How can I make a vanilla ganache which does not taste of white chocolate?

Question

I've been baking for quite a while, but now have started venturing myself onto the chocolate world. I'm very very intrigued by Laduree's vanilla ganache on their vanilla macaron as it doesn't taste like white chocolate! In fact, it tastes like a super concentrated vanilla ganache, which is so light and delicious at the same time!

I already tried all sorts of vanilla ganache (from Pierre Herme to Doris G - by the way, Herme's vanilla ganache took more than 30 hours to set up because of the cream-chocolate proportion).

Does anyone have any clues on how to achieve a vanilla ganache without the taste of white chocolate being too intrusive? I asked the lady at Laduree and she said it's a ganache and not a buttercream or creme de beurre.

Answer 1

For a white chocolate ganache but with a vanilla taste, I would suggest tempering with chocolate itself. You must lower the chocolate taste but raise the vanilla taste,. I suggest melting white chocolate and mixing it with some shortening, then I suggest folding it in with marshmallow fluff and using vanilla emulsion. I would rather use emulsion than than extracts any time. Or if not, simply add more powdered sugar but keep in the vanilla emulsion, even using a vanilla bean and scraping it out.

Answer 2

I think what you really are asking is what fats can be substituted for some of the cocoabutter that would give a lighter flavour or a flavour more suited to vanilla.

Perhaps a blend of:

coconut (high quality raw) palm (highly processed and bland) hydrogenated oils such as sunflower, rapeseed, soy (produced for confectionery manufacture)

Liquid oils such as my favorite for confectionery, macadamia, can be added in smaller amounts.

Answer 3

Use a soy and vegetable-fat based white chocolate like Oppenheimer Kosher white chocolate chips. They are quite sweet, but lag behind on the chocolate-y taste. They temper well and behave in most ways I've used them like regular chocolate chips, except that for white chocolate taste they are a bit bland. These would make a good vehicle for a lighter but still sugary vehicle for vanilla.