White Chocolate Ganache

Relatively young, especially compared to chocolate, ganache was supposedly invented in the mid 19th century at the Pâtisserie Siraudin in Paris, according to *The Food Encyclopedia* by Jacques L. Rolland and Carol Sherman. It’s used as an icing or filling in all sorts of desserts, from cakes to tarts to truffles. The good news is, you need only three ingredients: chocolate, cream, and, in many recipes (this one included), butter. And the better news is, it’s almost impossible to mess up. For this foolproof Dorie Greenspan version, just heat the cream (don’t swap in half-and-half or milk, which aren’t fatty enough), pour it over chocolate to melt, and then stir until smooth. Of course, all of this leads to the technicality—which many smarties will be quick to point out—that white chocolate is not “technically” chocolate. What does this even mean? Well, unlike bittersweet or semisweet varieties, white chocolate doesn’t include any chocolate liquor (hence the white, not brown, color). Instead, depending on the brand, it’s made with cocoa butter, milk, and sugar, plus lecithin and often vanilla. Do check the ingredients when you go to the grocery store. You likely will cross paths with a look-alike product called “white morsels,” which contain no cocoa butter and are not white chocolate at all, let alone chocolate-chocolate. In a recipe where you have only a few ingredients to begin with, good quality goes a long way. Start with a hefty block, then chop it by hand with a sharp knife.