelnut spread, that would be
another easy way to increase both the hazelnut and chocolate flavors.

- 153 -
Replacing the Butter
Adaptations
GRANOLA BUTTER GANACHE

- 155 -
 Replacing the Butter Adaptations
Replacing the butter in a ganache recipe is a very different adaptation from all of
the others discussed so far. With many adaptations 1:1 replacements are possible,
or you can infuse or add in other ingredients without making large adjustments.
Ingredients that fall into this category fall somewhere between a 1:1 replacement
and simply being added into a ganache.

Before we go any further, I want to remind you that this form of adaptation is
specifically for classic and pastry cream style ganache recipes, which both include
butter as one of the primary ingredients.

Butter plays a key role in ganache. It helps create a smooth texture, a shiny
appearance, and provides stability. Since butter is an ingredient that hardens
when refrigerated and is soft but not liquid at room temperature, it allows
macarons to be easier to store while also allowing them to be softer to eat when
brought to room temperature to serve. For all of these reasons, butter is not an
ingredient that you necessarily want to remove entirely from your ganache
recipes.

However, butter also has a high fat content. When you add in ingredients that also
have high fat contents on top of the butter in a recipe, you can cause the ganache
to become too oily and possibly even split. Because of this, when you want to add
in things like nut butters or pastes, it is important to reduce the quantity of
butter in your recipe to avoid such a situation.

The main ingredients that will cause you to adjust your butter ratio are nut
butters or pastes such as pistachio, almond, peanut, hazelnut, etc., nut spreads
such as Nutella, cookie butters such as Biscoff Spread, and oat butters such as
Granola Butter. Anything that has a thick, spreadable consistency like the
ingredients mentioned will likely fall into this category.

I recommend removing up to 50% of the butter in your recipe, and adding up to

four times the weight of 50% of the butter in the recipe. For example, if you have
a ganache recipe with 20g of butter originally and you would like to add in
pistachio paste, I recommend retaining 10g of butter in the recipe, and adding up
to 40g of pistachio paste. I also recommend multiplying the weight of butter you
remove by four for the maximum quantity of the new ingredient added - even if
you do not remove 50% of the butter. For example, if you have a ganache recipe
with 20g of butter and you would like to add peanut butter, and plan to remove 5g
of butter, multiply 5x4 = 20. Your new ganache recipe could have 20g peanut
butter and 15g butter.

If you want to play around with these ratios a bit more, you absolutely can!
Different nut butters and pastes can all act a bit different, and as you work to
create your own recipe you might find that you have the best results or the best
flavor by adding more or less, and by removing more or less butter. I just
recommend at least starting out with the 50% and x4 guidelines to help prevent
you from ending up with a ganache fail on your hands!

- 156 -
 Tips:
MOST THINGS WITH ‘BUTTER’ IN THE NAME CAN BE USED IN A
BUTTER REPLACEMENT ADAPTATION - WITH A FEW
EXCEPTIONS!
There are so many ingredients that give you a hint that they can be used as
a butter replacement - peanut butter, almond butter, sun butter, cookie
butter, etc. However, there are a few things that have ‘butter’ in the name
that do not fall into this category that I want you to be careful of: apple
butter and pumpkin butter. Particularly during the fall season, you might
see these ‘butters’ advertised in your local grocery store. They are
delicious, but apple butter and pumpkin butter should be considered and
used more like you would use a jam or compote. They contain high
quantities of water, and are not going to slide into a ganache recipe the way
other ‘butters’ do!

TRY BOTH STORE-BOUGHT AND HOMEMADE VERSIONS

For flavor and expense reasons, I recommend trying out a few different
brands of nut and cookie butters - as well as trying your own homemade
version. A lot of the time it is far easier to simply purchase a jar of Nutella
or a similar chocolate hazelnut spread. You might have a local version you
love and want to highlight, or you might have one brand that you can buy
cheaper in bulk that works best for you. However all kinds of nut and
cookie butters can be made in your home kitchen as well, and some are even
better when they are homemade. The two that I highly recommend you
trying out in your home kitchen are pistachio butter and hazelnut butter.
These are both very expensive to purchase and the store-bought versions
also typically have a lot of extra sugar and oil - which are best to avoid if
you are hoping for a flavorful and smooth ganache.

CHECK OUT THE NUT BUTTER SECTION OF YOUR GROCERY STORE

FOR INSPIRATION
If you go to the jam and nut butter section of your grocery store, take your
time sorting through all of the different types of “butters” available. It is
easy to grab your usual brand and style of nut butter as you walk through
that section, but if you stop and really look, I think it is easy to find some
new flavors and inspiration. Sometimes there are seasonal flavors that might
make an interesting ganache, sometimes there are new products on the
market (for example, did you know that cinnamon toast crunch cereal butter
exists?) and sometimes you might want to try a different brand to see if a
different texture or style inspires you to create something different for
your macaron fillings.

- 157 -
Granola Butter Macarons
Granola butter is something I came across relatively recently when

searching for a good gluten free replacement for cookie butter. The

internet let me know that it was an easy replacement but I didn’t

believe it until I tried it. Turns out the internet was right: I could eat

granola butter by the spoonful in exactly the same way as cookie

butter. With the additional spices added in to the granola butter, it has

an equally rich and warm flavor profile, and it has a delightful creamy

and spreadable texture.

If you have never tried granola butter - particularly in your baking - I

highly recommend it! This flavor is something I would eat any time of

the year, but is especially suited to fall. I am quite sure this flavor

could become a new seasonal favorite of yours, and is likely to become

a new best seller for anyone who avoids gluten and has been missing

out on cookie butter flavors!

- 158 -
 Granola Butter Ganache
INGREDIENTS ADAPTATION NOTES

100g Cream The primary adaptation in this recipe is

100g White Chocolate the addition of granola butter, of which I

added 3.5x the weight of 50% of the
100g Dulcy Chocolate
butter. I then removed that 50% of the
10g Butter (room
butter from the recipe, leaving me with
temperature, unsalted) 10g of butter and 35g of granola butter (as

35g Granola Butter compared to the original 20g of butter and

no granola butter).
1/4 teaspoon salt

In addition, I swapped 50% of the original

white chocolate for dulcey chocolate. I
think the dulcey chocolate - or any blonde
or caramelized chocolate - pairs really
well with the warm, spiced flavor of the
granola butter. I also added a bit of salt
to enhance the flavors and help balance
the sweetness of the ganache.
DIRECTIONS

1.Place the cream into a small saucepan

and bring to a scald on medium low
heat. You should see steam rising up
from the cream but you will not see any
bubbles - do not let the cream come to
a simmer, or it will overheat and can
alter the texture of the final ganache.

2. Place the chocolates into a small

bowl and partially melt them using a
microwave or double boiler.

3. When the cream reaches a scald,

immediately pour it over the
chocolates.

4. Let the chocolates and cream sit for

a minute or two before stirring them
together with a spoon or spatula.

5. Switch over to using an immersion

blender, and emulsify the ganache until
it looks smooth and homogenous.

6. Add in the salt and the butter, and

emulsify again with your immersion
blender until you no longer see any bits
or streaks of butter in the ganache.

7. Lastly, add in the granola butter. Use

your immersion blender or a spatula to
mix the granola butter into the ganache
until it is completely incorporated.
DIRECTIONS

8. Taste test the ganache before you continue. If you feel that it is
missing any flavors, you still have time to incorporate a small amount
of additional granola butter, more salt, or other flavors such as
warming spices or vanilla.

9. When you are satisfied with the taste, transfer the ganache into a
new container and cover the surface on contact with plastic wrap. I
used a plastic wrap lined sheet pan, as always.

10. After the ganache cools and sets up at room temperature, transfer
it into a piping bag and use the ganache to fill your macarons.
Typically a classic ganache will cool and set up as quickly as within 2
hours, though if you are ready to fill your macarons and the ganache
still seems a bit soft, you can transfer it into your refrigerator for 30-
60 minutes before piping (or leave it in your refrigerator overnight.

11. Fill and sandwich the macarons, and transfer them into the
refrigerator to mature or into an airtight container in the freezer to
store for a longer period of time.
 Notes on the Macaron
For the Macaron Shell:

I used Chocolate Brown with just a small amount of Yellow gel food
colorants to create this soft brown French meringue macaron shell. After
piping the macarons and tapping the trays, I sprinkled chopped oats over
the macarons before baking. I really like the appearance and texture the
oats bring to the macarons, and it helps identify the flavor of the ganache
which is additionally helpful.

About the Filling:

While I highly recommend you check out granola butter, you can make this
exact same recipe with cookie butter. You can also play around with the
flavors of granola butter or the texture of cookie butter that you use to
create different styles of ganache. If you want to enhance the warm spices
in the granola butter, you can also add in spices such as cinnamon, ginger,
cloves, cardamom, etc. For a slightly different flavor profile, you can also
pair a granola butter ganache with jams or fruit based secondary fillings
to create a macaron similar to a PB&J flavor profile!

- 162 -
Replacing the Gelatin
Adaptations
PEACH GUMMY GANACHE

- 164 -
 Replacing the Gelatin Adaptations
There are two primary categories for replacing the gelatin adaptations, and as you
have probably already deduced, this form of adaptation is specifically meant for
whipped ganache recipes.

The first category of gelatin replacement is with a similar, flavorless gelling

agent. For flavor, texture and stability reasons, agar and carrageenan are the best
substitutes for gelatin in most pastry recipes. Agar is stronger than gelatin, which
means you need less of it (1/3 to 1/2 the weight) to achieve a similar effect.
Carrageenan is a bit weaker than gelatin, so you will likely need more of it (1.2 to
1.5 times more) for a similar effect.

I generally do not use agar or carrageenan in my whipped ganache recipes - I use

them for gelees and other such recipes in my kitchen! If you are planning to swap
gelatin for another gelling agent, please do your research first to understand not
only the quantity you should be replacing, but also HOW you are making the
replacement. Gelatin should not be boiled, which is why you will always see it
added in to a recipe once the liquid is hot and removed from the heat. Agar, on
the other hand, sets up from being boiled, so it will need to be added in a
different way from the gelatin.

The second category of gelatin adaptations is actually a method that replaces both
the gelatin and the sweetener in the recipe! Though it might seem a bit unusual,
you can use just about any gummy or gelee candy to create a whipped ganache.

Different brands and styles of gummy candies will have slightly different
quantities of both gelatin and sweetener. That said, I recommend using around 10-
20g of a gummy candy for every 1g of gelatin (specifically 200 gold bloom sheet
gelatin) in a recipe. The reason I recommend this ratio is because when you bloom
1g of gelatin, you use around 5-7g of liquid. So after the gelatin is bloomed, you
have around 6-8g worth of bloomed gelatin. If you think about a gummy candy,
they have enough gelatin to maintain their shape and be gummies, and they also
contain all sorts of other ingredients like sugar, etc.

If you are using a gummy candy that is very firm, I recommend using 10g per 1g of
gelatin, as there is likely a higher ratio of gelatin in the candy. If you have a much
softer and squishier gummy candy, I would recommend increasing the ratio to 15-
20g of candies per 1g of gelatin. When you are using gummy candies in your
ganache, remember that you should also remove most or all of the sweetener in
the recipe, as the gummy candies will provide sweetener along with the gelatin.

The gummy candy method of replacing gelatin is perfect for recreating candy
flavors and for any flavors that are delicious in artificial flavor form, but hard to
achieve with natural flavors, especially when competing with white chocolate and
cream. Gummies flavored like peaches, watermelon, black raspberry, etc are likely
to be crowd pleasers!

- 165 -
 Tips:
STICK TO GUMMY CANDIES WITH EASILY IDENTIFIABLE
FLAVORS
Many gummy candies have distinct flavors like peach, cherry, watermelon,
grape, etc. Any of those kinds of flavors and varieties of gummy - and any
gummy flavor that is sold on its own and not in a variety pack of gummies,
like peach rings - will likely make a fantastic whipped ganache recipe!
However, things like gummy bears that technically have different flavors,
but primarily taste like sugar are going to be more challenging to turn into
a ganache. Technically speaking, it will work just fine, but the final flavor
will likely be generally sweet and maybe a bit like gummies, instead of one
prominent flavor.

CHECK OUT INTERNATIONAL GROCERY STORES NEAR YOU

FOR INSPIRATION
Personally I am a huge fan of Japanese gummy candies. The textures and
flavor profiles are my cup of tea, and in general I find them to be a bit less
sweet than the average American gummy candy. When I am in need of baking
inspiration, the candy isle of my local H-Mart is always one of my first
stops. If you are interested in stepping outside your usual baking box, I
recommend checking out some of the international grocery stores near you -
or even doing a bit of research about international candies online if you
don’t have any such stores close to you! The bonus of working with things
like gummy candies is that whether you end up using them in a ganache or
not, they are often relatively inexpensive and very tasty to snack on.

USE DIFFERENT KINDS OF GUMMIES IN THE SAME RECIPE TO

CREATE YOUR OWN FLAVOR COMBINATION!
In the recipe example that follows, I used a Japanese peach gummy to flavor
my whipped ganache. I have also listed a lot of single-flavor gummy candy
ideas in the last page. That said, if you want to experiment and layer two or
more gummy candies into the same ganache - go for it! Just like layering
flavors into any other ganache and using any other method of adaptation,
there is no limit on the number of flavors you chose to squish into one
recipe. If you want to make a strawberry watermelon or lychee raspberry or
yuzu mango whipped ganache, you absolutely can. Just make sure that you
are following the guidelines for the ratio of candies to gelatin, and you
aren’t doubling down on the quantity of gummy candies - as that could lead
to a very stiff, and very hard to whip, ganache!

- 166 -
Peach Gummy Macarons

If you told me when I was in pastry school in France or working in a

French patisserie in the US several years ago that I would be making

macarons with Japanese gummy candies I probably would not have

believed you - in fact, I still barely believe it is possible now!

Despite peach candies tasting nothing like an actual fresh peach, they

are one of the most delicious candy flavors in my opinion. It is so hard

to find an extract or flavoring that even comes close, and so much of

the time it is hard to use an actual gummy candy in a pastry without it

becoming an overly sweet mess. Well, never fear - you can now enjoy

delicious gummy candy flavors while also feeling fancy and eating a

delicate French macaron!

- 167 -
 Peach Gummy Ganache
INGREDIENTS ADAPTATION NOTES

100g White Chocolate The primary adaptation for this recipe is

65g Peach Gummy Candies the substitution of both the gelatin and
glucose for gummy candies. The original
100g + 180g Cream
recipe calls for 4g gelatin and 20g
Pink Food Coloring,
glucose. I used a conversion of about
optional (I used about 16.25g gummy candies per 1g of gelatin -

1/16 teaspoon Coral gel and am assuming that this quantity of

gummy candies will contain an equivalent
powdered colorant)
amount of sweetness (or more).

Since I wanted the peach candy flavor to

dominate the recipe, I also removed the
vanilla originally in the recipe. I also
added a touch of colorant so that the
finished ganache would be a more vibrant
color.
DIRECTIONS

1.Begin by placing 100g of the cream, the gummy candies and any
colorant you want to use into a small saucepan. I am using the peach
gummy candies from Kasugai - which I highly recommend for both this
recipe and for snacking on in general.

2. Place the saucepan on low heat, and carefully monitor it - stirring

frequently - until the gummies dissolve into the cream. It will take
quite some time for the gummy candies to completely melt, which is
why it is better to do this low and slow. If you use too high of a heat,
the cream will come to a scald before the gummy candies have
completely melted, and it can lead to a lumpy ganache or one that
doesn’t form properly.

3. While the cream is heating, transfer the chocolate into a small bowl
and partially melt it using a microwave or double boiler.

4. Once the gummies have completely dissolved and the cream has
come to a scald, pour the hot cream over the partially melted
chocolate.
DIRECTIONS

5. Let the cream and chocolate sit for a minute or two before using a
spoon or spatula to stir them together.

6. After the chocolate mixture looks combined, switch over to an

immersion blender to emulsify it until it is completely smooth.

7. While mixing with the immersion blender, slowly pour in the

remaining 180g cream until it is completely incorporated. Though you
want to make sure all of the ingredients are properly mixed, be careful
not to over mix the ganache at this point. If you mix too much or too
long, you can incorporate a lot of air into the ganache - which we
want to wait until after it has set to do.

8. Transfer the ganache into an airtight container and cover the

surface on contact with plastic wrap. Since this ganache should set up
in the refrigerator for at least six hours or ideally overnight, I would
not worry too much about the surface area of your container or trying
to aid the ganache in cooling more quickly.
DIRECTIONS

9. After the ganache has completely set

up, transfer either a portion or all of
the ganache into a bowl or the bowl of
your stand mixer. Remember, whipped
ganache is best used immediately after
it has been whipped, and it is
challenging to re-whip any ganache
that has been previously whipped and
then refrigerated again, so only use
what you think you need for your
macarons in this moment!

10. Whip the ganache on low speed at

first to break down the bonds formed
by the gelatin in the gummy candies.

11. Once the ganache looks smooth and

creamy, increase the speed of your
mixer to medium or medium high and
continue whipping until you reach a
medium stiff to stiff peak. In general,
it is better to slightly under-whip your
ganache rather than accidentally over-
whip the ganache. This recipe is
relatively forgiving and easy to use,
but just in case I would still
recommend mixing until you reach a
medium stiff peak.

12. As soon as the ganache is whipped,

immediately transfer it into a piping
bag and use it to fill your macaron
shells. I recommend using a star tip or
French star tip since you will see so
much of the ganache around the edges
of the macarons.
DIRECTIONS

13. Sandwich the macarons and transfer them into your refrigerator to
mature or freezer to store for a future date.

Notes:

Remember that whipped ganache filled macarons will mature more

quickly than regular macarons! These might mature in as little as 6
hours and are best consumed within 48-72 hours.

Whipped ganache does not like to be re-whipped, but it can be stored

for several days un-whipped in the refrigerator. If you are not sure
how much you need for your macarons, I recommend beginning with a
small portion and whip more if you need it.

Whipped ganache should be used to fill macarons as soon as it is

whipped, so make sure your macaron shells are ready to go before you
begin whipping the ganache!

- 172 -
 Notes on the Macaron
For the Macaron Shell:

I used a mix of Coral and Sugar Rose powdered gel food colorants, added
into the meringue of my French meringue macaron shell recipe, to color
these macaron shells. The peach gummy candies I used had a peachy pink
color to them, which I think I matched quite well in the shells with this
color combination! If your peach gummy candies are more peach or orange
colored, you might want to use an orange colorant to match.

About the Filling:

If you are new to swapping gelatin for gummy candies or even new to
whipped ganache in general, an easy way to adapt this recipe is to swap
out the peach gummy candies for other flavors. The Kasugai brand of
Japanese gummy candies I used has many other flavors including kiwi,
lychee, mango, grape and yuzu - all of which would be pretty tasty as a
whipped ganache if you ask me. If you are feeling stuck with what other
flavors you could create using this recipe as a base, simply Google search
“gummy candies” and I promise you will find some inspiration in no time!

- 173 -
 USE WITH CAUTION
Though you can add just about anything into a ganache in one way or
another, there are a few things that you will want to add very carefully, as
they can drastically change or even ruin the final result!

The two types of ingredients I want to warn you about in particular are
alcohols and anything with high acidity like citrus fruits.

Though at first glance it might seem like these ingredients would be the
perfect candidates for adaptations involving swapping the cream for
another liquid, unfortunately that is just not the case. A lot of the time,
particularly in white chocolate ganache recipes, alcohol added at the
beginning of the recipe or instead of cream just leads to a soupy disaster
unless you have a strategy for thickening the ganache. Acidic fruits can
either break the ganache - wreaking havoc with the bond between the cream
and the chocolate - or they can result in rock hard ganache.

I kid you not, my coworker and I ruined about six batches of ganache back
when I worked in a French pastry kitchen trying to find a new way to have a
more intense lemon flavor for our lemon white chocolate macarons. One day
the ganache might as well have not had any chocolate in it, it was so thin.
The next day the supposed ganache seemed fine until it cooled to room
temperature... at which time we could physically break it apart as if it were
a chocolate bar!

And for many alcohols, to add them into a white chocolate ganache it is best
to cook them down before mixing them with the cream. If you have ever
tried making a champagne ganache before, you will know that not only will
the reduction process fundamentally change the taste of the champagne, the
white chocolate immediately overpowers any remaining champagne flavor -
leading to a very expensive and time consuming “champagne” macaron that
really just tastes like regular white chocolate.

Yes, you CAN use alcohol and acidic fruits in your ganache - in face there is
a lemon basil ganache in this book as proof! But you need to proceed with
caution, and more often than not with these ingredients the best way to go
is to add them at the very end.

Challenging ingredients like alcohol and acidic fruits are also the perfect
time for bringing in a secondary filling - curds and compotes are perfect for
acidic things, and gelees are an ideal way to introduce alcohol in a way that
keeps it tasting like actual alcohol!

- 175 -
 Tips:
FOLD IN INGREDIENTS YOU AREN’T SURE ABOUT AT THE
VERY END
If you are adding something to your ganache that can fit into the
“additions” category (not replacing a chocolate or liquid) and you aren’t
sure how it will incorporate into the ganache, instead of heating this
new element with the cream or emulsifying it in with the butter, simply
fold it in at the very end. If you are very unsure about an ingredient,
you can also separate a tiny portion of your nearly finished ganache,
and mix in a little bit of the final ingredient to test the reaction before
proceeding with the entire batch.

Zest? Fold it in. Alcohol? Fold it in. Freeze dried fruit? Fold it in.
Previously untested cookie crumbs? Fold. Them. In!

DO A BIT OF RESEARCH (GOOGLE IS YOUR BEST FRIEND)

TO SEE IF ANYONE ELSE HAS SUCCESSFULLY MADE THE
RECIPE OR FLAVOR COMBINATION YOU ARE THINKING
ABOUT

Even if you are an experienced baker, it never hurts to check out what
other people have done and gather a bit of information and inspiration.
It is okay to try something you have never seen before! It is also okay to
attempt something you haven’t seen others doing. I am not telling you to
go out and carbon copy another baker’s work - but it can be very
reassuring to know, especially if you are newer to recipe development
and testing, that the recipe or flavor combination you have in mind can
turn out successfully! It can also be educational and interesting to see
the different ways different bakers have adapted their recipes. The more
you research, the more you will find you can identify how recipes have
been altered from base recipes.

Did the baker replace the cream or chocolate to adjust the flavor? Is the
flavor coming from an extract or infusion? Does it look vibrant and
flavorful but the recipe seems quite plain and calls for food coloring? As
you research your flavor ideas, contemplate what other people have
done and think about whether you want to try something similar or if
you see a better - perhaps tastier! - version of such a recipe.

- 176 -
DO NOT LET A FEAR OF WASTING INGREDIENTS STOP YOU FROM
TRYING SOMETHING - EVEN IF IT SEEMS RISKY
As I mentioned, one of the best ways to test an additional ingredient is
by adding just a tiny bit to a small portion of your finished ganache to
see how it goes. The risk is quite low, and even if it is a complete failure
for some reason, at least you haven’t ruined your entire batch!

The risk is obviously much higher when you are using a cream or
chocolate replacement, and the adaptation occurs for the entire batch at
the beginning of the recipe. Even with that in mind, as you go to make
adaptations think about it in the same way you think about education.
Consider the investments into ingredients, pastry tools, and your time
spent experimenting with new recipes and techniques the same way you
would think about going to school, going to a lecture, attending a
master class or an unpaid internship. Education and learning new things
takes time and often some sort of financial commitment. Now I’m hoping
that you are not spending the same amount on ganache fails as you
would on a university degree (particularly here in the US) BUT I do want
you to view your experiments with ganache and any other pastry as an
investment in your knowledge and growth. If you are paying attention
and keeping notes, it is unlikely that you will continue to make the same
mistakes. You will learn with each result and continue to evolve into a
better and more skilled baker each time.

So yes, it is insanely frustrating when you use 200g of a chocolate that

costs $140 a kilo and something goes awry. It is absolutely the kind of
situation that makes you want to throw an adult-sized temper tantrum
and storm out of the kitchen never to return again. But hopefully
whatever happened in that recipe can be analyzed, learned from, and
will never happen again. Be cautious, do your research, think the recipe
through, but also - go ahead and make the recipe!

DON’T BE AN IDIOT
It has to be said.

If you have made it all the way through this book and have read through
all of my notes on methods and strategies for making adaptations, you
already have so much knowledge to base your own adaptations on!
Before you rush into anything new with a recipe, stop and think it
through. Write it down. Double check the ratio of cream to chocolate.
Think about the types of ingredients you are adding or swapping. Walk
through all of your previous ganache making experiences in your head.
Reflect on any past disastrous recipes and whether your current attempt
contains any similar ingredients, adaptations or processes that run the
risk of repeating such a disaster - and if so, make a plan for what to do
differently this time.

Then after all of that - even if the ingredient you want to add is a bit of
a risk - go for it.

- 177 -
Calculating Macaron Fillings
There is nothing worse than creating an incredibly unique and
specific macaron filling, using up all of your macaron shells, and
then realizing that you have way too much leftover filling that now
has to be stored or repurposed!

Luckily there is an incredibly easy solution to this problem:

Math!

All you need is a scale, some brain power (or a calculator, let's be
honest) and a place to record your notes.

This method for calculating macaron fillings can be applied to

anything you do in the pastry world, and is the best practice to use
to avoid waste and to avoid storing little bits of things like ganache
in your freezer for indefinite amounts of time and needing to go
through the process of bringing it back to a reusable consistency
later on. If you are struggling with this process or would like a
visual aid on calculating macaron fillings, please reference my
Calculating Macaron Fillings video on YouTube. Click here for the
link!

- 179 -
Use a scale to weigh the amount of filling you use. Make sure
to record how much filling you use for different styles of
piping, all varieties of ganache and buttercream, and things
like jams and caramels as well.

Now, when you go to make your macarons and fillings, try this out:

1.Decide how many macarons you are going to make. Let’s say we are
going to make 24 finished macarons (48 shells)

2. Decide which filling recipe and style of piping you will use. Let’s say
classic vanilla ganache and nothing else. Let’s say you usually pipe 6g of
ganache in each macaron.

3. Multiply the number of macarons (24) by the amount of ganache filling

you usually pipe in each macaron (6g): 24 x 6 = 144

4. The absolute minimum amount of ganache you need is 144g. Let’s give
ourselves a little buffer, and maybe round up to 160g.

5. Now, add up the weight of our ganache recipe. Let’s say the total
weight is 400g. Now divide the weight of the recipe by the weight you
need for your macarons: 400 / 160 = 2.5

6. Finally, to create the batch size you need, divide each ingredient in
the recipe with the number you just got! For example, if there were 100g
of chocolate in the recipe: 100 / 2.5 = 40 —> You would need 40g of
chocolate instead of 100g!

Remember:

Number of Macaron Shells x Weight of Filling for One Macaron = Weight

of Filling You Need

Weight of The Recipe / Weight of Filling You Need = The Number to Divide
the Ingredients by for Your Batch Size By

OR if you need to increase the recipe size:

Weight of Filling You Need / Weight of The Recipe = The Number to

Multiply the Ingredients for Your Batch Size By

NOTE: If you have never weighed your ganache filled macarons before and
don’t know where to start, I recommend estimating that you use
8g/macaron. I think most people use between 6-12g/macaron, so that is a
pretty safe guess to start off with

- 180 -
 Storing &
Reusing Ganache
Storing ganache is similar to the storage of nearly any pastry component -
airtight container + plastic wrap on contact with the surface. Just like the
storage of macarons, ganache is ideally kept in the refrigerator for about a week
or in the freezer for around two months.

However, the honest truth is that ganache is best within the day you make it!
Ideally, you should not have any excess ganache and will not need to take up
space in your refrigerator or freezer storing little bits (or copious amounts) of
ganache. To ensure you are making the right sized batch, use the Calculating
Macaron Fillings section as a guide to alter the batch size of any recipe to suit
your baking needs. If you have never weighed your fillings before, begin by
estimating about 8g / macaron, then make sure to weigh your macarons as you fill
them so you have a better guide to go by for the next time!

If you do need to store and reuse a ganache, keep in mind that classic ganaches
are the easiest to restore to their original texture. All you need to do is let it
thaw to at least refrigerator temperature, then use a double boiler to gently warm
and partially melt the ganache. After that, use you immersion blender to emulsify
the ganache, cover it with plastic wrap and let it set up the way you would the
first time you make a ganache.

Whipped ganaches, due to the high cream content and gelatin, are not a huge fan
of being stored and reused, and pastry cream style ganaches are able to be
brought back to life the same way you would a classic ganache but it can be hard
to find the perfect original texture again. With these two formats of ganache, the
best way to properly reuse them is to actually bring them back to room
temperature and emulsify them into a new batch of the same ganache at the end
of the recipe.
My recommendation for using up extra ganache is to keep a small stash of
simple, unfilled macarons in your freezer. Calculate your batch size for
ganache and get as close as possible to having no excess, and use the
freezer macaron shells to use up the little bit of excess you do have!

Back when I was selling actual macarons out of my kitchen, I would often
sell a few boxes of “macaron roulette” at a discounted price. This was a
great way to not only use up all my little bits of extra fillings, but it also
provided a lower price point for folks who love macarons and are primarily
interested in flavor over appearance, and for those who don’t have a
standard box of macarons in their budget.

You can also multipurpose your ganache into different desserts!

It is common practice in professional kitchens to have treats that seem

professional and intentional, but are actually intended to use up excess
scraps. Take almond croissants for example - they were invented as a way
to use up day old croissants and continue to be used that way to this day.
Any time you see monkey bread or any sort of pull apart, you can guess it is
coming from scraps of dough from another bake in that kitchen. Most
parfaits, trifles or verrines are around as a garbage dump for things like
excess jam and sponge.

And the same can be done for anything related to your macarons -
particularly ganache. You can use your extra bits of ganache in sandwich
cookies (think linzer cookies but with ganache instead of jam), as part of a
filling for a layer cake, inside or on top of a tart, etc. While most of those
options are a bit more cumbersome to plan out, keeping a bit of cookie
dough in your freezer to bake off and use for ganache sandwich cookies is
quite fast, easy, and crowd pleasing!
 Serving & Storing
Unlike many pastries, macarons should not be enjoyed as soon as
they are made! Macarons need to mature in a refrigerator or
freezer to achieve their optimal texture, so understanding how to
store and serve them is of the utmost importance.

STORAGE CONTAINERS:

Use an airtight container to store your macarons. If you do not have

one, wrap the tray or container you have with plastic wrap to try to
keep moisture or humidity away from the finished macarons.

I like to use large plastic containers with locking seals at the top, like
the one pictured below. This type of storage container is useful for
unfilled macaron shells and filled macaron shells, and can easily stack
with other containers in your refrigerator or freezer if you have
multiple bakes happening at the same time.

Tip: When you are packing your macarons (filled or just the shells)
into your storage container, tilt the container at a small angle using
the lid. This will help the macarons from rolling around as you pack
them in!
MATURATION TIMELINE:

Macarons generally need at least one day to mature or to become their

ideal texture. Generally ganache filled macarons mature after one day,
though buttercream filled macarons might need two or even three days
to reach the same consistency.

Specifically for white chocolate ganache filled macarons, whipped

white chocolate ganache filled macarons mature the fastest - even
within 6 hours - and should be consumed or frozen within 2-3 days.
Classic white chocolate ganache and pastry cream style ganache filled
macarons generally mature within 24 hours and can be kept in the
refrigerator for about one week without becoming too moist. Some
folks find that pastry cream style ganaches mature more quickly and
become moist more quickly than classic ganaches, so keep an eye on
that if you are new to pastry cream style ganaches in your kitchen.

To make sure nobody bites into a freshly filled macaron (unless they
want to!) I recommend trying to finish filling your macarons 1-3 days
minimum before serving. Macarons can be stored in the freezer for
several months, so do not worry about your macarons becoming too
soft or acquiring a strange texture if they sit in your freezer for a bit.

THAWING FROZEN MACARONS:

For best results, transfer the frozen macarons into your refrigerator
one day before serving. Even if you do not have one full day, it is
better for the frozen macarons to gradually change temperature, so try
to avoid going straight from freezer to room temperature.

- 186 -
WHEN TO EAT MACARONS:

Take the macarons from your refrigerator, and allow them to come to
room temperature for at least 20 minutes before eating. Depending on
the temperature of the room or time of year, you can leave your
macarons at room temperature from anywhere between 1 hour (in a
warm room or in the summer) to 6 hours (in a cold room or in the
winter).

Buttercream filled macarons, due to the high butter content of the

filling, will get quite soft and the buttercream might even start
melting if they are sitting outside or in a particularly warm room.
Ganache filled macarons, with their high chocolate content, will take
longer to become very soft at room temperature, but if they are in a
hot room or in direct sunlight they too will begin melting. Keep this in
mind as you plan how to store or serve your macarons for an event!

BEST PRACTICES FOR SHARING MACARONS:

Upon receiving macarons, it is not uncommon for folks to dive right

in! With this in mind, I recommend making sure that the macarons you
hand over are not frozen, and are either straight from the refrigerator
or have been at room temperature for a short period of time.

If you are selling or gifting macarons, folks on the receiving end may
not have perfect airtight containers for storage. Keep this in mind as
you pick your packaging, whether it is a plastic sleeve or a paper box,
and make sure to pass on important information such as keeping the
macarons refrigerated, and when to eat them for best results. Many
people who are new to macarons might not realize that macarons
should be stored in the refrigerator or freezer, to keep them out of
direct sunlight to prevent melting, and to not keep them in hot
locations (outside in summer, near a fireplace, etc) so you may want to
include a note with your macarons to outline best practices for
serving and storing.
 Long Term
Storage for Macarons
If you are baking and filling your macarons on the same day, and
consuming every single one of the macarons as soon as they are mature a
day or two later, long term storage isn't so much of a concern!

But as soon as you start baking your macaron shells a day or more in
advance of when you will fill your macaron shells, or if you are planning to
eat or share your finished macarons a week or more after they are ready to
eat, it is very important to keep them stored properly.

I recommend the Sistema or similar brand of airtight plastic container for

both the storage of your macaron shells and the filled macarons. I use the
169 oz (27x26x12 cm) and 236 oz (36x26x12 cm) containers every day for my
macaron storage. Any airtight storage that is 12 cm or about 4.5 inches tall
will be perfect for stacking two layers of macarons on top of each other!
Just be careful though, I recommend 1-2 layers deep of macarons stacked
on top of each other, but as soon as you get to 3 or more layers the weight
can cause the macarons beneath them to crack or squish, so keep that in
mind as you find the best storage for your macaron shells!

If you are new to making and storing large quantities of macarons, and
don’t have a good airtight container on hand, you can use the sheet pan
method - common in many pastry kitchens for storage! Simply fill up one
sheet pan - likely a quarter sheet pan would be best for home freezer
storage - top the macarons or contents of your sheet pan with parchment
paper, and flip a second tray over the top as a cover. Wrap the entire thing
in plastic wrap to keep moisture from seeping in, and place the trays in
your refrigerator or freezer for storage.

- 188 -
Answering Your
Questions
 Questions & Answers
Just to make sure I’m answering as many of your potential questions as
possible, I put up a question box on Instagram and on my YouTube channel.
I took as many of those questions as possible, and I will answer them all
briefly here! Now, it is likely that for many of these questions, the answers
can already be found earlier in this book. But just in case you have the same
question and don’t want to go digging for the information, I am going to
keep questions even if they are a bit repetitive!

Thank you so much to everybody who asked their ganache questions - I

appreciate your engagement, support and ideas!

WHAT CAUSES A GANACHE TO SPLIT?

A split ganache will typically look oily and grainy at the same time -
basically the components of the ganache have broken apart from each other.
Usually a split ganache is caused from over heating the cream for a classic
or pastry cream style ganache, or over whipping a whipped ganache.

A lot of the time if you let the ganache cool a bit then use a double boiler
to warm the ganache while whisking vigorously, a classic ganache - and
sometimes a pastry cream style ganache - will come back together. A pastry
cream style ganache is challenging to return to it’s intended smooth
consistency if it has broken, however if you cool it and re-emulsify it with a
whisk or immersion blender, it should become usable!

If you over whip a whipped ganache to the point that it splits, it is very
hard (if not impossible) to bring that ganache back to it’s intended state.
However, you can attempt to resuscitate it by gently folding some as-of-yet-
unwhipped whipped ganache or even regular cream into the over whipped
ganache. Depending on the purpose of the whipped ganache, this can
sometimes allow the whipped ganache to return to a mostly normal state and
be used as it was intended.

- 191 -
IS IT POSSIBLE TO MAKE WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE LESS
SWEET?
Yes and no. White chocolate is quite sweet, and for a classic white
chocolate ganache the ratio of cream to chocolate is 1:2, leading to a very
white chocolate dominant flavor - and sweetness. If you are looking for a
less sweet white chocolate ganache, pastry cream style ganaches and
whipped white chocolate ganaches naturally contain less white chocolate
and will, by their nature, be less sweet!

That said, you can layer in flavors that will balance the sweetness even in a
classic style of ganache. By adding fresh, salty, bitter or acidic flavors into
the ganache - as well as secondary fillings containing similar flavors - you
can cut through the sweetness that comes along with a white chocolate.

For example, the Lemon Basil Ganache doesn’t actually taste very sweet and
is a favorite of my sister-in-law who is usually not a fan of white chocolate
ganache recipes due to their level of sweetness. That recipe uses acidic
lemon zest and lots of fresh basil to absolutely dominate the white
chocolate in the recipe.

You can also use things like coffee, black tea, nuts, other citrus, etc to help
balance out the white chocolate - whether you are using a classic ganache
recipe or not.

That said - you can’t fundamentally change white chocolate to magically

become less sweet - at the end of the day it is a sweet ingredient. So if it
still tastes too sweet to you even after trying to balance it, use different
methods and making adaptations - it might just not be your cup of tea. Or
chocolate, as it were.

BESIDES MACARONS, HOW ELSE CAN GANACHE BE USED?

Ganache can be used in just about any pastry! The trick is knowing which
style of ganache is best suited to which portion of which pastry.

For example, whipped ganache is one of my favorite ways to top tarts,

choux, and cut cakes. It is light in texture, sturdy, and easy to incorporate
flavors into. A whipped ganache can also be used sometimes as a filling for
sandwich cookies, cakes, etc.

A classic ganache can find it’s way inside a lot of desserts as a filling - into
a tart shell, spread onto a cake as a part of a cake filling, inside a
chocolate. This style of ganache is best suited to be used in a spreadable,
thin layer - which is what makes it so perfect as a macaron filling.

A pastry cream style ganache is the one ganache I don’t love multi-
purposing. Though you can use it as a part of a cake filling or with
sandwich cookies, it’s structure and texture is perfect for macarons - and to
hide it away as a minor element of a tart or choux is not an ideal use for
this ganache to me personally.

- 192 -
EVEN IF I FOLLOW A RECIPE IT SOMETIMES COMES OUT “WET.”
WHAT AM I DOING WRONG?
There are a few things that could be going wrong if your ganache is too
liquid. First and foremost - you could be using a bad recipe! If someone has
posted a random recipe on their blog without much recipe testing, if
someone has posted a recipe on social media it is possible for someone to
write down random ingredient quantities that will never work (I have seen
this before!) or is using very different ingredients than those you have
access to - it might just be a miss.

The next thing to check is to make sure you are using a scale that is
functioning properly - and to always weigh your ingredients. If you are in
the US - please stop using cups to measure your ingredients - when you are
working with a delicate pastry recipe it is really not ideal and can lead to
mistakes with the recipe!

Ganache also needs enough time to rest and set up. If you make a ganache
and go to use it two hours later - it is likely just not ready yet, and will
therefore seem too liquid! If you are using a classic or pastry cream style
ganache and it has already been setting up for 4+ hours at room temperature
and it still seems soft, give it 30-60 minutes in the fridge before checking it
again before you become overly concerned.

If you are making a pastry cream style ganache and it feels too loose - even
after refrigerating it for an hour or overnight - you might have undercooked
the pastry cream portion! The thickening that happens when forming the
pastry cream is vital for the final texture, so make sure to thoroughly cook
the cream during that stage.

Finally, you might experience difficulties if you are using ingredients such
as alcohol or acidic things like lemon juice. If you are not careful, these
ingredients have the capability of turning your ganache to soup - even if
you begin with a perfect recipe! So proceed with caution.

CAN YOU ADD MORE TEXTURE INTO A GANACHE?

You definitely can - it just depends on how and why you want to add texture
into your ganache! The easiest ways to add in texture are through things
like chopped nuts - which can be tossed into a ganache quite casually at any
point. Other things, such as chopped chocolate pieces, can be added but
only after the ganache has cooled enough that they won’t melt.

Typically though, the best way to add texture into your macaron is through
a secondary filling or topping to your macaron. You can easily cover your
macaron shells in nuts, crumbs, chocolate or royal icing, etc to provide a
crunch on the outside of your shell, or add in chopped nuts, praline, cookie
dough, cake, etc to the center of your macaron if you are looking for a
texture that will contrast with the smooth ganache.

- 193 -
WHAT IS THE BEST RATIO OF CREAM AND CHOCOLATE?
Different chocolates require different ratios of cream and chocolate. Dark
and milk chocolate ganaches are generally closer to the 1:1 side of the
spectrum, and white chocolate ganaches are generally closer to the 1:2 side
of the spectrum - at least for classic ganache styles.

That said, whereas a classic white chocolate ganache will typically have
100g cream to 200g chocolate, a pastry cream style ganache will usually
have 180-200g of cream to 100g of chocolate, and a whipped white chocolate
ganache will usually have between 250-300g cream to 100g of chocolate.
Depending on what other elements are being added into the recipe - if
anything additional will provide a liquid element or a thickening element -
that ratio might change a bit.

Typically caramelized white chocolate, blonde chocolate, ruby chocolate,

and flavored chocolates like Strawberry Inspiration from Valrhona or even
the butterscotch chips you might find in a grocery store will behave more
like a white chocolate, and have close to a 1:2 ratio as well.

CAN WHIPPED GANACHE BE USED TO COAT A CAKE, OR FOR

OTHER DESSERTS BESIDES MACARONS?
Definitely - in fact I prefer using whipped ganache as a topping for tarts,
choux, large format macarons and to top cut cakes over small sized
macarons! I have not personally used the whipped ganache recipes in this
book to coat a cake - I tend not to make a lot of layer cakes! - but as long as
you keep the cake stored in the refrigerator and use a relatively light
weight sponge for your cake, I don’t see why you couldn’t use it as a cake
frosting.

In the pictures below, you can see all three of the whipped ganache recipes
in this book. Full disclosure, I piped them after the ganache had already
been whipped and sitting on my counter for about 45 minutes, which is why
the white chocolate ganache in particular looks a bit soft. However, I also
took these photos after the whipped ganache set out after being piped like
this for about four hours. If I were to touch the ganache after sitting out
for four hours, yes of course it would be soft to the touch. However, as you
can see they held exactly the form I piped them in and didn’t melt or run at
all! (For reference, I keep my kitchen around 70 degrees Fahrenheit / 21 C)
MY GANACHE GETS TOO HARD, ESPECIALLY AFTER BEING IN THE
REFRIGERATOR (BOTH BEFORE AND AFTER FILLING). WHAT
SHOULD I DO?
Ideally classic and pastry cream style ganaches should be used the same day
you make them - or made the night before and only stored in the
refrigerator for 12-24 hours maximum before they are piped! Dark and milk
chocolate ganaches should never be refrigerated before being used, and
should ideally be used within 8-12 hours of being prepared - but we will get
more into that in the Dark and Milk Chocolate Adaptations book!

If your white chocolate ganache recipe feels too hard to pipe or dries out
and cracks in your finished macarons, it is likely that you did not use
enough cream or there was an element that caused the ganache to harden or
change texture - likely something acidic.

If you have not yet use the ganache to fill your macarons, you can gently
warm and partially melt the ganache using a double boiler, then emulsify in
a small amount of cream (start with 15g/200g chocolate) until you reach a
ganache that looks smooth and appropriately textured. Let the ganache cool
again before you pipe it.

If you continue to have issues with the ganache - likely either the recipe
you are working from is not suited to your kitchen (or is entirely a bad
recipe), there is an ingredient in the recipe that is not working for you or
for this specific ganache and you might want to make note to avoid it, or
you might want to check your scale to make sure it is weighing your
ingredients properly.

CAN YOU MAKE GANACHE WITHOUT CREAM?

Yes! As you can read all about in the Replacing the Cream chapter in this
book, you can replace the cream in ganache with all manner of things. That
said, personally I generally prefer to swap out a portion of the cream
instead of swapping it entirely. Unless you are swapping regular cream in a
ganache recipe for a dairy-free cream substitute that has similar or
identical properties, it is hard to have a perfectly smooth ganache recipe if
you remove the cream entirely.

DO YOU NEED TO COOL A WHIPPED GANACHE BEFORE YOU WHIP

IT?

YES! Every ganache needs time to cool so it can set up. In most ganache
recipes, it is the chocolate or chocolate and butter that need a chance to
solidify. In a whipped ganache, the gelatin helps to stabilize the ganache -
and in order to function it needs several hours to set up. Theoretically you
could whip and whipped ganache right after you prepare it - but the texture
will not be the same since the gelatin and white chocolate did not have a
chance to finish setting up first, so you would not end up with the same
results as a whipped ganache that was properly cooled.

- 195 -
CAN YOU FREEZE GANACHE OR STORE IT FOR A LONGER TIME?

You can freeze ganache - particularly classic ganache and pastry cream style
ganache. However, it is best to calculate your macaron fillings to make sure
that you do not have any excess and do not have to worry about freezing or
storage. You can also keep your ganache in an airtight container in your
refrigerator for several days, though if you keep a classic or pastry cream
style ganache for more than 24 hours in the refrigerator, you might have
trouble piping it into your macarons. If the ganache is too set up, you may
need to partially melt, re-emulsify, and cool the ganache again to return it
to it’s original consistency.

So while you can freeze or store a ganache for days or even weeks, it is best
to only make a ganache on the day you plan to use it or the night before you
plan to use it.

HOW MANY TIMES CAN YOU FREEZE A GANACHE?

Theoretically a ganache - primarily a classic ganache, not a pastry cream
style or whipped ganache - could be frozen and thawed as many times as you
want within about two months of preparing it. That said, you should avoid
freezing ganache and aim to always use ganache the day or day after you
prepare it for best results. Though you can usually get pretty close to the
original consistency after you thaw, re-warm, re-emulsify and cool a
ganache that has been frozen, every time you do that you will likely get
farther and farther away from the original, perfect consistency of the
ganache.

DO YOU WHIP YOUR GANACHE AFTER IT SETS?

Only ganaches that are meant to be whipped ganaches should be whipped!

Any kind of white chocolate ganache that is prepared in the style of a
classic ganache or pastry cream style ganache should not be whipped -
partially because there is not enough cream in the recipes and partially
because the ratio of cream to chocolate to butter will lead to a very strange
texture, if you can whip the ganache at all. Most whipped ganaches are easy
to identify, and will have quite a bit of cream in addition to gelatin or
something similar to stabilize the ganache after it is whipped.

WHAT CONSISTENCY SHOULD THE GANACHE BE BEFORE IT IS

COOLED OR CHILLED?
A whipped ganache will usually have the consistency of an anglaise, or
slightly thickened cream before it sets up or is chilled. Classic and pastry
cream style ganaches should usually be thick but pourable. As you emulsify
a classic or pastry cream style ganache at the end of the recipe, you should
see tracks in the ganache but it should still be easy to emulsify. If your
classic or pastry cream style ganache looks or feels thinner - like an
anglaise - or thicker - like an already set up ganache - likely something has
gone wrong with the process or recipe!

- 196 -
DOES GANACHE NEED TO SET OVERNIGHT?

Most ganaches do not need to set up overnight. Any time a recipe

recommends setting up overnight, it typically means that 6-12 hours of
resting or cooling is best - making it more challenging to fit in to a normal
working day. That said, I often make my whipped ganaches the day prior
since the gelatin needs plenty of time to set up, and whipped ganache can
hang out in the refrigerator for several days without changing consistency.

Classic and pastry cream style white chocolate ganaches are generally best
used the same day they are made, though they are usually fine made the
night or day before and stored in the refrigerator. This will depend a bit on
your batch size and how you store ganache - if you allow for a lot of surface
area, for example cooling your ganache in a plastic wrap lined sheet pan,
your classic or pastry cream style ganache will likely be ready to be piped
in 2-6 hours.

HOW DO YOU KEEP YOUR GANACHES STABLE, AND KEEP THEM

FROM MELTING QUICKLY?
Here’s the thing: pastry is delicate. Would it be super cool to have
industrial strength recipes that could hang out in the sunshine all day long
without a care in the world? Absolutely. But by their nature, ingredients
like chocolate and butter melt easily and ingredients like cream should be
kept cool for both stability and health safety. Just like any pastry - mousse
cakes, tarts, choux, etc. - you should not expect to have macarons hanging
out at room temperature all day or outside / in direct sunlight for more
than a short time. That is just the way it is. Ganache filled macarons should
be stored in the refrigerator or freezer, and ideally pulled to room
temperature 20 minutes to two hours before being served. If you are going
to be serving or selling macarons at an event that is longer or outside, make
sure to set the macarons out at the last possible minute, keep the macarons
in coolers until they need to be set up, and make sure any displays are out
of direct sunlight or will only be in direct sunlight for a short time.

That said: your ganache filled macarons should not be melting if they are
indoors (not in direct sunlight) and sitting at room temperature for 1-5
hours. If your macarons are melting at room temperature there is likely
something wrong with your recipe or process!

DO YOU HAVE A DARK/MILK CHOCOLATE GANACHE EBOOK?

Depending on when you are reading this either YES or COMING SOON! The
Dark and Milk Chocolate Ganaches & Adaptations book is set to drop in July
2024. Following the ganache adaptation books I have plans to release a
caramel adaptations book in Fall 2024, two buttercream adaptation books in
Spring 2025, and secondary filling adaptation books in Summer 2025.

If you have any questions about them - pre or post release - you can
message me on my website macaronsbymaddiebrehm.com using the chat
function or send me a message over on my Instagram in a private message
@maddiebrehm.

- 197 -
 Index: Ganache Style
CLASSIC STYLE GANACHE
Classic Vanilla White Chocolate Ganache p. 39

Thai Tea Ganache p. 65

Passion Fruit Orange Ganache p. 84

Lemon Basil Ganache p. 113

Golden Milk Ganache p. 140

Ferrero Rocher Ganache p. 147

Granola Butter Ganache p. 158

PASTRY CREAM STYLE GANACHE

Vanilla White Chocolate Ganache p. 45

Cardamom Vanilla Ganache p. 72

Blueberry Cheesecake Ganache p. 91

Cookies and Cream Ganache p. 105

Ruby Strawberry Ganache p. 132

WHIPPED GANACHE
Vanilla White Chocolate Ganache p. 53

Vanilla Latte Ganache p. 120

Peach Gummy Ganache p. 167

- 199 -
 Looking for More?
If you enjoyed making these recipes and are interested in
exploring my recipes further, here is a list of everything I
have published so far!

1. Introduction to Macarons (with video tutorials)

2. Beach Day Macarons (with video tutorials)

3. Brunch Box Macarons (with video tutorials)

4. Berry Patch Macarons (with video tutorials)

5. Birthday Party Macarons (with video tutorials)

6. Fall Flavors Macarons (with video tutorials)

7. Cozy Macaron Fillings

8. Happy Hour Macaron Fillings

9. Winter Wonderland Macaron Fillings

10. How to Use Egg Yolks

11. Be Mine Macaron Fillings

12. Ganache Volume 1

13. Buttercream Volume 1

14. Truffle Macaron Fillings

15. Individual Recipes

16. Time for Dessert Macarons (with video tutorials)

17. Blossom Floral Macaron Fillings

Note: I release new ebooks every month, so make sure to check out
my website macaronsbymaddiebrehm.com for additional recipes and
tutorials! If you are looking for further recipes and tutorials, I post
macaron and other pastry tutorials to my YouTube channel!
Check out my pastry magazine!
If you are interested in both macaron recipes AND other
types of pastry recipes, make sure to take a look at my pastry
magazine TROUVAILLE.

This magazine, beginning in March 2024, is released on a

monthly basis with two all new macaron recipes and two
non-macaron pastry recipes. The magazines come with
photos and step by step instructions for all of the recipes,
as well as short articles relating to the recipes for that
month.

TROUVAILLE can be purchased in a recipes-only ebook

version, the ebook with accompanying video tutorial
version, AND in a printed format.

Click here to find out more:

Trouvaille Pastry Magazine

n April 2
24 Editio 024 Ed
March 20 itio n
 About Maddie
My pastry journey started at age one, when I sat on the
kitchen counter to “help” my dad make poppyseed muffins on
the weekends. For years to come I always enjoyed both the
making of and eating of sweets, but it wasn’t until I moved
to Japan in college that I decided to pursue pastry as a
career.

Two months into living with a host family that didn’t have an
oven (or wifi, but that’s a story for another time) in their
home, and I was going into severe baking withdrawal. A few
short years later, I graduated from my university in the US
and moved to France to intensively study French patisserie.

While a lot of chefs might see macarons as a necessary evil –

they are finicky and it is challenging to squish flavors and
textures into something so small, and yet they are wildly
popular – I leapt at the challenge to not only master the
dessert but make it my own.

Though I enjoy all sorts of pastries (I focused on plated

dessert in France and worked in a patisserie making petit
gateaux of all kinds) macarons have my heart. Well.
Macarons and travel. Okay and reading – I’m never without a
book.

Currently I’m doing my very best to wrap up all of my

passions and skills into one single path, and the creation of
my ebook series is a part of that!

My goal is to continue my own recipe development –

influenced by where I go, what I come across, and what I’m
reading – and turn that into something that I can share with
and teach people all over the world.