Flavored Ganaches (Fruit, herb, spice, etc)

[lovkel]

I feel like pretending to be a great chocalatier, but I want to try some different ganache flavors for truffles. Any favorites?

I have tried several different liquers. I actually got a christmas present of about 30 little bottles of booze from a relative; all for use in ganaches ... I swear.

In case anyone out there is curious,

Drambuie + milk chocolate ganache is very good; I can't really explain the flavor, I just like it.

Chambord + almost anything is a personal favorite; the raspberry really comes through.

Baileys Irish cream + dark chocolate ganache is VERY bitter, but Baileys and white chocolate ganache is quite good.

Anise liquer (like Sambuca) + dark chocolate is not bad, even if you don't like licorice, it ends up being almost fruity.

So, can any of you out there help me with my delusion of being the next Norman Love?

[Siren]

I add in some goat cheese for my truffles.. roll them in cin, cocoa powder or ancho chile powder...

[Trishiad]

start simple with some infusions. steep things that smell good in your cream before adding chocolate. fresh mint, lavendar, tarragon, tea, orange zest.......

[lovkel]

start simple with some infusions.  steep things that smell good in your cream before adding chocolate.  fresh mint, lavendar, tarragon, tea, orange zest.......

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How long? I understand that the longer you steep, the stronger the flavor. I'm just looking for a general guideline.

[Trishiad]

Length of steeping time depends on what you're steeping and how strong you'd like the flavor to be. I steep fresh mint for 15 minutes but I steep cardamom pods and pink peppercorns for an hour. Taste the cream after 10 minutes or so and see if it's what you want. If you're using tea pay attention to the tea prep guidlines. I steep green tea for 5 minutes at a lower temp than anything else so I don't extract too much bitterness.

Also, don't push on the herbs when straining as that will extract the bitter qualites. I always steep more than the recipe calls for or you may add more fresh cream if you don't end up with enough.

[Siren]

trish.. thank you for the suggestions regarding not pushing on the herbs when straining.. I do a lot of cremes for desserts using fresh herbs and was unaware of the mistake I was making.

[escry]

Whether to infuse fruits, herbs, spices, etc, in

1) just boiled cream, or in

2) fresh cream before boiling?

Ask two different chocolatiers and you may get two different answers.

Having an appalling memory, I infuse ALL my infusions in boiled cream for five minutes, (then reheat the cream to boiling point and strain onto the chocolate shards/pallets). By adopting the same technique and time, all I have to remember is the quantity of each infusion.

I have experimented with and contrasted different approaches, eg cold infusion of tea for twenty-four hours versus hot infusion of tea for 3, 5 or 9 minutes versus infusion of tea in water (ie making a pot of tea) and later incorporation of this into the ganache (as if adding a liquor). No one method has yielded better results for me, so I stick to the method that is quickest, easiest, and safest (from the point of bacterial growth).

When experimenting, I usually prepare three or four test versions/strengths of infusion in small quantities and by tasting these ganaches from the bowl select a final strength (quantity of infusion). However, beware:

1) when scaling up your ingredients, pro rata scaling of the infusion with the cream does not always work

2) the later enrobing of your centres will dilute the effect of the infusion, so choose a strength that is just too strong when tasting the ganache alone, as with enrobing this strength should be just right.

[Truffle Guy]

Some of the different flavors I've tried (some are a bit out there) are:

Ginger

Lemon-grass

Rosemary (usually for rosemary caramels but subtle in ganache is nice)

Basil (see above same deal..the key is to have just enough to flavor but not overpower)

Mint (many types you can use)

Lavender

Saffron

Cinnamon

Tea (many varieties)

Chile (acutally red peppers...careful they get too hot quickly and strain well)

Some flavors I've had compliments on are:

Key Lime (actually I normally use regular limes) I use the zest and juice. Be sure not to add the zest until the ganache has cooled or it will turn brown. It's also good when you use coconut milk.

Amaretto with toasted Almonds - I sometimes also chopped cherries or peaches.

Rhubarb - I used chopped dried rhubarb with a rhubarb sauce.

Pear - Again I finely chop dried pears and use a pear liquor (not cheap)

Cappuccino - basically coffee/cream and cinnamon but people love it enrobed in white chocolate for a creamier flavor.

Passion Fruit - If you haven't tried this, give it a shot its great. It's a bit like eating frozen orange juice concentrate with a slight pineapple flavor.

If you haven't tried it yet, you might try doing layers of pate de fruit with a layer of ganache. It really allows you to combine interesting flavors. I did a Mango pate topped with a white ganache with macadamias that was really good. Morello cherry pate de fruit is also great as it has an intense flavor that blends well with chocolate.

Hope this helps.

I feel like pretending to be a great chocalatier, but I want to try some different ganache flavors for truffles. Any favorites?

I have tried several different liquers. I actually got a christmas present of about 30 little bottles of booze from a relative; all for use in ganaches ... I swear.

In case anyone out there is curious,

Drambuie + milk chocolate ganache is very good; I can't really explain the flavor, I just like it.

Chambord + almost anything is a personal favorite; the raspberry really comes through.

Baileys Irish cream + dark chocolate ganache is VERY bitter, but Baileys and white chocolate ganache is quite good.

Anise liquer (like Sambuca) + dark chocolate is not bad, even if you don't like licorice, it ends up being almost fruity.

So, can any of you out there help me with my delusion of being the next Norman Love?

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[lovkel]

Thanks very much for the suggestions. I now have plenty to keep me occupied.

I have never tried to make pate de fruit, much less put them in truffles. Can adequate recipes be found on the web?

I had some lychee nuts and tried an infusion with cream. I probably would have had more success using a simple syrup infusion, but I only had enough nuts for one attempt.

Boiled the cream, added some mashed lychee nut fruit (from about 4-5 nuts). Let it steep for a while (about 15 - 30 minutes). Reheated the cream and added to some El Rey Caoba (milk chocolate, 41%).

Flavor was ... interesting. Did NOT taste like lychee nuts. The flavor was understated and different, not bad, but definately different.

This attempt was for my wife, who likes the flavor of lychee nuts, but won't eat them. She says they feel like you're eating raw eyeballs. Not sure where she's eaten raw eyeballs ...

Anyone else try this?

[Trishiad]

I'm not familiar with lychee nuts. Could you make a paste of the nuts and add them to your caoba/cream ganache?

[lovkel]

I'm not familiar with lychee nuts.  Could you make a paste of the nuts and add them to your caoba/cream ganache?

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I first heard of them here, and happened to find them at a local supermarket. They are about walnut sized fruit covered in a bumpy toughish red skin. They have an almond sized pit (which I assumed to be inedible ... but I don't really know). The fruit is translucent. Their flavor is apple/cherry like, but their texture is odd. My wife wasn't wrong when she said they felt like eyeballs. They are not really 'nuts' at all. I probably could have pureed them. Honestly, didn't think about that. Got caught up in the previous post about steeping with cream.

[Trishiad]

Oh! I am familiar with lychees. I'd never heard of them reffered to as nuts before. So, I would treat them like pears and puree them or dry them or juice them or something like that and then add them to your ganache. Steeping them in cream won't bring much to your ganache. Try to be aware of liquid quantities and their affect on shelf life though.

Also, while I love Caoba, the subtle qualities of lychee may not stand up to it's bold caramel flavor. keep playing...

[Jon Tseng]

If you're in an infusion mood have you tried making a water ganache? Melted chocolate with equal quantity of boiling water added spoonful by spoonful.

Seriously it does work!!! It thickens/seizes very quickly at first but them becomes a smoother mixture when all the water is mixed in.

It obviously isn't as rich as traditional cream-based ganache, but the advantage is that you can obviously infuse the boiling water a la tea etc. Opens up lots of possibilities...

Regards

Jonathan

PS infusions of tobacco are also quite avant garde (actually almost vieux chapeau by now) in the UK. It adds a peppery taste which is interesting, but not always to everyone's taste

Edited September 6, 2005 by Jon Tseng (log)

[etalanian]

Ancho chiles or long pepper work really nicely with dark chocolate. What you will get is a slight bite at the finish that is very subtle and quite nice. The long pepper is not easy to find, but you can get it on the internet. It has a spicy peppery flavor. It's wonderful.

[ComeUndone]

My latest favourite is to add natural peanut butter to my ganache. You would probably need to play around with the proportion. I suppose this also applies to other nut butter/paste (almond, hazelnut). For a PB&J effect, it would be interesting to add raspberry puree or Chambord to the peanut butter ganache as well.

[McAuliflower]

Wonderful listings of flavors in this thread. I'm curious (in a good way) about the goat cheese addition!

I enjoy using food grade essential oils to flavor ganache. This is a nice way to introduce flavor without adding liquid. Bergamont, lavender, lemongrass, peppermint, orange and lime have been thoroughly tested out with much satisfaction.

Looking at essential oil offerings is a fun way to force open my mind on flavor possibilities: basil, fennel, allspice...

[lovkel]

I was making a ganache filling for a cake that had one layer of banana and one layer of chocolate, so I decided to try for a banana ganache. Perhaps, not the most daring or striking flavor, but I had some overripe bananas. I pureed them and added to the ganache. To get a decent flavor strength I had to use about 2 medium bananas to a batch of ganache (about 10 oz choc). It was tasty, but still fairly mild in flavor.

Having seen the last post about the peanut butter, I gave that a shot as well. Comeundone is right, you'd have to play with the proportions for your own taste and the chocolate used. The p.b. can overwhelm the chocolate.

After that I figured, why not mix the banana ganache and the p.b. ganache? Turned out pretty good. Again, since the banana ganache wasn't particularly strong, I had to be careful with the p.b. ganache. Didn't Elvis like p.b. and bananas? Think his estate would mind if I tried marketing Elvis truffles? Probably.

[McAuliflower]

Didn't Elvis like p.b. and bananas? Think his estate would mind if I tried marketing Elvis truffles? Probably. 

I think your elvis truffle also needs some bacon in there and a good covering of gold!

[dmalouf]

I too have tried using flavored oils for my ganaches but found them tasting too synthetic. I tried raspberry and orange. Maybe it's not so much the oil as the amount, the brand, or those particular flavors.

[Genny]

I've used the oils as well but as a suppliment to boost the flavor. I used the raspberry liquor and the flavor wasn't very strong so I supplimented with the raspberry oil and that made a big difference. Juicy!

[lovkel]

  If you haven't tried it yet, you might try doing layers of pate de fruit with a layer of ganache.  It really allows you to combine interesting flavors.  I did a Mango pate topped with a white ganache with macadamias that was really good.  Morello cherry pate de fruit is also great as it has an intense flavor that blends well with chocolate.

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Where can I find recipes for pate de fruit? I google it, but only found 1 recipe from Food Network.

Also, I heard them referred to as "lychee nuts" on a cartoon. That is probably not the most reliable source.

[annanstee]

I love tea infused truffles, and scotch truffles. What about Poire William?

Mmmm. Truffles. I think I will have to keep reading to get inspiration for Christmas.

[Patrick S]

  If you haven't tried it yet, you might try doing layers of pate de fruit with a layer of ganache.  It really allows you to combine interesting flavors.  I did a Mango pate topped with a white ganache with macadamias that was really good.  Morello cherry pate de fruit is also great as it has an intense flavor that blends well with chocolate.

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Where can I find recipes for pate de fruit? I google it, but only found 1 recipe from Food Network.

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You'll have much more luck using the phrase fruit jellies.

[filipe]

I'm not very familiar about fruit-flavoured ganaches, I guess I've seen some recipes but I've never made any on my own.

My question is :

I am thinking on doing a yuzu-aromatized ganache. I thought on mixing some yuzu juice (as I dont have any yuzu zest, only bottled juice) with the cream and then take the mixture to a boil.

Do you think that the fact I will be using an acid (from the yuzu) together with the cream will let it work with the chocolate? Or will it have any effect on the cream's fat and will ruin everything?´

Other alternative could be using a similar process to Pierre Herme's chocolate-caramel ganache, only by adding the yuzu juice to the sugar while making the caramel...

[Arghavan]

In his choclate tartlets recipe in the chocolate desserts book, Pierre Herme adds passionfruit juice to the ganache after melting the chocolate by pouring over the hot cream (the passion fruit juice is also brough to a boil). since passionfruit juice is also acidic I guess you can follow the same process.