Looking for an alternative to buttercream that’s thick and spreadable with great flavor? This 2-ingredient White Chocolate Ganache is designed to step up to the plate when you want the flavor of white chocolate but the look of buttercream.
While this recipe can be used to drip over cakes, it’s best used for spreading and piping. It’s my go-to for all birthdays and occasions to pair with this hack for how to make box cake mix better!
As a time-strapped mom with a passion for baking, I love to have an easy and delicious ganache recipe like this that can elevate any sweet treat; from storebought, to box mix, to homemade!
White Chocolate Ganache Ingredients
Here’s everything you need:
- White chocolate chips. For the most seamless process, use high quality white chocolate chips (I usually use Ghirardelli).
- Heavy whipping cream.
Tips and Tricks for Spreadable Ganache with White Chocolate
Use Warm Cream to Melt the Chocolate
Add your white chocolate chips to a large mixing bowl. If need be, take the chill off them by microwaving for 15-seconds. This is only necessary in the wintertime if your kitchen, bowl, and chocolate chips are extra cold. We want them at room temperature.
Add the heavy cream to a pan over medium heat and watch it closely. Ideally, we want to raise the temperature of the cream to 180°F. If you don’t want to bother with a kitchen thermometer, don’t fret!
We can look for visual clues to tell us when the cream is ready. You’ll see a film start to form on the top of the cream. Give it a little stir and continue to heat until steam starts to release from the top.
Once your cream is hot, pour it over the white chocolate chips and let it sit for a full 5 minutes without touching it.
Use a Rubber Spatula to Combine
After 5 minutes, the cream will have had some time to melt the white chocolate chips. Our goal in the next step is to integrate the melting white chocolate chips into the cream without beating too much air into the mixture.
The best way to achieve this is with a rubber spatula. Begin to stir the melting chips and warm cream together. Typically, with high quality white chocolate chips and the right amount of heat, this process is quick and easy.
However, white chocolate is rather finicky, and you may run into a couple of chips that don’t want to integrate. That’s okay—I’ve got you!
Start by using the rubber spatula to push and solid pieces against the side or the bottom of the bowl, to encourage the melting. If that is not enough to get your mixture smooth, place the bowl in the microwave for just 10 seconds on high and stir again.
You can continue to heat it in 10-second intervals until everything is melted and combined, but please make sure that you wait until it comes back down to room temperature each time before placing it back in the microwave for more heating.
What you don’t want to do is overheat it as this may cause it to split. So, truly my best advice to you here is that patience is your best friend!
Once everything is smooth and combined, allow it to sit at room temperature until it thickens to the desired consistency.
Pro tip: the warmer the ganache is, the thinner it is. Allow it to cool to thicken or heat it for 5-10 seconds in the microwave to loosen.
I like it nice and thick, so it spreads easily. If at any point it gets too firm, just heat it up a little bit.
Once you’ve spread it or piped it onto your cake, cupcake, or other treat, it will firm up and hold its shape beautifully.
Serving and Storing Your White Chocolate Ganache
Perfect for cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and more, this recipe for white ganache will help you bring the unique flavor of white chocolate to all your baked goods!
It is safe to store at room temperature for 2 days. So, if you’re making this a day ahead of time for an occasion, you can leave it out and serve it within that 48-hour period.
However, as with any ganache, your white chocolate ganache should be stored long-term in the refrigerator. When stored properly, it will last for about 2 weeks.
Note that as discussed, the temperature of the ganache will dictate the texture and firmness. I prefer enjoying my ganache at room temperature, so I’ll usually take it out of the fridge a couple hours ahead of time if I think of it.
You can also zap it in the microwave. For example, a slice of cake coated in this ganache can be set on a plate and microwaved for 5-8 seconds to get the perfect texture to sink your teeth into!
Spreadable 2-Ingredient White Chocolate Ganache
SAVE RECIPE TO COLLECTION PIN PRINT RATEEquipment
- Kitchen Thermometer optional
Ingredients
- 24 ounces white chocolate chips
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Add the white chocolate chips to a large mixing bowl and make sure they are at room temperature (if it's particularly cold in your kitchen, microwave them for 10 seconds to take the chill off).24 ounces white chocolate chips
- Add the cream to a saucepan over medium heat and bring it up to 180°F, stirring occasionally to avoid a film forming on the surface (if you don't have a kitchen thermometer, you'll know it's warm enough when steam starts to come off the top).1 cup heavy whipping cream
- Pour the warm cream over the white chocolate chips and let it sit without touching it for 5 full minutes.
- Use a rubber spatula to slowly stir the melting chocolate chips into the warm cream until fully integrated and smooth. (Some pesky white chocolate chips refusing to melt? See the notes below, I'm here to help!).
- Allow the ganache to sit at room temperature and thicken until it is thick and spreadable. If it firms up too much, you can microwave it on high for 10 seconds to loosen it. Spread over cakes, cupcakes, or whatever your heart desires!
Pro Tips
- In a perfect world, the white chocolate chips all melt in one go and seamlessly integrate into the warm cream, but white chocolate is finicky, and you may have a few chips that don’t want to melt. First try using the spatula to push the solid pieces into the side or bottom of the bowl to encourage them to melt. If this doesn’t work, heat for 10 seconds in the microwave and stir again. You can repeat this step, but make sure it comes back down to room temperature each time before heating again. Overheating it too much can cause it to split, so just be patient!
